Tag Archives | FoxPro

A post on the GotDotNet web site, at http://gotdotnet.com/team/vfp/vfp_eula_runtime.txt:

Visual FoxPro was designed and tested for use in creating
applications that run on the Microsoft Windows platform; the
same applies to the components that are provided to
developers for redistribution with Visual FoxPro-based
applications. If a developer wishes to distribute the Visual
FoxPro runtime with an application, the runtime may only
operate in conjunction with a Microsoft Windows platform. As
with any contract, you should seek your own legal counselâs
advice when interpreting your rights and obligations under
the Visual FoxPro End User License Agreement.

The URL has been posted at the Universal Thread with the following:

Ken Levy Posts VFP EULA Info April 26, 2003 11:26
From KenLevy: “I have been asked to post the following information on a few VFP community sites. I will not be commenting further on this issue. Thanks. Ken Levy, Visual FoxPro Product Manager, Microsoft”

Half the attendees were new this year, of 240 attendees.

VFP Road to Visual FoxPro 8.0

• Base it on wish list customer feedbvack
  
• Add new runtime features – end users
  
• Enhance SQL Server connectivitity
  
• Increase .NET interoperability
  
• Maintain backward compatibility

Goals – Overview

• Better smart / rich client (85% are desktop apps)
  
• Improved Distributed client (XML .NET, SQL Server connectibity)
  
• Improved Developer Productivity (new base classes, error handling)
  
• Increase Discoverability (navigation, documentation) – Task Pane, ToolBox

New News Item: VFP 8.0 Localization –

• VFP 8.0 Runtime Distribution Files
  German, Spanish, French, Russioan, Korean, Chinese
  
• VFP 8.0 Development Version – English
  
• This week: added the documentation to the Localization Kit.

Productivity Enhancement

• – Taskpane
  
• – Toolbox
  
• – Empty Classs
  
• – Add Property() an RemoveProperty()
  
• – Collection Classs
  
• – Structured Error Handling – TRY/CATCH/FINALLY
  
• – Event Binding – BINDEVENT() and RAISEEVENT()

Productivity Enhancements

• GetFile() dialog
  
• Auto-increment
  
• Table designer
  
• View Designer
  
• Child Member subclassing
  
• VCX support for more classes
  
• Many new features for Grid Control
  
• Code References Tool

New Report Writer Features
Page x of Y (many more)

XMLAdaptor

• Beyond XMLtoCursor/CursorToXML
  
• Hierarchical XML support
  
• Multiple VFP data cursors to XML
  
• XML to multuiple VFP data cursors
  
• XML diffgrams
  
• VFP data cursors, table, DBC
  
• ADO.NET compatible
  
• XMLTable and XML Field classes
  
• Full control of XSDschema used
  
• XML: The Universal Language

{Multi-language video showing Havier, and three other members of the development team explaining multiple data strategies in Russian, Hindu and Spanish – cute, but he had to explain it}

Cursor Adaptor Class

• Similar to DataAdaptor in ADO.NET
  
  • -ADO/OLEDB
    
  • -ODBC
    
  • -Native VFP cursors
    
  • -XML and XML Web Services

• Programmable events
  
• Stored procedures control

New Data Features

• DataEnvironement Subclassings
  
• DataEnvironment Builder
  
• CursorAdaptor Class
  
• CursorAdaptor Builder
  
• XMLAdaptor class
  
• Form BindControls property
  
• Enhanced VFP OLE DB Provider
  
• VFP 8.0 and VS.NET interoperability

VFP 8.0 XML Web Services

• OLEDB
  
• ASP.NET
  
• WinForm
  
• Phone
  
• Pocket PC
  
• Tablet PC

VFP 8.0 Performance
Loop of 10,000 instantiations of a custom object

in VFP 7.0: 24.5 seconds
in VFP 8.0: 0.45 seconds

Demo of FoxPro 8.0
– Toolbox

VFP 8.0 Features – laundry list of 14 bullet points in teeny fonts on features

VFP 8.0 and .NET

• Works well with VS.NET
  
• Greatly enhanced XML Support
  
• XML Web service
  
• ADO.NET
  
• VFP OLE DB Provider
  
• ASP.NET web forms
  
• .NET Windows forms
  
• Visual FoxPro Toolkit for .NET
  
• VFP and .net teams work together

VS .NET 2003 – released yesterday
(9 bullet points)

• smart devices
  
• web devices
  
• .NET Framework 1.1
  
• Deploying to Windows Server 2003
  
• Easy migration from existing .NET Framework 1.0 appliacations
  
• new managed data provides

Visual Studio Tools for Office
Extends .NET development to Office 2003
Developers using Visual Studeo 2003 can write code to run in Word and Excel

VFP Website – what’s new

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro
  
• Coming soon: New VFP 8.0 Evaluation Guide
  
• Consistency with related product sites
  
• Updated VFP OLE DB Provider
  
• VFP 8.0 samples, slides and tutorials
  
• New VFP 8.0 Whitepapers
  
• Task Pane, Toolbox, TabletPC

Biggest news week on the MSDN site, with the VS.NET release, VFP 8.0 is the top headline

