>For the life of me I can't figure out, despite many statements like you make here, how "XML" is a "data engine".
>
>What is it that makes XML a "data engine"?

.NET "dataset objects" use XML as their "internal" protocol. These "datasets" contain one or more tables that can also have relations. This set of "classes" probably bears a closer resemblance to the Access "data engine" (ie. JET), which is also object-oriented, than it does to the FOX data engine.

In practical terms, it is actually easier to "point" at the "data engine" in Access (JET), .NET (System.Data), Delphi (BDE) ... than it is in VFP, which is the sum total of all the various DDL/DML statements, commands, and related functions. I would actually consider the VFP ODBC or OLEDB driver as a more "concrete" instance of the VFP data engine.