>>>>>>>>I am currently investigating the best way to allow OFFLINE() views by multiple users when I stumbled upon the fact that Access97 supports data replication. I am now investigating the possiblity of moving my VFP data for this app to an Access database, creting replicas on each users machine and keeping my VFP as the front end using ODBC.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Has anyone else used data replication in Access97 before? Also, and more importantly does anyone know if this data replication functionality will make it's way into VFP6?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Could you define data replication and give an example of its use?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Thanks,
>>>>>>>Joe
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Hi Joe,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I'll explain this in terms of Access97. You would have a master database on a server. Each user would have a replica (copy) of the database on their machine. This replica is what the user edits. At any time, when connected to the server, the user can 'replicate' their replica with the server copy. This causes their changes to be written to the server and any changes on the server (i.e. other users replicating) to be written to their replica. If more than one user edits the same record then a conflict is produced.
>>>>>
>>>>>And this functionality cannot be produced with createoffline(), use..online, etc.?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Joe
>>>>
>>>>It can but data replication simplifies the whole process. The biggest problem that you have to work around with OFFLINE views is that only one user can take a view offline at a time. Rather than coding OFFLINE, USE ONLINE, TABLEUPDATE, and ensuring the DBC is copied as well you just simply choose to synchronize your replica with the server.
>>>
>>>I can't say much about the replication, as I have not had a need to look at anything like it. But, I can ask you why you would consider moving your data to Access? Are you working with very small tables? I'm sure you are aware of the limitations that Access has with tables. I'm not being biased, Access does have its own purpose and niche, but it was never designed to handle large amounts of data.
>>
>>My question to this is that even though Access has trouble dealing with large tables it doesn't mean it can't hold large tables. If I am accessing the Access data via ODBC in VFP and VFP is now dealing with the data and not Access, doesn't this problem go away? This way I combine Access97's replication with VFP's data handling.
>
>To my knowledge, the ODBC would merely be a translator for the Jet Engine. VFP would send a request through ODBC, the data would still be extracted in the same manner as the Jet engine. VFP would not be doing direct table level requests. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. But VFP through ODBC does not equal VFP performance. VFP gets its performance through a lower level of table manipulation than Access or similar programs.

You are correct in the way you explained it Ken. Microsoft SQL Server also has built in data replication, by the way.