Hi Ken,

I think that Microsoft should push VFP more as the best middle-tier engine to build components working "against SQL Server database", rather than pushing the database aspect of VFP.

The "VFP against SQL Server" is what gives us a competive edge against Java + Oracle, for example. In our experiance, if we would have positioned that we build VFP components against VFP database, we would never be invited to participate in enterpise projects.

The idea of superfast local cursor in VFP is great, but as soon as this cursor is a product of query executed against SQL Server.

The "VFP + SQL Server" is the combination, which could bring VFP back to enterpise area. And the marketing support from Microsoft saying that VFP is a component development tool for contemporary web-enabled enterpise running against mission critical SQL Server backend is required to support us (droping positioning that VFP is "a database"). Otherwise, anywhere you go and anytime you mention that you are going to develop an intranet portal with VFP as a middle-tier development tool, the answer you get: "we don't want to use VFP database, we use SQL Server or Oracle" - this means that what is in mind of our customers is that VFP is a database, not a superier tool to develop fast and efficeint web-based applications against SQL Server.

Thank you,

Igor Lozhkin,
Arnica Software Corporation.