You can find a discussion on MSDN, I believe. Below are some comments I have found in my notebook:

1. The Great FoxPro/Access Debate
(Dear Dr. GUI,microsoft MSDN Page)
Both Microsoft Visual FoxPro and Microsoft Access can be used to create a database application that you can distribute on floppies and have the application install itself using a Setup.exe program. (Floppies?)
Microsoft Visual FoxPro Professional Edition gives you the tools to do this. You can create a complete database application, create a Setup program, and distribute it on floppies. Visual FoxPro will create an .exe file as the starting point for your application. It will be a "freestanding" executable in that it does not require Visual FoxPro in order to run. What is required, however, is the Visual FoxPro run-time library (VFP300.DLL), which you are free to distribute if you own the Visual FoxPro Professional Edition and will be installed seamlessly by the Setup.exe program.
Microsoft Access will also allow you to achieve your goal if you have the Office 97 Developer Edition (ODE). The ODE includes all the products found in the Microsoft Office 97 Professional Edition plus the tools you need to create, manage, and distribute office applications. Using Access and the ODE you can create a complete database application and a Setup program, and distribute it on floppies. It will also be a "freestanding" application, in that your clients will not need Microsoft Access installed in order to run your application. It behaves a little differently than Visual FoxPro, however. Rather than creating an .exe, Microsoft Access works exclusively with .Mdb (Microsoft Database) files. The .Mdb is executed using the Microsoft Access run-time library (MSACCESS.EXE). The Microsoft Access run-time library is free to distribute if you own the ODE, and is also installed seamlessly by the Setup.exe program.
So which one does Dr. GUI prescribe? Well, Visual FoxPro is an object-oriented development tool whose core language is Xbase. There are thousands of developers who have an enormous investment in Xbase code and existing applications. Visual FoxPro targets these developers to help ease the move to a 32-bit Windows environment. Visual FoxPro is also a cross-platform product (Visual FoxPro 3.0 is also available for the Macintosh), which may or may not be important to you. (Previous versions of FoxPro were also supported on the MS-DOS and UNIX platforms.) Unfortunately, Visual FoxPro has a rather steep learning curve, and unless you are already familiar with Xbase programming it would not be my first choice for a new database developer. I would recommend Visual FoxPro if you've already invested time and money in existing Xbase applications and are seeking a 32-bit Windows and/or a cross-platform solution.
Microsoft Access, on the other hand, is a product geared toward both the novice and advanced user. It is simple enough for most home users to create quick databases, with little or no programming knowledge, yet sophisticated enough for developers to create complex database applications. Microsoft Access uses the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) language, which is a subset of the Visual Basic language. The learning curve for using Microsoft Access is quite low, but the learning curve for learning VBA may vary depending on the amount of programming skill you already possess. I would recommend Microsoft Access if you are new to database development, if you are seeking a shorter learning curve, and if you would like to keep programming to a minimum. I would not recommend it if you are seeking a cross-platform environment: Microsoft Access is currently a Windows-only product.
Dr. GUI hopes that with this information you can prescribe for yourself the tools you need.
By the way, you can also develop database apps with Visual C++, Visual Basic, or Visual J++ (not to mention languages from other companies). Or was that more than you needed to know?

2. According to James Cowan, a Web developer at ComputerJobs.com Inc. in Atlanta, it's true that FoxPro is more of an industrial-strength relational database development system when compared with Microsoft Corp.'s Access.
Despite its limitations, FoxPro supports modern technologies such as Component Object Model and ActiveX. It also can be an excellent front-end development system in both two-tier and three-tier application development environments.
But bottom-line, it has never caught on as well as other development tools. Now, in part because of the FoxPro programmer shortage, it seems to be on the "outdated" technology track.
There is good news, however. The object-oriented coding practices in Visual FoxPro are similar to Visual Basic and ASP. And SQL Server and Access require the same database design and management skills that FoxPro requires. So your transition is possible.

3.Microsoft Access, the database in Office, is the most broadly used and easiest-to-learn database tool Microsoft sells. If you are new to databases, if you are building applications that take advantage of Microsoft Office, or if you want an interactive product with plenty of convenience, then choose Access. Visual FoxPro is a powerful RAD tool for creating relational database applications. If you are a database developer who builds applications for a living and you want ultimate speed and power, then choose Visual FoxPro


Best Wishes



> I have a potential client who is predisposed to use an Access database, but I am more comfortable with Foxpro. Can anyone suggest reasons for choosing Foxpro rather than Access?