Visual FoxPro - Introduction

A simple program in visual foxpro programming language.



Visual FoxPro is a data-centric object-oriented programming language by Microsoft. It is derived from FoxPro which was developed by Fox Software beginning in 1984; FoxPro merged with Microsoft in 1992 and the software acquired further features and the prefix "Visual".
Foxpro is a member of the class of languages commenly refered to as "xBase" languages, which have syntax based on the dBase programming language. Other members of the xBase language family include Clipper, dBase, and Recital.

Visual FoxPro, also known as VFP, runs under Microsoft Windows and is mainly used to write desktop database applications running on Windows; it can be used to write fat client, middleware, and web applications.

In late 2002, it was demonstrated that Visual FoxPro can run on Linux under the Windows emulator Wine. In 2003, this led to complaints by Microsoft: it was claimed that the deployment of FoxPro code on non-Windows machines violates the End User License Agreement.

Rumors suggesting that Microsoft intends to end support for Foxpro have been common since Microsoft's aqquisition of the product. As of 2004, Foxpro remains in active development by Microsoft with version nine (Europa) planned for release sometime during 2004. The volume of new programs written in Foxpro has decreased recently, matching the increase in popularity of .net applications.