LA Fox Presidents Column

The LA Fox Developer Newsletter

LA Fox President’s Column (con’t from p.2)

between Microsoft and Sybase, the inventors of SQL Server.

If the database server evolution splits in two directions, I happen to think that the Microsoft branch would be stronger, in spite of the much heralded features of the recently released Sybase System 10. Microsoft will be focused on a single operating system - Windows NT, their own operating system

- where they can take full advantage of the OS strengths in integrating the database server, as they have already done in the current version of SQL Server for NT. A Microsoft SQL Server will have the advantage of Microsoft technology in the interface area with things like Object Manager, Remote Access Service, remote administration, and Rapid Application Development tools, and can add things like Replication Service at the OS level, and can already run nicely on Risc platforms with SMP. 1 don’t think the current emphasis on SQL Server will jeopardize the FoxPro world - they are both excellent tools for their appropriate domains, which overlap to some degree but which are largely separate domains. SQL Server is aimed at mission critical solutions in corporate environments, where security, data integrity and central ized administration are much more important requirements, and where hardware platforms, networks, development staffs and budgets are all much bigger and more expensive than in the FoxPro world.

Chris Capossela gave a short but tantalizing demonstration of FoxPro 3. It is much too early in the development cycle to be complete or specific in such a demonstration, but he showed enough evidence to make me believe the plan we have been hearing from Microsoft since the last FoxPro Devcon. There was evidence of Visual Basic constructs like property windows and event handling, and things like user defined classes. I think he said a Windows NT version - but maybe I’m just wishing. I think we are witnessing the convergence that Dave Fulton described, where we end up with an integrated set of software components containing a common set of design and development tools and with developers choice of programming languages - Basic, C++, or FoxPro - and choice of database engines - SQL Server, Access Jet Engine, or FoxPro.

The International Database Interchange is a multi-day, multi-track conference put on by the “Advisor” magazine publishers, which covers FoxPro, Access, and Visual Basic. The agenda is similar to a Developer Conference, with technical sessions at several levels presented by top level consultants and trainers. The conference will be held in Palm Desert on April 24 through 27. Brochures are available at the user meeting, or you can get information and register at 800

MicroMega Systems is sponsoring a one day seminar on April 29 for advanced developers on building FoxPro screens and menus using GenScmX and GenMenuX. The speaker is Steven Black. The price is not bad but you have to buy a plane ticket to San Francisco. You can register at (415) 346-5757.

Microsoft is hosting a one day technical briefing called

a Windows Strategy Seminar featuring Chicago (the

forthcoming version of Windows), OLE 2, and the Win

32 API. This is not a sales pitch, it is aimed at application developers. Locally it will be given in Orange

County at the DisneyLand Hotel on May 6. Call (800)

677-6979 to register. The price is $125.

The FoxPro Users Conference will be held again this year in Minneapolis from Sunday June 19 through June 21. This conference has become an annual event that features many of the same speakers and topics as the official FoxPro Developer Conference, including George Goley, Lisa Slater, Alan Gnver, Dick Bard, Randy Brown, Bob Grommes, David Kalman, John Hawkins, Alan Schwartz, Mohsen Moazami, and our own star of stage, screen and radio (mostly screen) - Ken Levy. It is a two day conference complete with trade show, third party vendor presentations, and strong support from Microsoft. If you want to hear from the best in the FoxPro world, this is a good place to do it. I will have brochures at the user meeting, and you can register at (800) - 486 - 8028.

If you want classroom training, The Information Management Group offers a series of multi-day FoxPro courses focused on the Power Tools , which will be held in Los Angeles in May and July. I have a brochure with course descriptions and dates. You can register at (800) 922-2019. They also offer two Advanced FoxPro development courses but you have to go to Chicago (the city in Illinois) for those.