Hi Hugh,

I my my opinion it all boils down to requirements. If I know up front that the app will be a one or two person app and that the 2GB limit of MSDE will never be an issue - then my choice will be MSDE.

As far as considering it arrogant to assume that I am making the right decision on my customers behalf ... In my experience, what enables me to retain and pursue new customers is providing them with systems that work as advertised and meet their requirements. Most don't care or have never heard of VFP or MSDE - they just want their systems to meet their needs and be reliable.

Of course, that can be done using VFP as a back-end - but my preference, based on my experience is to use MSDE where applicable.

Al


>Hi Allan.
>
>While there are downsides to any software product/project, I think it's particulary important to let your paying customers know that you are running your application on top of a shareware/crippleware data engine (which is exactly what MSDE is).
>
>To some degree I would mitigate that opinion for shrinkwrapped applications (over custom designed software applications) but in general I think the customer should be apprised of the facts.
>
>I would consider it arrogant to just assume that you are making the right decision on your customer's behalf.
>
>Would you not agree?
>
>Hugh