Hi,

Day after day I get more confused with what I see here in UT.

I'm a FoxPro developer and I have no plans to move to another development tool. I may be wrong, but that's my current position. Also, I'm aware of the lack of opportunities to FoxPro developers, even more when compared to other development tools. Also, I'm very well aware of the efforts of Ken Levy and the fabulous guys of the Fox Team, to keep FoxPro as incredible as they are doing.

My position is to show, whenever possible, the strenghts of VFP and what can be done with it. My position is to point to VFP as an excelent development tool. I'm a full time marketing agent of VFP, you can ask anyone that knows me to check this statement!

I'm doing and will do whatever I can to put VFP above all other development tools, and please note, BE IT OR NOT. Why? Well, there is not much people doing this and I think that if I can I must do it. Being stupid? Don't think so.

What seems confusing to me, as I refered above, is that we all should promote VFP (be it externally, be it to our forum coleages), talking about its strenghts, purchasing the new versions etc. That's what I think Microsoft expects from us, otherwise there will be no VFP in the future. Am I wrong?

But what I've been seeing? Many fellows are advocating the move to .net, many fellows say that .net is (or will be, don't know how they can predict the future...) better than VFP etc etc. What makes me more astonished is that *even* VFP MVPs are behaving like this! What the mere mortal VFP developer will think? What the Fox Team will think?

Many times there comes new threads about VFP's future. The future of VFP, as far as I understood from Ken Levy's words, is in OUR HANDS, so that kind of behavior IS a shot in VFP's future! Nobody argues that the FoxPro community is the most incredible one among many others, and that's because *we* support our tool and Microsoft keeps it in their product list, just because that: there is enough people using VFP to keep it alive!

Now comes those guys talking about .net, C#, VB.net and the rest. Do you think they are helping to keep VFP alive with their behavior! You can call me a xiite, if so, thanks, that's because I'm with VFP all the way! What's the purpose of us: to complain? To advocate the move to .net or whatever? Do you thing that advocating the move to other "technologies" you're helping your "future ex" VFP fellow developer? Do you think you are extending the life of VFP? Damn it, what do you think? What are you trying to do?

Don't you believe in the future of FoxPro? Do you think the fantastic guys in the Fox team cannot update, or even change, the product to keep it great and competitive in the forecoming IT scenarios? When you were using FoxPro DOS or FoxPro for Windows, could you imagine what a VFP would ever be? Incredible, huh? Well, those guys are still around working on it.

If there is anybody that thinks that there is no future with/to VFP, say it with all the letters, don't disguise your thoughts with words like "you should add new tools to your toolbox...", every good developer knows that, but don't use this words to justify why you're leaving, just say you're are leaving,

So, (sorry for being long) what's expected from us regarding the future of FoxPro? What can we do to keep it alive, updated and competitive? What shouldn't be done I can assure you I have a very good idea!

Thanks,

Fernando