Hi Peter,

>To me, one thing is 100 % clear : the persons (instances) I've met stating that VFP is not the way to go, are without exception the educated {s}. It's always about the companies with formal IT departments. To my experience, it is just these persons that have the wrong arguments. But they are the educated, and I am not. Can't win that.

Who do you think "educates" them?

>But please, somewhere they are right too : Any larger company decides for a DBMS first, and selects a tool on top of that. And, any company not doing this, does wrong {s}. From this can be derived that anyone trying to tell them that VFP should better be used with its native DML, has lost in advance.

Shouldn't they be informed of VFP's "strengths" when dealing with other SQL engines?
(well, there is the problem of who will convince them about that...)

>I bet my best horses on the fact that somehow VFP itself does not comply to MS' strict rules of how the products should be. And that they can't turn it into that (think of the graphical internals which doesn't comply really. Think of no multi-threading). Or other : that the fact of them not turning it into their standards, proves that they in the end won't support VFP as could (have been). I don't know. Anyway, enough reasons not to incorporate it into .NET; they just can't right now.

VFP is loosing its (original) identity and becoming, day after day, obsolete and less competitive, albeit the new "improvements", IMO. All features that where great strengths in the past (like the DBF and its DML) means nothing for the corporate market, these days.

>And about the educated again : the .NET thing is the best proof of VFP not being taken serious by MS. So VFP ? pooh.

Same as above.

>Coming to the title of this thread, and when things really start to be going wrong, I foresee the possibility of "us" taking over.

When there will be no flesh of VFP left, just dry bones, maybe this could be possible (see Recital and FoxPro DOS).

>Supposed anyone came down to this line, what about this all ?

Peter, you know I always enjoy reading what you write about your ideas, and I know you like to write long messages (like myself - we don't save words) < s >

Think another path should be chosen. If MS (soon) don't tell us what VFP will be in the near future (3-5 years?), think we better not wait for the "dry bones" to take an action. FWIW, I don't think they will tell us anything regarding such subject. Start learning another tool (if you didn't it yet) will be the only option left, if *we* want to stay competitive.

Regards,

Fernando