Pete
I don't wish to quarrel over this, and as I have said the fact that YOU find uses for these tools is fine - for you. But that does not alter the facts about formsets in any way. They are tools intended to allow a representation of a procedural concept (the Screen Set) in an OOP environment. They are the ONLY classes in VFP that incorporate support for the old READ-related commands (other than @...SAY/GET/READ which, by the way, also still work in VFP 9.0 - so are you advocating using those too? Of course not!)
>> Microsoft in their wisdom have continually provided their FoxPro development language with formset support
>> and our most recent version of VFP 9.0 has formset capabilites.
Yes, but you should also point out that the only VFP base class that is EXACTLY the same as it was when VFP 3.0 was introduced in Version 3.0 is the FormSet. Now why is that?
Every other base class has been improved, updated, and enhanced over the versions - except the FormSet! In Version 9.0 all VFP classes now support extensible XML memberdata - except the formset!
Incidentally VFP 9.0 also includes the CONVERT tools - but if you actually look at the code you will see that it, like the formset that it uses all dates from VFP 3.0 in 1994/95!
For example:
*! Function: MIGDB4.PRG (c) Microsoft Corp. 1994, 1995
or
Procedure file: TRANSPRT.PRG (c) 1993-95 Microsoft Corp.
Are these also mainstream components of VFP 9.0? Of course they are not! But they still ship with the product because some people still have use for them, and may even want to convert, existing programs from FoxPro 2.6W. Their mere presence does not mean that they are intended for general use in VFP applications.
As I said, if you understand the rules, and choose to break them that is your decision. But (in my opinion) to actually advocate breaking the rules to someone else is not a very responsible position to take. I repeat, just because you CAN use/do something does not mean that you SHOULD!
Regards
Andy Kramek
Microsoft MVP (Visual FoxPro)
Tightline Computers Inc, Akron Ohio, USA