Visual FoxPro is Dying. Where Do I Run?

[zuhura2]

I've been the only programmer at a small company for 15 years and have developed a Microsoft Visual Foxpro program that we sell to thousands of clients. It is database intensive, but the table sizes rarely reach 20,000 records. Everything has been going great, but the .OCX libraries that we include are slowly losing support from the companies we purchased them from and Microsoft doesn't seem to want anything to do with the language any more

https://nox.tips/

https://xender.vip/

.

Now, I've got time -- a couple of years at the minimum to port our product to a new language. I am just wondering what your opinion on a new development language would be?

Requirements:

Must be able to be easily installed on an end user computer.

Good database support.

A web application is not viable as our clients don't want their employee's salary info sitting on a website.

Good reporting abilities.

Thanks in advance for any of your ideas.

 

[tomk3]

Hello,

you may stay with VFP / VFPA and replace the .OCX
or for a RAD you may have a look on windev ,

https://windev.com/

(strange adv., but mighty product)
or you may go to .NET (Basis or c#) with a good framework like Telerik,...
or you may go to a more VFP like product like X#,

https://www.xsharp.eu/

and of course there is Python,Java,.. but we use that for Web/mobile apps only

Best regards
tom

I strongly recommend to check with a demoversion

 

[foxmuldr3]

I may have a way forward. They deleted a post that had my email address. If you are interested we can connect.

--
Rick C. Hodgin

 

[Chris Miller]

The fading support for OCXes isn't really related to VFP, is it? You have the same problems with those OCXes in other languages.

My spider senses tell you you already also ticked off the most obvious Java and .NET as too complicated. If you look for something that's just exactly like VFP there is only VFP and now it's clone VFPA, but that's sticking to the OCX problems, obviously.

You're looking for a wonder, a niche product that nobody knows of but is as capable as VFP and just as simple. If that would exist, it would be known, it'll not be a secret only kept by those who use it and the vendor. The most similar things to VFP that exist are Filemaker on Mac, MS Access and the many PHP systems that are running the web despite PHP being dead and even worse than VFP, unloved by any developer.

I can also list a few things that you likely already have heard of, because the wave of trying to get VFP developers onto their platform has already come over us and none of them got the attention of the whole VFP community. You're pointing out living under a stone, if you have not heard of Servoy or Lianja and have live all your life under a stone or show your age by forgetting that xBase still exists and other xBase clones, too.

If you want modern development it's not easy to adapt, but judging the learning curve from your perspective as a VFP developer is a very biased point of view of how hard it is to learn C#, for example, just because you see how vast the .NET framework is. Well, you also never learned the full set of Windows API functions available via DECLARE DLL alone, to say you learned and know VFP. If you concentrate on Winforms to not switch UI to something completely different and concentrate on the controls you need and concentrate on data binding with C# it's also covered in several lessons, and some of the best known experts of VFP offer such lessons, even, because they already went there.

Chriss

 

[StefanFoerner]

Hi zuhura2,

do you know Codejock ???

www.codejock.com

Codejock Suite Pro for Active-X / COM v22.1.0


Codejock is offering many, many, many OCX / AxtiveX / COM Controls

Codejock supports all Windows Versions: Windows 95 | Windows 98 | ... | Windows 10 | Windows 11 !!!

and supports all Windows Server Versions: Windows NT 4.0 | Windows Server 2000 | ... | Windows Server 2019 | Windows Server 2022 !!!


Controls available:

Calendar
Chart
Command Bars
30 Controls like: Buttons, Color Picker, Combo Box, Dialogs, Progress Bars, Scroll Bars, Tab Controls, ...
Docking Pane
Property Grid
Grid Control
Shortcut Bar
Skin Framework
Syntax Edit
Task Panel


I suggest You NOT to replace Visual FoxPro, BUT to update Your OCX-Controls

Regrads, Stefan

 

[Scott24x7]

XBase++ is still being developed by Alaska Software. It is the closest thing you'll ever find to VFP.


