Hi, Gary,

Yes, the fact that 'everything is in the box' in VFP had many of us spoiled. So much so (at least in my case) that I had considerable difficulty at first in learning things like ASP.NET, win forms, SQL Server, etc. My initial questions were always "where does this go", "where do I look for this", etc. Took me 2 months just to get past those first steps!

And you're right, it's platform-based as well. To date, I've stayed in the Windows area, though I plan to look at Java very soon. And I've wondered if I'm making a mistake by not looking at Linux, but I have no immediate plans to. The very few people I've spoken to regarding Linux have said that there's a huge drop in functionality...but since I know very little about it, I don't know if that's true.

Yes, much of this is about 'hedging bets' on where our increasingly limited time should be devoted as far as self-study for the future. I was given specific advice by two people in the Philly area that if one is proficient in VFP, .NET, Java, SQL Server, Crystal, and Oracle...those account for a big majority of positions. So for now, that's my focus.

It's funny that you mentioned Windows DNA...I was always curious what the difference was between DNA in concept and .NET in practice. Maybe very little? I don't know.

Kevin