John;

Excellent points! It boils down to honesty on the part of Microsoft to the VFP community. I do like that thought as you have expressed it. I know I will not wait for that to happen and will continue with my .NET adventure.

When I was required to do serious development work using VB, I had to do it. My experience with VFP allowed me to know what the key elements of a data based application. I just had to figure out the syntax and methodology required by VB. Granted I did cuss a lot at specific things but I was successful and we got two big contracts in VB because of it.

If there was a large requirement for Java developers creating data based applications I think the VFP crowd could fill the bill very well. We go where the action is! :)

Tom


>Thomas..
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>IMO, VFP 8 should be the last major version... After that, 2 years of support with service packs in the same manner VB is supported...
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>As for where VFP developers will go, MS's biggest fear is that they will go somewhere outside of MS. Personally, I think this fear is unfounded. A lot of people talk about Java, but when push comes to shove, there is no better fit for VFP developers than VB - whether it is VB 6 or VB .NET. Some will say C# is a better fit because of its structure. It is a moot point since 80% of what you do in VS .NET is with the framework - which exists apart from an implementing language.
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>With this in mind, IMO, the best thing MS can do for the VFP community is to put a certain amount of clarity and finality in the mix. Make it clear that the next version of VFP is it. Make it clear that .NET is the future. Make the path to migrate as clear as possible. In the end, you retain a loyal customer base that will will help stimulate the beginnings of a .NET developer community.
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>Of course, what do I know about strategy??? I have been accused of not being a strategic thinker...< bg >...
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>Regards,