Good morning Dean;

I learned a long time ago to do what your company wants and do not offer suggestions where they are not wanted. In other words – don’t rock the boat. I gladly use the tools required by the gods and do my best to do a good job – one that I am proud of.

At the same time I keep my resume updated as I have been at more then one software house where decisions were made that ran the company into the ground. As we know using the right tool for a job is not a consideration for corporate types. They listen to the hype from Microsoft Marketing, the media and monthly rags (magazines) and do not think for themselves.

Can you imagine being an IT director or vice president and using a tool that is not "approved" by Microsoft? I bet the president and board of directors would replace you in a flash. It is all about protecting your tail feathers while looking good. How many IT general managers, directors, etc. have I seen replaced? Many! They are afraid to go against the industry.

I know of several major VB 6.0 projects that failed. One was to replace an existing VFP application. It took five programmers three months to create the original VFP application. The VB team worked for one and a half years and failed. The VFP app is still in production.

Everyone does not understand the concept of use the right tool for a job. There are those who are in charge and blind to reality. They have been sold on only the latest technology available will work. They do not do his/her homework for whatever reason. If you have someone in charge that understands the requirements and selects the best tool then you will have a winner.

My experience with Dot NET has begun and that learning curve is more than noticeable. I am teaching those around me what I learn. Even simple things take time and a lot of code. With Dot NET as with any other software tool you had better understand what you are doing and take the correct path. Good planning goes a long way towards a successful project.

The three Dot NET courses I have taken from Microsoft approved trainers using Microsoft material (ie. 2310 as an example) are next to useless. With “Amazon.com advertising over 3600 books on the subject you have a lot to choose from. What we need is more examples of how and why to take different approachs and what are the good and bad points of each.

Going from VFP to Dot NET is like going from a steam shovel to a teaspoon. You get the job done in either case – if you have enough time and energy! :)

Tom





>You know in some ways Corporate America is a very uncreative institution. Rather then doing their own research and making up their own minds about what is the best tool to use for them, they sometimes "blindly" follow someone else's lead. They are so gullible. They believe every propaganda they read about a tool. You know, "if it's in PCWeekly, then it must be true".
>
>They abandon what has worked for them for years just to be "up to date"... and I wonder how many of them regret the switch or reverted back to their "old" technology.
>
>I work for a company that uses .NET for EVERYTHING. Well, .NET is not good for everything. We still use VFP/VB to do some quick utility work, but all major enterprise development is done in .NET. You know how much longer it takes to build a "simple" app. using .NET as compared to VB, or better yet VFP?
>
>I'm ranting...
>Chow. Good day....
>
>
>>>The Classic VB may have fazed out, but look at the job ads. Still many VB6.0 position available.
>>>
>>>Now, I'm not saying to go out and learn VB6.0... :)
>>>
>>
>>LOL. I didn't thought about that :)
>>
>>Actually I learned and used some VB because for some jobs it was the best tool. But I never liked it because of the lack of OOP and the everchanging data access methodology. During the pre-.NET era, Delphi and VFP were IMO the best programming tools. I also had a love story with C++ Builder but unfortunately it never really took off, too bad.
>>
>>
>>>
>>>>>7+ years ago - when that question was asked - it was clear that VFP was not
>>>>>nor would it ever be part of MS's strategic focus. It was at that time, I
>>>>>jumped off the "VFP Bandwagon".
>>>>
>>>>7+ years ago, VB seemed to be the answer and VFP soon to be dead. But what I find ironic is that right now, it's VB which is dead (VB.NET is not really VB but .NET with a VB syntax) and VFP is still alive and relatively well. OK, .NET is crushing every other development tool on the Windows platform (even the excellent Delphi) and if .NET 2.0 fulfill its promises, maybe it will be the time for VFP to enter in "maintenance mode".