>>I still use VFP for a lot of more "personal" stuff here but they have basically set it aside as a major dev tool here. VFP7 is the latest version we have installed on our machines.
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>>I just find it humorous that they see every application as being a web app. Some stuff just works better as a desktop app whether it's .NET or VFP. But I'm a good boy and do as I'm told. :-)
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>Same here. However, I'm still pushing VFP in certain situations.
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>The idea that "...every application..." should be a Web app, in my mind is misguided. IMO, the reason behind this is ease of deployment. On the one hand, there are some reasons for this. On the other, the technolgy exists to make this a non-factor.
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>Ultimately, making every app a web app brings us back to the days of "Big Iron". Applications won't perform as well and the amount of maintenance increases exponentionally.

George;

In my department I create Web Apps. For over four years I argued that Web Applications are not always the best way to create an application. The management reasons that Web Applications are easier to deploy. With a building of 5.3 million square feet and 5700 people they have a point. However that may not always be the case. A few cases in point:

We are very strict about hardware and software. Our Browser is limited to I.E. and the list goes on. Consider this a construct or a standardization of hardware and software. A good concept but not perfect. We use only Compaq computers, Windows 2000, the same drivers, etc.

An application (ASP) that ran fine for one year broke when we went from I.E. 5.0 to I.E. 5.5. We opened a Case with Microsoft. It took Microsoft three engineers and three weeks to resolve the issue. The resolution was, “I.E. 5.0 had a bug which allowed code to run that should not have”! Well, I had to rewrite many forms to resolve that. It was not until SP2 came out for I.E. 5.5 that things were stable.

A recently deployed application behaves differently on different machines. I can find no variables between the problem machines and those that do not exhibit the problems. This is not good.

Browsers have many limitations and with each new security or version release you do not know what to expect. Browsers can be set up differently and this has the potential of disabling one or more features of an ASP/ASP.NET application. There is a long list of variables that even an I.E. browser introduces into the equation.

Management will have its way regardless of any other reality that may exist. Mine is not to reason why…etc. :)

Tom