Step-by-Step Guide to Visual FoxPro

[academica]

VFP help is just a look-up resource, not a learning tool. (One cannot learn a language from a dictionary, can they?). If someone wants to learn VFP 9, they need a step-by-step guide how to start with version 9.0. This guide should contain
- the basic principles of programming under 9.0: what is main.prg and what it usually contains; why is it necessary to use an external procedure file
- the most frequently used properties, methods and events of the controls with giving reasons: why is it necessary to use it.
- the most frequently used tools in the IDE: Class browser, Object browser, the builders, as well as helpful tools like the command DO(_FOXREF).
- the most useful Internet links and links to add-ons

There could be 3 separate guides - for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced users.

This is a market niche, and VFP is currently underestimated by young programmers (see

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html).

I believe more resources will increase the VFP community, which will be beneficial to everyone.

VFP 9.0 SP2 on XP SP3

 

[DougHennig]

How about The Fundamentals by Whil Hentzen (

http://www.hentzenwerke.com)?

Doug

 

[JRB-Bldr]

"VFP help is just a look-up resource, not a learning tool"

I couldn't agree with you more and it applies to every Help reference that I have seen.
I hate it when some vendor tells you that you have everything you need in the application Help system - Wrong!.

I am just wondering that since there does not seem to be any question in this posting, was it perhaps intended to be added as a Reply post to the previous post:
Looking for Training info CD/Book
thread184-1596042

If so, you could use the "Inappropriate post?" messaging to notify the forum admin and get it moved.

Regardless - Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr

 

[Mike Lewis]

Academica,

What exactly are you asking? Are you proposing to produce something yourself? Are you looking for collaborators? Or what?

My initial reaction is that your idea is excellent - but it's ten years too late. But don't let that put you off.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro tips, advice, training, consultancy
Custom software for your business

 

[Mike Gagnon]

Visual Foxpro for dummies.


Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first.
ReFox XI (www.mcrgsoftware.com)

 

[academica]

This posting created a confusion, so here is the background:

At the end of my posting 'How to RETURN from a form' I made a detour to a new thread, since I wanted to reply to Mike Gagnon, but the topic was worth standing on its own: Step-by-Step Guide to VFP. The spark came from this thread:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1596042,

which meant that there are people like me who would like to use VFP 9, but there is not a tutorial for false beginners into the new IDE and OOP under Visual FoxPro.

Then I remembered the good old days of Ashton-Tate and their wonderful dBase III manual, consisting of 2 parts: an Introduction for beginners and a Reference manual, which inspired me to post a suggestion.

Now I dream of a free online step-by-step tutorial, created by the collaboration of specialists and yes, I would participate, had I not been just a beginner.

Since there will be no more versions by Microsoft, the lifetime of such a manual will be longer than for a rapidly developing language like C# or Java.

My posting was not a question, just food for thought, so it can be considered as closed.

VFP 9.0 SP2 on XP SP3

 

[Olaf Doschke]

First of all there are alrady a lot of Books about VFP, so there really is no need, unless you can't afford about 20-50 dollars for a book, you'll invest much more in the form of time, to read the books and learn from them.

Then I think it's not a good idea to start soemthing new from the ground for a dead language. I already dropped that thought back in 2007, when the end of VFP was announced.

You're right, that books as more in-depth tutorials do tend to fall behind the newest version of a language, but it's not an advantage that VFP development has finished, you'll get more and more interop problems with VFP in the future and it will only bee good for self-contined applications. That might still be some years, but the high of VFP in the tiobe index it had in 2007 was due to the announcement of it's discontinuation.

You're a bit like someone asking for free or cheap copies of Games for a discontinued game console.

We're still here to provide help for VFP users, even newbies. This has also worked before 2007 and I think it will still continue some years.

If there's a chance for such books, then from those who alrady have written all this stuff for older VFP versions and only would need to update that to the possibilities of the newest VFP, skip what you wouldn't use anymore, incorporate the XMLAdapter and the Cursoradapter. You'll already find this stuff, if you take some older VFP starter book and add the "New In ..." series to it, the disadvantage and pity is only, it's a bit like a patched knowledgebase. I'd say you'll have to live with that, wanting to learn a discontinued language and database.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[SBTBILL]

Having spent 4 months working in VB after a year of reading up on it I must say I really think VFP is still 10 times better. Other then web interfaces VFP seems to do everything easier and better then VB and usuall with cleaner and less code.