>3rd party tools are no longer necessarily a relevant indicator of VFP >sales. For example, a new project I am developing in VFP8 will not be using >SDT.

so at one time they were an indicator? It is always an indicator. Sounds like you are 'context dropping' here. Interesting admission on your part though. Along with the 'VFP market is shrinking' admission. Of course then we can get into the 'the whole IT market is shrinking' stuff. and is the VFP market shrinking at the same rate as the rest of the IT market...LOL.


>This is the first project where I do not need SDT. Why? Because the project >database is completely in Oracle, I am using the CursorAdapter because I no >longer have a need for Remote Views where I used SDT to manage.

>
>There are other reasons VFP 3rd party tools and frameworks sales are >declining. For one, VFP is adding more to the product that previously was >handled by these tools. Another, is VFP has been around for 10[?] years now >and developers have enough experience with the language that

Every new technology has its limits. Software developers stretch any new technology to its limits. If hundreds of thousands of developers are exploring and utilizing that technology ( as an example CursorAdapters, the new .dbc features in VFP 8 or VFP 8 in general) then companies will produce add on tools making that technology better, easier to use in some way and serving a micro market (as an example Stonefield,WebConnect did for VFP/FP throughout the 1990s). If a few thousand developers are utilizing that technology no one will attempt to provide add on tools. Demand creates a supply... especially in an industry as carefully observed as this one....

if MS solves one problem with VFP 8 that was within the sphere of an addon tool then another addon tool company will produce a product to solve a new problem like www.eqeus.com does. They will do this because the base of developers is their to pay for the product. And many thousands of developers are faced with this 'new problem'. Very few supercool new addon tools are available for VFP 8 because not many developers (relative to VFP 6) are exploring its limits.

..the 'everything has already been invented'~='mature product' doesnt hold up..

People will still come up with great ways to utilize the new technology. Maybe some great magazine articles will be written. If tens of thousands of developers are using them then those ideas turn into commercial add on tools selling for $500+. If a few thousand developers are using them then they remain share ware and 'whitepapers'.

VB 6 was more mature then VB 5. The add no tool market didnt fall off the face of the earth.

I wonder what has been done to improve Stonefield, Web Connection, and Voodoo in the last two years? Or are the principles of these companies allowing their actions to speak louder then their words ever could? Are the principles spending part of their time serving a different market? I think they are.

Still no explanation for ProgrammersParadise.ca`s mysterious ommission of VFP 8... again i think its simple not enough people wanted it...but they did want VFP 5 and 6. No explanation for the low retail book sales levels for VFP 8 as compared to vfp 6....


With IT spending down relative to the dot com bubble years and MS's refusal to market VFP outside the Foxpro community I conclude that VFP 8 is not selling as well as VFP 5 and 6. It provides a simple and direct explanation for the other events I've discuss previously in this thread.