Apache Flex vs. Visual FoxPro (Discontinued)

Apache Flex is an open-source SDK used to make rich Internet applications. It's developed with Action Script and MXML and works particularly well with Android and iOS ecosystems. Any flash-based application framework, such as Eclipse or the Flash above Builder, can be used to implement this. Free is best for mobile app developers, but suppose you have concerns, and consider Apache Flex's development team welcomes any questions via email.

Incentivized

Legacy applications already on VFP are a good candidate. If you plan to move to iOS and Android apps, VFP is not for you. Also, in future access to VFP programmers may be limited. You could use VFP as a powerful database tool. I know of many programmers who love to exploit the features of VFP to create easy to use applications.

• Runs on flash (at the time this was handy, not so much now. hah).
• Good support from the company.
• Ability to run offline.

Incentivized

• Treat data from files
• Reporting

Incentivized

• It's heavy as it needs to load the Flash plugin first before rendering anything to the user.
• Not future ready as there is no support for mobile and tablet platforms.

Incentivized

• Microsoft stopped selling this and stopped supporting it in 2014. It still works on Windows 10, but if you have a problem, you are on your own.
• The look and feel of screens and displayed text is getting a little dated.
• It's really designed for desktop/server environments rather than the cloud.

Incentivized

There are several easy to use and powerful features of VFP that programmers like.

Although MS has discontinued support of VFP there is a good community of programmers that are available for help. In fact we have several programmers at Apptread that are skilled not only in VFP but also .NET so that if there is a need to migrate some parts of applications to .NET , it is easy for us to do that.

Apache Flex is a modern, standards-based programming language that supports common design patterns. It's an open-source SDK used to make rich Internet applications that work on different browsers and platforms. Any flash-based application framework, such as Eclipse or the Flash above Builder, can be used to implement this. So far, in comparison, it's much more crucial, especially for people working in fields like mobile development.

Incentivized

We are only using FoxPro because it is the only way to add custom plugins into the software we use to manage our stock. FoxPro is a semi-oriented object language and should clearly not be compared with recent technologies.

Incentivized

• Positive: Easy to learn if you already knew AS.
• Negative: Too heavy on flash knowledge (I know it's contradictory, but it was a plus & a minus).
• ROI was great since it saves time on multiple devices compiling.

Incentivized

• Positive impact is that the value of FoxPro applications has continued to increase over the years, so we are in high demand for our services.
• Negative impact is that sometimes you have difficult to support scenarios where you might have to spend many hours to just keep something functional.
• A negative impact is that this language is taught in very few places, either in schools, or private learning centers.

Incentivized