Although I will continue to develop database applications with Visual FoxPro, I know that I probably need to learn another development language. The trend and hype of .NET is difficult to ignore.
I not only speak American English (with a Texan accent), my native language, but I learned Spanish beginning in 1976 as an LDS missionary and have been speaking it ever since. Speaking a second language has only been an advantage to me, as it has opened up my understanding of and communication with many more people and cultures in this world.
Some loyal FoxPro developers might think that they should stay with Visual FoxPro until the the day they die. I have been a loyal fan of FoxPro since about 1990 and Visual FoxPro for many years and have earned a decent income by this choice. I made the transition a little later than I'd like to admit to the Obejct Oriented methodolgy from the FoxPro 2.6 days, but the transition was finally made and Visual FoxPro is one of the best tools ever made for small to medium-sized businesses and perhaps for many large businesses. The U.S. military used FoxPro during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and quite successfully.
So, I am now looking at the choices and am wondering which way to go. Do I learn VB.NET, or C#, or ADO.NET, or all of them? I don't know about you, but there are only so many hours in a day which I can devote to training myself on new technologies, besides earning a living. I have a family like many of you, so some time goes that direction. I try to read and keep up with everything, but it is not easily done. I am also a novice genealogist, so a little time gets clipped off there too. So, there is less and less time to study new things. Thus my choice of the next development tool has to be a good choice. What is going to pay off the most in the long run?
I heard a rumor that many VB developers are transitioning over to C# directly, and aren't even looking at VB.NET. Hmmm, shall the herd mentality take over and follow the hype, or rumor?
For Ken Levy, FoxPro is his religion and I know this, because that is how he is. He is a most faithful member of his religion too! I admire his zeal and abilities. He was born with the passion to program and these abilities and talents I believe are given to some of us by God. That's my opinion. The skills I have may be partially given from God in my case, but he sure didn't make me the greatest programmer in the world, which I consider Ken and his type to be.
If I choose a development tool, where will it or I be in 5 years? Remember Borland's dBASE for Windows? Arago's DBXL & QuickSilver? Clipper for Windows? (Vaporware), Ashton Tate's dBASE III/IV? Some of these were great products and helped launch many thousands of developers into promising consulting careers. However, you can no longer hang your hat on the past. We have new choices to make decisions on. Believe me, the technology current shifts all the time and we have to make the right choices, or we may get down the road and realize that we have wasted valuable time.
As for my own goals outside of technology? I plan to go to law school in about 3 to 5 years and become an attorney, perhaps a software copyright attorney? Or, maybe I'll do something else. But for now, I have to make some difficult chocies.
If anyone has any opinions about which way they think they will choose to go in their own choices of development tools/languages, I am all ears. Of course, this is a Visual FoxPro forum, so I'll probably hear a lot from FoxPro-biased developers, and that's okay.
Cecil Champenois
