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>Well MS are investing in VFP7/8/9... and hence by your statement above VFP must be a growing market. Or is it all a scam to keep us placated?
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>MS is supporting the product. If you want examples of products MS is investing in - check out .NET and SQL Server.
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>Nice try...

I'm not "trying" anything John - simply stating the fact that MS are investing in VFP as is visible with VFP7/8/9 and who knows what beyond that. That they invest more in something else is irrelevant.


>>I have no idea what the breakdown of the customers are since Jim didnt offer this info. Only that he is selling a lot and that the VFP sales as a percentage of all MS dev tools is much larger than most imagine.
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>Perhaps Jim would be kind enough to share some #'s. And while the number *may* be much larger than most imagine, my guess is that it is likely a small number relative to other sku's.

Of course its smaller than .Net but that was never in question. There are apparently significant sales of VFP to a wide spectrum of buyers. Significant enough to convince MS to continue the VFP line and invest in its future. That is a fact and you can paint whatever FUD you like around it but it remains a fact.


>>However, I agree that the VFP market is smaller now than in the past. But I add that VFP is still a very viable development platform for those applications to which it is suited: small to medium size apps that do not require the strength or features of a database server or as a front-end in a n-tier application. This statement does not mean that VFP is the only option but simply that it is a valid option.
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>What is your definition of viable? Viability goes beyond the raw ability to get a job done.

My meaning is that VFP can not only get many jobs done but get them done very well. There are even, dare I say it, some jobs that suit VFP better than other dev tools.


>You do however, offer the opinions of others...

I did not "offer" the opinions of others so much as refer you to them. The opinions that I highlighted have relevance to your stated objective of giving a balanced view of the IT landscape - specifically of VFP and .Net.

Personally I try not to forecast the IT world - God forbid, I might find myself in the embrassing situation of forecasting the demise of a dev tool years too soon.


I think were done... ;)