> My company sells software written in VFP6.0 and some of our new prospects have a concern that Foxpro will not be supported in the future or Foxpro's ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. We are going to upgrade the software at least to a newer version of Foxpro if not some other language, and possibly to an external database, such as SQL Server / Oracle, MYSQL. I wondered if any of you out there who have run into this problem could respond with your solutions or your planned solutions and why. We are not a large company and so do not want a large-scale database solution with all the associated costs. If this has been covered before please point me to some threads. I tried to find some articles, or messages discussing this topic, but was unsuccessful.


Susan,

Personally, I plan to continue to use VFP until something better comes along. VFP works VERY well when used in conjunction with backends like SQL, SQL Express Oracle, MySQL, etc. Indeed, because of VFP's speed, many developers (myself included) prefer to use VFP for the middle tier, even when using a dot Net front end. The only real worry is if MS decides to create an operating system that will not support 32 bit apps. The lesson they are learning with Vista should prevent this. (Vista sales are in the basement - there is really no business case for anyone to go and buy the "upgrade" from XP.) If MS creates an operating system that does not support 32 bit apps, it is unlikely that anyone will buy it. It would simply break too many mission critical apps.

VFP runs well in a Windows Server environment, so you will probably find that people will continue to use VFP for middleware. I do not see MS changing Windows Server to the point where it would not run a 32 bit app. Again, this would break too many mission critical apps. Their customers would flee.

It sounds as if you are in a niche market, developing Desktop or LAN apps for your customers. There are many companies out there that still want LAN/Desktop apps and despite Microsoft's hype, it is likely that there will continue to be many companies out there that still want LAN/Desktop apps. VFP is the VERY best tool to use for these types of apps. As long as it will contiune to run in a Windows environment, then it will remain the VERY best language to use for LAN/Desktop apps.

VFP's support is not really an issue either. Let's face it - VFP 6 is no longer supported. Has it made any difference to you? While I would love to see MS change their collective minds about the development of a VFP 10, it is not a really big deal. VFP is still the very best language to use when working with data. VFP is also a "mature" language (yes, I will probably get some comments on this) and there is not a lot to add to it. I would love to see a 64 bit version, but that is not going to happen, and I can live with that. I would love to see an object oriented menu (but I can create one of those on my own.) Indeed, many of the things I would like to see, you can do on your own with VFP 9.

The "end of support" date really only applies to the fixes that need to be done to VFP. The release of SP2 was a disgrace, but there were many required fixes in it. SP2 still needs some work though. For example, SP2 can break some SP1 reports and the tooltips no longer work for grids. On the other hand, for most of the problems, there are work arounds. VFP's support will continue to 2015 - there should be plenty of time to fix these things. (All we need to do is get on Microsoft's case about it.)

My recommendation? If you are working in that niche "LAN/Desktop" market, stick with VFP (but definately upgrade to VFP 9 - the report generator alone is worth the price of the upgrade.) If you are working with SQL/Oracle, etc. for back ends, again, stick with VFP. If you want to branch out and work on browser based apps, go for it - but if these browser based apps are going to be used as the front end for a database, then again, stick with VFP.

On a personal note, if you are a young developer (or even if, like me, you can no longer be called young) you need to learn new languages. I started out in COBOL, FORTRAN, C and BASIC - don't really use these much any more. In 10 or 20 years, who knows what we will be using? As Ceasar put it, the only certain things in life are "Death and Taxes."

On a professional note, you REALLY need to upgrade to VFP 9. VFP 6 is a really good tool, but VFP 9 is superior. You owe it to your customers to be working with the best tools available. Had we all upgraded with each version, who knows, Microsoft may have decided that there was money to be made in a VFP 10.

Ken
You shall know the truth - and the truth shall set you free. (John 8:33)