John,

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>In that case you ARE the development tool I'd argue. The developer and his thought processes are IMO the most important piece of the picture.
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>Wow...that is a real good point. But then you run the risk of saying:
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>I am a tool...which I have been accused of before..and now I am sure< bg >..

Oh barf... <g>

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>I always say, it is the fiddler, not the fiddle. A decent developer can overcome and adapt. I see a lot of FUD being preached about how hard .NET will be, etc. I want to counteract that by saying that folks know way more than they think. The worst mistake a developer can do is not to take the next 6-12 months, while the work is still plentiful, to learn .NET. Will there by VFP work for the next several years, yes. Will it command a premium price? I don't think so. Solid .NET developers will get a premium. What is solid? Combining the knowledge a good developer has that is independent of a specific tool along with knowledge about a tool. It is like programming. Once you learn to program, is picking up another langauge THAT hard? No. It is a matter of learning the syntax. The same concepts apply.

John, you are obviously very passionate about this point and I understand and appreciate that (even though I've been pretty mercilous on you <g>) but I think there's a trap here that you already have or could easily fall into. That is the trap of forgetting that others aren't always as passionate as you may be about any given subject. You know that I am passionate about my relationship with God. I have at times forgotten that others aren't as passionate. Should I give my passions up? No, and neither should you. But one needs to remember to communicate with others where they are at or you run the risk of having folks think that you wish to recast the world in your own image. Remember, the FoxPro developers who've been around for a while have almost a genetic aversion to being controlled by anybody such as Ashton Tate, Nantucket, Microsoft, et al. Other developers fall into this category IMO as well.

I think that in your desire to convince Fox-Folk about something you see so clearly that they may not and over which you've received a whole lot of grief (some deserved, some not) that you need to constantly remind yourself of this fact. You may have had an epiphany but you cannot force someone else to have one either.

>Take a tour through windows forms. Some of the names and labels are different. But you know what? There are a lot of similar things as well? Inheritance? Is it different? Yes. Do I which it worked just like Fox? Yes. But you know what? It is close enough that in quick fashion, the gaps were filled.

Ok.. Teach this.

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>It is like the arguments made for going to C# - because it is not VB. How crazy is that? After a while, that crap just has to get the royal smack down.

No.. Accept where others are at, lead and teach with true humility and understand that for some it just takes time.

You CANNOT force growth. Doing that will only cause the same results as Round-Up has - death.

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>Doug, good point about the relationship between the developer's mind and the tool..

Kind words. Appreciated and important that all understand IMO.

Respect the minds of others and talk to them where they are at not where you think they should be.

IOW, don't let your zeal cloud your thought processes....