Demo: MSDN VFP web site, GotDotNet, VFoxPro, Community Site

Video: Eric Rudder video endorsement (http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/vfp/)

Ken met with Eric on Monday and talked about features for Europa

• New feature list/preview
  
• – Background compile in the current line
  
• – Dockable User Forms
  
• – Anchor properties for controls
  
• – Word-Wrap for CheckBox captions
  
• – Array limit large that 65K
  
• – Command Button Picture Spacing/Position
  
• – Intellisense available in memo fields
  
• – SELECT: >9 Joins, Multiple Nested Queries
  
• – More designer hooks for extensibility
  
• – Significant enhancements to Report Writer!!! (Appluase)

Demo: Line-by-line compile,
Anchor Properties let forms size “naturally” as expected in a form. 16 options vertical and horizontal for each control, Checkbox caption wrapping

Summary and Call to Action

• Great new features in VFP 8.0
  
• VFP 8/.0 works great with SQL Server
  
• VFP 8.0 works great with VS .NET
  
• Commitment to VFP and community
  
• VFP 8.0 8.0 is the emost stable version ever
  
• MSDN Subscriptions for professionals
  
• Be active in FoxPro communtiy
  
• Talk about VFP 8.0!!!

(Applause)

From FoxCentral.Net: CoDe Magazine Focus: Visual FoxPro 8.0. “This special edition of CoDe Magazine focusing entirely on Visual FoxPro 8.0 which was significantly subsidized by Microsoft. This 72 page issue of CoDe Magazine contains detailed articles on Visual FoxPro 8.0 to complement upcoming technical whitepapers and content coming soon to the MSDN Library and the http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro Visual FoxPro Web site. The content is technical resources for developers who are evaluating or using Visual FoxPro 8.0. And all the articles are online at http://code-magazine.com/focus.”

Hmm. I was surprised when I heard that a “special edition” of CoDE magazine was being issued, and that it was subsidized by Microsoft. While I know the authors, editor and publisher personally, and have no doubt about their personal integrity, the idea of creating a magazine that looks like your regular edition but is in fact paid for by one of your largest advertisers has to bring out questions of journalistic conflict-of-interest. In addition, I find it strange that Microsoft chose this one magazine, and did not fund similar rollout editions of the competition, FoxTalk or FoxPro Advisor. I’m looking forward to the magazine and how they addressed these issues.

From FoxCentral.Net: Visual FoxPro 8.0 Featured on Microsoft PressPass. A detailed press announcement called New Microsoft Visual FoxPro 8.0 Driven By Customer Feedback has been posted on Microsoft PressPass and submitted to journalists world-wide for education on Microsoft’s release of Visual FoxPro 8.0. The article contains quotes from Eric Rudder (senior vice president of the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft), Brian Jones (vice president of DPRA Inc.), and a brief case study of an award winning Visual FoxPro application.

From FoxCentral.Net: Visual FoxPro Web Site Updated. “The Microsoft Visual FoxPro Web site has been updated with new information and links for Visual FoxPro 8.0. There are weekly updates planned for the Visual FoxPro Web site and next month the following is just some of the content added for Visual FoxPro 8.0: New Evaluation Guide, new whitepapers, new sample downloads, updated free downloadable VFP 8.0 OLE DB provider with small enhancements from the version included in Visual FoxPro 8.0, and more. Refer to http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro for more details. “

The ongoing difficulties with interpreting the Visual FoxPro EULA have brought forth clearly the problems with End User Licensing Agreements and the rights of consumers.

Last week, as part of installing a new cable modem, the technician needed to install software on my machine to activate the modem (I ensured he did remove it afterwards). As part of the install, a great big page of 4 point legalese popped up, to which he just clicked “Agree” and continued. Now, who is obligated to that license? Not me. I never touched the machine. Not him, the license was probably addressed to the owner of the box. However, I am probably liable for it, and I’ve got a lot less money to hire lawyers to debate it than the cable company does.

In the two most recent versions of Visual FoxPro, a number of the rules have changed, and I am sure most VFP developers are not aware of the rule changes:

• An upgrade now (in VFP8) requires that you uninstall the previous version of the software, nonsense to developer who need to support their customers. Link here, here and here.

• VFP8 (and 7 as well, I believe) can only be distributed using their MSM files and the Microsoft Installer technology. This is a limit by license, and not a technological hurdle. Many developers install their applications by dragging and dropping a few DLLs and registering a few of them. This, and technology that competes with the Microsoft Installer technology, appears to be improper.

• Microsoft runtime DLLs must run “in conjunction:” with the Microsoft Windows platform. I’m not sure what that means. On top of? On a machine with the OS installed (dual boot?)? Whil Hentzen’s taken the point postion on this question (as I blogged here and is waiting on an answer…

• On the flip side, it looks like the IDE can be installed on non-Microsoft Windows platforms, a loophole I expect to be closed soon. Running VFP on Wine is here , here and here.

• Finally, the ultimate question: is any of this enforceable? Can Microsoft tie their applications to their platform? Are EULAs and click-through licenses legal?

  This is not what I get paid by my clients to figure out, although perhaps it must be, for the duration. I suppose clients need to be just as careful to follow the terms of OSI licenses as well.