>>I have been a developer for only a couple of years (in my previous life I was an Accountant - please don't hold that against me!).
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>>My only experience with DB tools has been with FP 2.6 and Visual Foxpro 3 and 5. During the time that I have been using VFP, I have come to the conclusion that the only limitation in develping Apps is the developers knowledge of the tools that VFP has. Every day I am virtually learning of new and imporved ways of doing things (thanks in no small part to the expert opinions I have come accross in this forum). I have not come accross a 'problem' that I haven't been able to work out and my confidence in building slick and sophisticated apps with VFP is very high.
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>>Having said that, I notice that companies looking for developers generally are looking for someone wiht experience in Sybase, Oracle or Powerbuilder. Why is this? Is it because these products have been around longer and have a broader base? Or is it because they are superior products?
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>>AL
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>Oracle and Sybase are both 'Client Server' databases which means they are more secure, faster, have a higher capacity (more records, more users), and in general are higher end (and cost a LOT more). Foxpro on the other hand has generally been a 'Local' database engine. This means that it does multi user through a file server. It incorperates both a front-end (the user interface) with a back-end (the database engine). Using ODBC and remote views VFP can access the Client Server databases such as Oracle, Sybase, MS SQL, DB2, etc.
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>Powerbuilder (as far as I know) is on fairly level ground with VFP. The diffence is Powerbuilder is actively userd in 44% of IS shops (information services) whereas FoxPro is not even on the map (according to my reference). This is why you see demand for PowerBuilder as opposed to VFP.
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>I have had fairly extensive use of FoxPro. The main drawbacks I see are the limitations in the Front End (user interface). The local database engine is the best and fastest I have seen and it is generally accepted as such. It has its quirks, but like you said, there is no problem you have found that you couldn't work around. The user interface's limitations are a bit more sever and the problems have driven me to choose another language for a product that I am currently developing.
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>HTH,
>Peter

I would inquire credibility of 'front-end limitations'. Actually, VFP itself is superior product on both ends but with negative perception in public. Why it's happened? I 'don't know', however I've never seen trustworthy explanations from technical standpoint.