Best Regards,
Scott
MSc ISM, MIET, MASHRAE, CDCAP, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS, ATD

"I try to be nice, but sometimes my mouth doesn't cooperate.

 

[stanlyn]

Hi Tom,

or for a RAD you may have a look on windev ,

https://windev.com/

(strange adv., but mighty product)

Do you have any experience with WinDev? Are you using it, or know anyone using it? If so, what version?

I purchased Ver21 and really never did anything with it as PC SOFT (manufacturer) seems more interested in adding features in every release while NOT fixing reported bugs. I also found their eco system (3-rd party tooling and support) was very small, but getting better at playing with others.

I'm hoping you will say that you use and love it, and most of the negatives I experienced are now positives.

When you say "strange adv" you are referencing their "girl ads" as they use girls to sell the features, and hundreds every release, every year?

Thanks,
Stanley

 

[ggreen61]

As others have said, the problem is not necessarily with VFP but with the active-x controls. Can they be replaced with native VFP code and Win32 API? Are there other controls available that can replace the ones you have that are no longer supported?

If you go to another language such as x-base or any other non C++ or non .Net language, what is the change of that language following the same path as VFP in the coming years? How long will the vendor survive with niche languages? What is the true benefit of going to another niche language? Will you still have to use controls to achieve the functionality that you want? Are you back into the same "boat"?

If you choose to go the route of .Net such as C# and use controls as well from vendors, what is the chance of those vendors going out of business or dropping support due to lack of sales?

Any time that you choose to use a control that you do not have the source code for, then you could fall into the trap of no support and if a problem occurs that you cannot fix.

So, if you make the jump to another language, I would recommend C# (or C++ if you want to support other OSs) and try to limit the use of controls that you do not have the source code for.

Greg

 

[Dan Olson]

I'm curious if you looked towards Servoy RAD platform. Honestly don't have much experience with this yet, but they're promising easy VFP replacement on at least multiple pages:

FoxPro

Time is running out. Reinvent your FoxPro application today with a modern RAD solution.

servoy.com

All about Visual FoxPro (and switching to a modern alternative) - Servoy

Ideally an alternative that’s easy to deploy with minimal disruption – and that’s priced realistically.

servoy.com

Microsoft Support of FoxPro - Servoy

The final version to be released was Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0, in 2004 (and updated in 2007). However, by this time it had already been recognized that Microsoft support for FoxPro (and other

servoy.com

My company is now looking for a Foxpro replacement, but it's not urgent, so we are looking at Servoy. Does anybody have experience with Servoy?

Sorry, I am not directly contributing with an answer/advice to your question @zuhura2.

 

[ilija]

I use Postgresql database with VFP.

Now I am moving to Visual Studio (vb.net).
It is not easy and simple job. Needs lot of time and learning.
Community edition is freeware for individual developers and small business companies.

Ilija

 

[Piotr Czekalski]

In my case probably solution is VFPA(64). I have always tended to write highly parameterized programs. It used to be a great advantage, but now it is a disadvantage. In Fox-Pro I use macros containing VFP language commands in MEMO fields. I run them via &Variable. After transferring programs to another platform the commands contained in the macros will stop be working - that's for sure. I had a similar problem during migration from Clipper 87 to Fox-Pro (DOS). I used Clipper DbEdit (browser) very often in programs code. The one in Fox-Pro was terrible (Browse). In a few days I wrote a DBEdit library in Fox-Pro with the same syntax as in Clipper and similar functionality. It saved my life and the lives of several of my colleagues. In the case of migration from 32 to 64 I have absolutely no idea how to do it. Knowing Microsoft's policy, there's no much time for it.

VFPA (64 bit) seems a good idea. There is one problem. Mr. B.G. might get angry ...

In small companies, 32-bit emulators will work well. In larger companies (security policy) IT departments may not allow such solutions. Microsoft's lack of support for VFP is starting to be additional problem. At least in my case. I reported that there is VFP support by "SEDNA" and "West-Wind" . It calmed down IT. The question is ... for how long.