Jim;

I have been using SQL Server for many years and for the past three years it has been my “bread and butter” database. IMO VFP is a great front end and middle tier and SQL Server is a more robust DB.

Now some people will tell you that SQL Server will “never crash”. We did have a crash last year and it costs our company $36,000 a minute for downtime. Nothing is perfect but you should always use the right tool for any job. One crash in three years is not bad when you are in our business.

Tom


>I've just finished reading about the session "SQL Server Development for VFP Developers" by Jim Duffy and I must say that I don't like what I read!
>
>The term "real database" really is a subjective one and the qualifiers described in the article are technical and (to a degree) misleading.
>I am quite confident that the majority of small-medium sized business owners would be perfectly satisfied with the capabilities and functionality provided by VFP's DBC/DBF!
>
>That VFP is '...only a "file based" database...' does have some advantages, again especially for small/medium businesses but the implication is that there is absolutely nothing good about "file-based"!
>
>There is then several paragraphs regarding the 'benefits' of deploying/shipping MSDE with an application.
>"Benefit" #1 - MSDE is free.
>- That's good... ship something that you barely understand as the prime storage medium for your application!
>"Benefit" #2 - Use the full product during development (to use the administrative tools).
>- Another goodie... what do you do when a user has problems and you have no administrative tools handy?
>- Not to mention the need to license full SQL Server as one of your development tools.
>"Benefit" #3 - Use client/server architecture from the beginning ("...even if there will be only one user for that application").
>- There's real good common sense at work!!!
>"Benefit" #4 - Scale very easily at any time.
>- Yep, be ready for something that's never going to happen (in 99% of small/medium businesses)!
>"Benefit" #5 - "...“5 simultaneous queries” limitation... should not impact at all" (in an environment with 20 connections).
>- Go ahead, bet your business and reputation on that!!!
>- That VFP affords hundreds of connections is not a factor I guess!
>"Benefit" #6 - 2GB limit same as VFP's table size limit.
>- Bzzzzzzz wrong answer! - VFP's is a per table limitation while MSDE's is a all the data limit.
>"Benefit" #7 - "...it's just a matter of the client buying some enterprise licenses of SQL Server...".
>- That's so easy and so cheap that ALL small/medium businesses will no doubt be chomping at the bit to do that right away. Absolutely no other problems involved with such a move!
>
>The article then describes some options for deploying MSDE-based applications using VFP.
>Stored procedures have lots of advantages.
>- I guess I can just go ahead and write these in VFP?...oh, you mean I have to learn a different language AND the particulars of how stored procedures work in SQL Server!
>- How, again, do I arrange installation of fixed/enhanced stored procedure at existing user sites????
>
>All in all the article describes grossly over-simplified "arguments" in favour of SQL Server, all at the expense of VFP/DBCs/DBFs.
>
>Were coupons for your developer copy of SQL Server handed out at the session's end? Sure sounds like they should have been.