>Hello,
>
>i have the task to choose a VFP-framework for my company, well i must admit that i don't have reasonable knowledge how to choose one.
>
>Things that I considered or should be realized:
>- use of VFP Business Objects in ASP Pages later
>- we need support for different back-end databases, at the moment: VFP, MS SQL and Oracle (maybe MySQL in the future)
>- the framework should support n-tier development
>- it should not have a too high learning curve, cause other young programmers are participating in the project
>
>And what about additional tools like xCase and Stonefield's Database Toolkit, are they worth the price and is the integration into the frameworks stable?
>
>Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Christian,

I believe all of the available frameworks support client/server development, but not all of them have their n-Tier strategies in place. I know that the following frameworks have had n-Tier support for a while, but I don't know how good it is since I've never used one of these:

- Visual FoxExpress
- Mere Mortals
- COMCodeBook (any maybe CodeBook)

There may be other vendors that have n-Tier support now, and eventually they all will support it.

Most of the frameworks support integration with SDT, which is well worth the money. I believe SDT integrates with xCase.

My advice is to take your time researching frameworks. Once you make your decision, it is difficult to switch, because that would affect your clients. You'll find that each framework comes with a development philosophy. Most of the vendors have their documentation online. I recommend downloading and perusing the documentation. Try to find the framework that fits with your development style and the requirements of your group. I know this is time consuming, but it will be worth the effort.

Also, there were some articles in past issues of FoxTalk by Kelly Conway (and others) that evaluate a few of the frameworks and help you decide how to choose one.