Monday, September 22, 2008

VFP to .Net Armageddon

I cobbled up an article for VFUG about how Fox folks could apply legacy skills to web development in VS.Net I have to admit, though, that I could only get into the grossest points of the topic since it's a "mile-wide" topic and no single article does it justice.

Frankly, I'm not qualified to write a series of articles on all the particulars because I'm still figuring out a lot of it for myself. I'm heartened by my findings that my legacy skills as a Fox coder since 1986 are translateable but it'll take me years to become an authoritative source on the subject matter in totality.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a disconnect between early adopters of .Net from the VFP ranks and the rank and file. I'm not sure why. It may be that the general feeling is that the early adopters have it all figured out and are talking down to the VFP base. I know that's not the intent and I'm not trying to flame anyone.

Do we need a VFP to .Net bootcamp? I think so. Not some marketing BS or a con that glosses over topics but an honest to goodness Marine Corps style bootcamp? Hands-on, bring your laptops, share, explore, learn???

Some feedback, folks? I'd love to organize such an event but your valuable comments will help sway my decision.

5 comments:

Victor said...

I totally agree, there is a need for a "true" VFP to .NET bootcamp, the question is, which flavor of .NET would it be geared towards? C# or maybe VB.Net? I find C# more in tune with VFP than VB.Net ... what do you think?

Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike said...

Hi John,

I'm sure you're familiar with the VFPConversion classes from EPS Software, and probably other training opportunities as well. In what areas do you see room for improvement over what may already be available? A course that's a lot longer and more in-depth, maybe?

FWIW, I am also interested in such a course, though I don't really know how soon I would want to do it.

Anonymous said...

ABSOLUTELY we need such a bootcamp. And, if I'm able to be there, I will be.

Gonzo said...

Hi Mike and others.

I think an event like this would be focused on VB.Net since that is the language that could be used in sessions without spending time on explaining language conventions as one would have to for C# (curly braces, case sensitivity, etc).

The goal would be to give the foundations to reasonably experienced VFP developers to be able to create simple webpages and explore from there.

No attempt to get people to the equivalent functionality, just a guidepost on how to wrap your brain around the concepts and architecture.

I can't speak authoritatively on what EPS is doing but it seems that they are far more commercial and far-reaching technically than what I am suggesting.

Ideally, what I'm talking about is a 2 day affair where people come to town with their laptops and are placed into coached teams towards web-development goals with expert coaches. A friendly, cooperative environment. And cheap, too, hold fees down to as low as possible.