Martin,

>>Can you at least concede that maybe the Database research field on the last 30 years could have arrived to a better semantics than Jeb Long?

As long as I can have large, persistent local datasets that automatically span to disk, I don't care much about the commands I use to manipulate them.

I am well aware of how I might use ADO.NET or SP to simulate the effect, but having tried both for the particular task that occupies all of my time these days, VFP's cursor is hard to beat.

Obviously I am not just loading, editing and saving records, which (as you say) has been increasingly automated in the last 30 years to the point where principles are universal and most "advantage" is actually just "preference".

Re the cursor: I agree with you that it is amazing that such a simple, ancient concept has not been improved and commoditized- amazing, but not as amazing as Boeing's 747 whose basic design remains prevalent decades later.