DevBlog

I attended college at Utah State. This is a mid-major college that plays in the Big West conference. For the past six weeks, USU has been ranked by both college coaches and sportswriters as one of the top 25 college teams in the country. Yet, because it is in a mid-major conference, it's hopes of being in the "Big Dance" were smashed yesterday when it became the 66th team in a field of 65. A 25-3 record means nothing. Nationally ranked means nothing. Predictions by many "experts" means nothing. Being in a mid-major conference means everything. It means that to get into the big dance you must win your conference tournament. The joke around Utah is that "March Madness" describes the state of mind of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. So, Utah State is now the favorite to win the second tier conference, the National Invitational Tournament.

What does this have to do with VFP? Like the Aggies, VFP doesn't get much respect. Users applauding it abilities mean nothing. Applications developed in VFP winning awards means nothing. Not being a .NET language means everything. VFP is often ignored, even within Microsoft. The latest snub appears in a PowerPoint presentation titled "Microsoft Programming Languages Roadmap", reportedly designed by Microsoft for use by .NET user groups. The Properties dialog for the slide pack says it was done by Ed Kaim, a Microsoft employee. This presentation should be called "Roadmap for Some of Microsoft's Programming Languages" as VFP is not even mentioned.

So, VFP will always sit among the mid-majors of developer languages. Once in a while, it will get some glory, as Utah State did by being nationally ranked this season for the first time in 30 years. However, the outlook for Utah State is good. In two years, it will join the ranks of the major conferences by becoming a member of the Western Athletic Conference. For VFP to get there, it would need to be a .NET language...a prospect that I don't want to happen. But that is a topic for a different post.