Microsoft Visual FoxPro . It is a Programming Language object – oriented and procedural, a manager of System Databases and Database Management System (DBMS), and since version 7.0, an administrator System relational databases produced by Microsoft .
Summary
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- 1 Story
- 2 Features
- 3 Features of the latest version
- 4 Create applications
- 1 What you can do
- 5 External links
- 6 Sources
History
Rumors that Microsoft plans to end support for FoxPro have been common since its acquisition of the product, despite the fact that it has had the longest support lifetime for a Microsoft product (until 2014 ). VFP 9 was launched on 17 December of the 2004 and Fox team then worked on a project code – named Sedna. This was built on the base code of VFP 9 and consisted mainly of Xbase components that supported a number of interoperable scenarios with various Microsoft technologies, including SQL Server 2005 , .NET, WinFX, Windows Vista and Office 12. Unfortunately the project did not prosper and was canceled by Microsoft.
A company called etecnologia “www.etecnologia.net” has developed the .NET EXTENDER that allows you to use the .net framework in Visual FoxPro, and they have announced that in late 2009 they are going to release their “VFP Developer Studio” tool that converts to VFP in a .Net language. As of May 31, 2009, this product already supports 92% of VFP commands and functions and can be purchased for $ 250.00.
Currently, although Microsoft has decided not to continue with Microsoft Visual FoxPro, there is a community of developers that continues to work on it, PortalFox and Mundo Visual FoxPro are the most important among Spanish-speaking developers.
The vast majority of Visual FoxPro programmers are reluctant to stop programming in this language because they consider it to be a very powerful, versatile and robust tool that allows them to create applications as powerful and even more stable than those created by other languages.
characteristics
Visual foxPro version 9.0 offers developers a set of tools to create database applications for the desktop, client / server environments, tablet PCs or the Web.
It offers powerful and very fast capabilities for handling native and remote data. Flexibility to create all kinds of database solutions. Object Oriented Programming Language. Use of SQL Statements natively. Powerful handling of views, cursors and complete control of relational structures.
Your own built-in database manager. However, it can also connect to database servers, such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or MySQL .
It features a revamped and highly flexible reporting engine for more robust solutions. Since version 9.0, extensive XML support , both as a data source (eg, XML-based Web services) and for generating reports in XML format. Since version 7.0, support for Microsoft IntelliSense technology.
Features of the latest version
Initially, the release of a new version called ‘Sedna’ was planned, which was intended to be a powerful and complete language, interacting even more with VisualStudio.net, SQLServer2005, SQLExpress2005 and Office12, having in turn support for Windows Vista. Later it was learned that there will be a next version (Message to the VFP community). Microsoft has canceled their development and released what they have done so far as add-ons in conjunction with service pack 2, both for now in Beta version ( SP2 and “Sedna” – Beta). Likewise, according to Microsoft’s support policies, it will continue to support the product until 2015.
There is a MasFoxPro movement that is pushing for Microsoft to continue or leave Visual FoxPro as open source so that other people can continue to evolve it.
Visual FoxPro version 9.0 has SP1 and (newer) SP2 (in English) in which there are some new features and especially provide stability to the product.
Application creation
You can quickly program applications with the help of Visual FoxPro wizards, generators, toolbars, and designers. Plus, with Visual FoxPro’s event and object models, you can quickly prototype and deploy authentic applications.
Using wizards and generators, you can finish all components, or any one, in a few minutes. Also, if a component created with a wizard or generator does not fully meet your needs, you can modify the component using a designer. Create apps
If you want to get results quickly, wizards are the solution. They provide detailed step-by-step instructions for the common tasks you perform with Visual FoxPro. For example, the Table Wizard guides you through the process of creating a table, the Form Wizard explains how to create a form, and the Web Publishing Wizard helps you create a Web page that searches your tables.
What you can do
- Schedule applications instantly Using the Application Wizard, you can quickly create an application using its tables or forms, or a set of application component samples.
- Create a Web page for the Internet You can create a Web page that gives Internet users access to search and retrieve their tables.
- Adding page frames to forms If you choose more fields that can fit on the form, you can add a page frame to display the additional fields on additional pages.
- Populating PivotTables Using ODBC The PivotTable Wizard uses the Visual FoxPro ODBC driver.
- Displaying null values in a crosstab report The crosstab wizard now supports displaying null values.
- Moving your data to an application server You can move Visual FoxPro databases, tables and views from your system to an application server with the SQL Server Upsizing Wizard.
Like other Microsoft applications, Visual FoxPro includes toolbars for your convenience. Toolbars contain buttons that represent common tasks or frequently used objects. To perform a certain task or to use a specific object, choose the corresponding button.
You can customize the toolbars included in Visual FoxPro. You can also define custom toolbars for the applications you write. For more information about toolbars, see Customize the Visual FoxPro environment or Design menus and toolbars.
