Morgan,

>Do you have people using it for larger projects?

Our shop has been using VFP Mere Mortals (and are currently migrating to MM.NET) since 1999 on a "not small" project (We have 12 programmers and over half a million lines of code spread over ~200 libraries and more reports than you can shake a stick at)

>It seems like a crutch to learning the .NET Framework or whatever framework it is using. For something, small where you did to get a product out right away it seems ideal, but for a large application that will be used for years, it seems to have more potential problems then benefits.

>If the author of the Commercial Framework decides to go in one direction and you don't like it, you are pretty much stuck. Besides the licensing fees which aren't much if you are selling large products, it seems to keep you away from really learning the inner workings, quirks of the .NET Framework. So if you ever need to do something outside of the commerical framework, or need to get around a problem or change the functionality of the commerical framework, you don't really know the .NET Framework well enough to understand what needs to be tweaked or changed.
>

While this is a valid concern, Kevin has taken great pains to not paint anyone into corners with MM. There are always easy ways to extend the framework where needed, and I can also assure you that he is very flexible and willing to add extra features.

As far as the framework being a crutch, it always comes down to how willing the progammer is to step through the framework code. At our shop we have programmers who detest looking at others' code, and as such, I would agree with you that they shortchange themselves by not seeing what's under the hood and how to interact with the underlying concepts. On the other hand, those of us who have been more "adventurous" have not only learned these fundamentals, we have also gained valuable insight as to how to implement them without having to "bang our heads" -- Kevin has already "pre-banged" for us!

>I mean, some people could use the Commercial framework and still learn the subtle nuasances of .NET Framework but it seems unlikely and redundant for a commerical framework user. Also, if you are doing a large scale project, I would think you would want to create you own framework as you go along so you can get the exact functionality you want instead of having yet another middle men (the commerical framework) between you and your application. It seems like you are handcuffing yourself to the commerical framework, and the recent trend in software seems to be as flexible as possible. That was why .NET has so many languages available.
>

I think you'd be surprised as to how many people other than Kevin have delved into MM. I investigate more of it almost every day. Partly to find out why it's not doing what I want it to (note to Kevin: still waiting for that psychic module) and partly so I know why he's done what he has so I can improvise with relative intelligence where necessary.

Maybe it would be helpful for you to think of some of the functionality you feel would be better written on your own, and then check out the framework documentation. Again, I think you'll be surprised how much he's put into it. Remember, it's been ~2 years in the making.

Hope that sheds some light for you,
---J