Hi Mike,

File base systems like Visual FoxPro are great when working in a small enterprise or work group. The work of the database engine can be spread over many client systems. Also, the application can run on the client machine which tends to spread the load over a number of different computers.

File base systems like Visual FoxPro also allow statefull connections where update can be instantaneous (e.g. no buffering), when moving between rows (e.g. pessimistic buffering, or when a tableupdate is issue (e.g. optimistic buffering). Since the application binds into the database, states can be check like whether there are any lingering transactions started but not yet committed.

In a file base database it is also possible to perform incremental searches so when each key is pressed a seek can return a result. Since file based is usually over a local network, reponse between the database and an application is usually much faster and more reliable than the internet.

When dealing with a network that is asked to accommodate large numbers of anonymous remote user a three tier approach is very good. This involve a web server, a cgi-bin or asp layer, and a database server. All three of these pieces run on a local computer, so the application is said to be server sided. Requests can be directed to the services via a browser or rich client. The connection for the most part is stateless and the client and the server run completely independently of each other. The client usually submits request (e.g. SQL queries) via a web server and the database server reponds by delivering a small subset of its data. The client (e.g. browser or rich client) can insert, update, delete records which are submitted to the database server when a submit button is clicked. The database server doesn't know anything about what is going on around it except for the split second it is asked to deliver a record set or perform an update, insert, or delete.

The three tier web app requires a little more security because it is dealing with anonymous users rather that know company employees with predetermined computer station locations. Therefore, an anonymous user of a web app could be someone that intended to do harm by destroying data or cracking into a company computer system to steal. The web server and the database server both have special features to deal with this security issue.

So, it seem to me, the question of whether file share systems like Visual FoxPro or Database Server like MSSQL is best depends on the circumstances and need of the users.

LelandJ