vfp future

[lwfg]

We have a lot of programs written in VFP and are being urged to change them to something else because of VFP's future.
We'd rather keep using VFP since changing to something else could take a long time and since things are working.
Is staying with VFP a bad idea ?
If so, what are reasons ?

 

[GriffMG]

I think the problems are going to come initially from the OS moving to 64 bit.

Just as now the 64 bit versions of Windows won't run 16 bit apps, so the ability to run 32 bit ones will be removed at some point... albeit someway into the future (I hope!)

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[craigber]

Griff,

You are right and wrong. There will be problems down the road with 32 bit apps. But, virtualization will be there and allow you to run them.

Craig Berntson
MCSD, Visual C# MVP,

http://www.craigberntson.com/blog

 

[Mike Lewis]

Lwfg,

The answer depends a lot on what your plans are.

If the application is reasonably stable, and you plan to do not much more than routine maintenance and enhancements, VFP will continue to give you good service for as long as you need it.

If your plans involve, say, making parts of the application web-based, or running parts on a hand-held device, or integrating with .NET applications in some way, then you'll come up against VFP's limitations.

That doesn't necessarily mean you should be thinking of a complete rewrite in the near future, but you will probably have to plan to move at least some of the development to another platform at some point.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips, training, consultancy

 

[JackTheC]

Yes Craig, you are absolutely right. Virtualization (Virtual PC, Virtual Box or VMWare) are great tools for running applications with older Operating Systems on new modern PC's. You can even run old VFP3 apps on a PC with more than 768 MB of memmory. And for personal use free to download and deploy.

 

[GriffMG]

I was going to say something like that Craig, but I think they are going to have to get a bit simpler - mind you I've not looked much, so perhaps they already are!

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[bagby]

In practical terms, I think you have no worries until the distant future.

While 64-bit applications are supposed to be the big and coming thing, there are very few of them yet, and I have seen none that show any great advantage over their 32-bit counterparts. (With the exception of overcoming purely Windows 32-bit limitations like memory usage).

The day when all support for 32-bit applications is completely removed, is very far off. Your existing programs will continue to run very well for the next 5 years beyond doubt. (Shoot, there is a whole host of ActiveX controls, COM objects, VBA add-ins and whatnot that are still 32-bit with no current plans to convert them. They aren't going away anytime soon. Even MSOffice had to acknowledge that.)

Somewhere in the next ten years, you may need virtualization to continue to run them. Here, I'm looking at things like the complete disappearance (for all practical purposes) of the parallel and serial ports in favor of USB and firewire -- that kind of general system change that creates problems which your existing programs may or may not handle gracefully.

Your horizon is somewhere between 5 and 15 years, then. A bigger problem will be finding anyone (then) who can still program in Foxpro, because in that time frame, the bigger threat is that your business rules will change and things will need to be re-written. Not many businesses survive on the same rules for that long.

When that happens, at some point it will not be possible to work around the software anymore, and you will be forced to change.

Whatever platform you might change to now, no matter what that might be, has a good possibility of being obsolete by the time that forthcoming Day of Wrath rolls around, and if it is, you would have to change your platform again.

You know you will face one Dies Irae out there, someday. Creating an artificial one now will just double the expense,time and hassle with no real assurance that it will make that future transition any easier, faster or less expensive.

While I'm all in favor of keeping up, technically and technologically, you've got a large investment in your existing software, that isn't in any near-term danger. Start changing your current and future development, sure, but that's a different matter.

 

[GriffMG]

I think some clever clogs, much cleverer than me, will develop a virtualisation technology that is just about invisible to the end user. They will double click on an icon on their desktop, and the call to run the app will be intercepted by some software and the 32 bit app will be run in a sandbox that makes it seem like it is running 32 bit Windows... but if it is a 64 bit app, it will just run normally.

Sure, interface technology will be problematic - but that is the bells and whistles.

* I hope this is true, because I am expecting a client to ask me to redev an app from Clipper, via xBase++, to VFP9 that is going to keep me busy for about 6 months and my friend busy for about 10 years supporting it

B-)

Regards

Griff
Keep [Smile]ing

There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.