>Hi,
>
>What would I need to setup an application to store data into tables on an SQL server?
>
>I would obviously need a server, Windows 2000/2003, Microsoft SQL? Oracle?, what else?
>
>What would I need on the workstation side?
>
>How would I setup my development system in my office?
>
>I know these sould like silly questions, however, I need to save data to SQL tables and the application currently runs FOX2X tables. All advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

You say you "need to save data to SQL tables". Does this mean you have a specific SQL database in mind? This is a large topic; if you do have a specific product in mind it would narrow down the options considerably.

Having said that, there are a few general points that can be made:

You're right to separate your request into 2 parts: production environment vs. development. In production you need to have an idea of requirements e.g. # of simultaneous users, 24/7 capability (i.e. hot backup support). You would then obtain an appropriate server licence and the server hardware necessary to support it.

For development, most SQL DB vendors offer versions of their products for little or no cost that will run on the developer's own workstations. Typically if your WS is NT or better with adequate RAM there will be a "Personal" or "Developer" version available. The vendors "seed" this market with low-cost products in order to encourage purchase of higher-priced server versions in production environments.

Open-source databases should not be overlooked, either. MySQL and PostgreSQL, for example, are available as free downloads and may meet your requirements:

http://www.mysql.com/
http://www.postgresql.org

The Microsoft SQL Server offerings are compared here:
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/planning/SQLReskChooseEd.asp

Every copy of VFP7 or 8 includes a redistributable, low-end version of SQL Server called MSDE 2000. This is the complete product, except its performance is "throttled" with more than 5 or 6 simultaneous connections, it has a maximum database size of 2GB and it lacks the visual management tools (e.g. Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer). For small systems, this may be all that is required. For a nominal fee (IIRC US$49) you can buy the Developer Edition, which does not have any of these restrictions or omissions. If you are new to SQL Server this would be the version to get for development.