Just thinking out loud here...others may have already said some of this. The "will it work" issue is moot, since it is unknown if anything will work or not. Even Microsoft has abandoned older versions of Office after new versions released. No one can assure that anything will continue to work forever. That question also begs a timeframe. You could effectively argue that there are many Win98 computers still humming along fine, doing what they need to do. And that OS is what, 12 or 13 years old? I have a client using a Foxpro DOS 2.1 app to run his $24M a year business on. It will run on a DOS-only box, or Windows 7, after 20+ years.
The will it work question is more about "will it work on any new computer I buy?" Again, that question is unanswerable, but we can honestly answer "probably" for VFP as much as for VB6 or Turbo Pascal. The "is it best" issue is also irrelevant in many ways, as this assumes some kind of benchmark standard that can be measured against. Depending on perspective, "is it best" varies. I would say that yes, since I'm more conversant in VFP than any other development platform, VFP is best for me. And I would also argue that yes, it is best for the end user (ego on here) as my skill and expertise at developing a user-interface that is easy to use and learn is top notch. But, for the decision-maker ($ spender) the "is it best" often comes back to "Will my peers approve of my decision based on their opinion(s)?" In my opinion, that is pretty much the bottom line every time. When your client is telling his buddies on the golf course that he decided to invest $20,000 in a new software application, and someone (who also likely has no clue what they are talking about) asks "what platform?", does your client risk embarrassment? Or does he know enough to say "what difference does it make if it works well and is supported?" Or, is the client right in defending that decision criteria? Are they smart to require that development platforms being used are able to pass a consensus test of their peers? My answer would be no, but YMMV. Bottom line, my experience is that either they trust you, and want to work with you and take your advice, or they are looking for an excuse to shop around. Maybe this is good...maybe they will find that you ARE the best horse to ride after they take a few others around the track. Mike Copeland Genesis Group Software > Hi all: > > I have been supporting, for ten years or so, a VFP6 application that I > developed for a company. They are looking to upgrade their machines to Win7 > and have been having trouble getting the VFP6 application to install. I > have not yet had a chance to test this out on my own, but I suspect that the > issue could quickly be resolved by using the Win XPmode procedure discussed > elsewhere. > > Before I knew about that option, I suggested to them that upgrading to > VFP9 might be the way to go to resolve these issues. However, that was a > mistake, as they discovered that -- gasp! -- Microsoft has discontinued > development of VFP. > > So, NOW they're asking me if I would recommend that they stay with VFP > or if they should move to something else that will be supported in the > future. > > Now, I could easily (well, not EASILY, but you all know what I mean) > begin rewriting this application for something else, such as a VB/SQL > combination, but frankly, that's gonna get ugly fast. The VFP app is solid > and has been working well for them for a long time. I suspect that they > could make the minor investment for me to move the app from VFP6 to VFP9 > much more easily than they could move to an entirely new look-and-feel > application with an entirely new back-end database that's not integrated > into the development language. > > But, is that the PROPER answer to give them? > > I'd really enjoy hearing comments on all sides of these questions... > that is, if you all don't mind chiming in. The best VFP minds in the world > comprise this audience, and it would be quite beneficial for me to read > various thoughts on this topic. > > Thanks in advance! > > Jon > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
