Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development
    • Networking

    Microsoft Puts FoxPro Out to Pasture

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    March 13, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Microsoft has announced that it will not be releasing any new versions of its Visual FoxPro development software past Version 9.0, but the company will continue to support the technology through 2015.

      Instead of releasing new versions of FoxPro, Microsoft will release core portions of the FoxPro software to its CodePlex community development site, said Alan Griver, a group manager within the Microsoft Visual Studio team, which leads the FoxPro team.

      Microsoft will continue to support the Visual FoxPro core until 2015 with standard support through January 2010 and extended support through January 2015 via the developer tools life-cycle support plan, Microsoft officials said.

      Meanwhile, some of the FoxPro-related technology can be seen in other Microsoft products such as SQL Server, Team Foundation Server and various portions of the .Net Framework, Griver said. Indeed, some observers have said they could detect a link between FoxPro and Microsofts LINQ (Language Integrated Query) technology.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifGuru Jakob Nielsen offers advice on designing applications for usability. Click here to watch the video.

      Griver said the FoxPro development team will be spread out across various groups in the Microsoft Developer Division, including those working on Visual Studio—including the upcoming next major release of Visual Studio, code-named “Orcas,” and beyond.

      “We believe that by working with the community to continue to allow the FoxPro technology to be enhanced, that will help” developers who currently have projects written in FoxPro, Griver said.

      The FoxPro community has been very active in adding functionality to the platform, building an Outlook control bar for FoxPro, support for MSBuild and a code checking tool similar to the FXCop tool that exists for Visual Studio.

      Meanwhile, Microsoft has been working on “Sedna,” which is the code name for the project that takes advantage of enhancements in Visual FoxPro 9.0. The primary goal of Sedna is to expand on the ability of Visual FoxPro-based solutions to better integrate with other Microsoft products and technologies, such as Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and Windows Vista.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifClick here to read about how FoxPro developers are prepping for Microsofts “Sedna.”

      Microsoft will release its Sedna technologies on CodePlex, and the company is working on a Service Pack of Visual FoxPro for Windows Vista that takes advantage of the Aero user interface, Griver said. That update will be released this summer.

      Dave Dierke, president and CEO of AccountMate Software, in Novato, Calif., a Microsoft partner steeped in FoxPro, said Microsoft has been signaling its intent to drop FoxPro for some time.

      “Weve been watching this shoe dropping for years,” Dierke said, noting that AccountMate is one of Microsofts largest FoxPro partners.

      “Our code is large; its like the Queen Mary of FoxPro,” Dierke said. “We have years and years of strict discipline here, and almost all of our engineers are CPAs.” So with a view toward the future, “We started transitioning off of Visual FoxPro and started using some of the new development tools” in Microsofts .Net stack, Dierke said.

      Tommy Tan, chief technology officer at AccountMate, said the company will most likely transform its development to Visual Basic.Net.

      “There are no pure conversions to convert FoxPro code to .Net, so we basically have to rewrite a lot of things,” Tan said. “But Microsoft has introduced a lot of new features to do subsystems with .Net components” that can be read from FoxPro, he said.

      Tan mentioned the VFPConversion.com site as a place where developers can go for help.

      “Visual FoxPro is a great tool, but so are Visual Studio (.Net) and SQL Server,” says a blurb on the VFPConversion.com site. “If you would like to convert your current VFP project (or parts of it) to Visual Studio (.Net) and/or SQL Server, you have come to the right place. … This site contains various resources to support the FoxPro and VFP communities in enhancing their Visual FoxPro applications and adopt[ing] the latest technologies available from Microsoft, or if desired in converting applications from FoxPro to the Microsoft .Net platform.”

      Dierke said he is aware that some of the FoxPro developer base will be “feeling some pain, because there has been a cult-like following, but they are also technologists first and this may give them further opportunities.”

      Indeed, “it may be a good thing for the industry,” Dierke said. And some may welcome the change. At AccountMate, “it was getting harder and harder to keep some of our younger engineers excited about developing in FoxPro,” he said.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis in programming environments and developer tools.

      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×