What choice have former MS Visual FoxPro programmers after the end of support and version 9?

Question

More than 15 years I learned all functions, statement, tips and tricks fro apps development by using IMHO best RAD tool Visual Foxpro. I worked also with very old version FoxPro for Windows 2.6 and later jumped into speed wagon of Visuals. Amazing tool, simple and powerfully! But my luck got its dead end. Big M$ announced end of support and I stuck in my apps development for desktop computer (client & server too). What now? I tried Lianja demo but short time for research, planned PolarFox too but no demo version. How to use the knowledge gained in working with WFP, is there a similar tool for development that has the same or similar philosophy of development? Thanks.

Answer 1

VB.net with Either Visual Basic or C# shouldn't be that hard to pick up for you. The hardest part of programming is understanding what you can do, not what the language your only know is. If you can program in one language picking up another shouldn't be that hard.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say the product is dead simply because Big M$ no longer supports it. I agree that you will make yourself more marketable by learning VB or C#, but I continue to get job and contract offers from companies that want to keep their legacy systems or at least maintain them for a few years while migrating to one of the .NET languages with SQL Server on the back end. The main difference in the market for me is that where 20 years ago I could find clients within walking distance of my home, I now need to be open to temporary or permanent relocation.

Answer 3

Thank you man. I also thought as you suggested and at first I planned to continue with VB.Net (as I'm familiar with VB6) but some day MS HQ could decide to "kill" VB in favor of some other language they push hard. I dare to think that MS shut down VFP just to remove VB.Net opponent. Sad, VFP was flagship of database driven apps development. VB is 2 steps behind. Today is hard to avoid big MS and its tools, but as you said, everyone need some alternative from other company. Maybe Linux & Android.

Answer 4

There are many good choices out there. I was disappointed at how, after investing many years mastering VFP, Microsoft abandoned it, so I abandoned Microsoft. Today I use Linux only and develop financial applications with PHP and MySql.



Pick another language/platform, and start working with it. Eventually you can get a job using it, and in a few short years you can master it just like you mastered VFP.