Ken,

Here's my input:

>- Was it easy to create your first XML Web service in VFP 7.0? If not, what were the issues, VFP7, the wizard, IIS, the SOAP Toolkit settings, etc.?
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I found it extremely easy in all respects.

>- What would you like to see Microsoft add to VFP to make creating XML Web services easier?
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Web service creation is not the problem. What we need, in my estimation, is improvement in the OLE DB provider to make the data access side of the Web Service easier to implement. The provider needs to recognize the XML commands/functions in VFP (and maybe expand those functions in later versions).

Deployment is also an area concern. Internet hosting services are very reluctant (rightly so) to having developers register DLLs on their servers. Deployment is easy if you have control of the web server but tedious if you don't.

>- What were some examples of XML Web services you created (what were they for, data access, API to an app or component, etc.)?
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My first web service was a Quality Control routine that returns an inspection samples size and accept/reject criteria for a given lot size/quality level. Since the statistical data used in the calculations is static, an XML file is used for the data store.

>- How do you see XML Web services playing a role in your future VFP development?

It is playing a large role in the application I'm currently developing. I suspect it will be a major player in the next one. XML in general has really changed my programming style.

Thanks for asking!