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>>"Quite simply, .NET is Microsoft's platform for XML Web services."
>>.NET is how MS will do Web services. VFP is totally .NET compatible in many ways, and that compatiability will continue to increase as both products evolve seperatly.
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>VFP is not a .Net tool because it does not compile to CLR. It only has the capability to build Web Services. .Net is the platform for building, deploying, and running WEB Services and APPLICATIONS. The foundation of .Net Framework is the CLR. Basically the two main components of .Net framework are: CLR and .Net framework Class Libraries.
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>Remember this?
>"Visual FoxPro 7.0 will not be included in the upcoming Visual Studio .NET product. Because Visual FoxPro 7.0 is not a Microsoft .NET language and does not share the Visual Studio .NET IDE..."
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VFP is not a .Net language, but that does not mean it can't participate in .Net. It can produce and consume web services TODAY. VS .Net can't claim that as it is not a released product. A language does not need to compile to the CLR to participate in .Net.
In addition, there will be a HUGE demand for Win32 apps that don't do anything with web services for many years to come. VFP plays very nicely in this area. MS is not going to abandon VFP. Eric Rudder, the Senior Vice President of Developer Tools at MS, is the architect of VFP and still VERY high on the product.
Craig Berntson
MCSD, Microsoft .Net MVP, Grape City Community Influencer