When I installed VFP 7.0 and tried to investigate MSDE for the first time, I was extremely disappointed to find that it could not be used.

The reason? No user interface was provided!!! Now that is a dumb move on Microsoft’s part.

I would imagine the reason they included MSDE with each copy of VFP was to try to get developers to start developing their apps around SQL. Why ? So that they can boost their sales of SQL to the end users of the apps.

Their big mistake? Not including a user interface, so that someone like me can at least start playing with tables etc in MSDE. But they did not, so I have not.

Would it have cost Microsoft anything extra to include the interface? No. Do they really expect everybody that does not already own SQL to go out of their way to try and locate an interface? Apparently so. It just makes no sense at all.

Bottom line. Microsoft messed up by not providing a user interface for MSDE on the VFP cd's.


>> But look at it the other way... let's assume that some VFP8 developer bought the story that MSDE is great for VFP apps and the only sensible way for the future so he installs the MSDE that came with VFP. He doesn't have MSDN or SQL Server and the sales pitch made no mention that these were needed. He's only gonna be frustrated trying to make a go of it, don't you think?
>
>Well, I didn't have a clue about how to develop using SQL or its little brother MSDE two years ago... so I read up on it, and immediatly realized you needed something else to do administrative items (Access, SQL Developer, etc).
>
>The reason I mention this is that with as sophisticated a user as VFP requires, I would think that he would do his homework before he actually develops his first SQL app - and he would realize this fairly quickly.