Where do you want to go today
Download as PPT, PDF1 like521 views
Mike Feltman discusses the future of Visual FoxPro and opportunities for developers. He notes that while VFP's future is limited due to lack of investment from Microsoft, developers can continue working with VFP and expand into related technologies like web development, SQL Server, and JavaScript. Feltman also reviews popular programming languages and databases, noting that .NET and Java have large job markets but steep learning curves, while emerging languages like Ruby show promise but smaller markets currently. He encourages developers to continue learning new skills that meet business needs and deliver value to clients.
More Related Content
What's hot (20)
Similar to Where do you want to go today (20)
Where do you want to go today
- 1. Where Do You Want to Go Today? Mike Feltman
- 2. About me President F1 Technologies Working in Xbase Languages for the last 19 years
- 3. Not a Hater Work in Microsoft products all day, every day Use all MS operating systems Love VFP, Frontpage, SQL Server Many friends & contacts at Microsoft
- 4. Agenda VFPs Future Is Limited Extending Opportunities for VFP Pros & Cons of Various Other Languages The Job Market for Developers Other IT Jobs
- 5. VFPs Future Is Limited Microsoft is not making significant investment in development Microsoft is not making any investment in marketing A product not marketed by its own manufacturer cannot succeed long term Job Opportunities are limited
- 6. Extending Opportunities for VFP Keep your current customers happy Vertical market software Get into web development Participate in VFPX Increase your exposure Sell business solutions, not technology Be willing to do maintenance work
- 7. A Language is a Language Most business needs can be met in any programming language Religious wars are silly and a waste of time Advocates have ulterior motives Many (maybe most) features often go unused
- 8. Where do YOU want to go today? .NET C# & VB (Microsoft.com) Java (Sun.COM) C/C++ (microsoft.com, borland.com) PHP (php.net) PERL (perl.org) JavaScript (http://www.mozilla.org/js/) Python (python.org) Ruby (ruby-lang.org)
- 9. .NET Pros Definitely where Microsoft wants you to go today Like buying IBM in the 80s Big Job Market Lots of Opportunity Cross Platform (Linux workalikes?, .NET compact framework) Highly capable, tons of features Lots of tools, frameworks, publications, etc. available Can Interop with VFP Desktop & Web
- 10. .NET Cons Steep Learning Curve Constantly Changing Little Regard for Backward Compatibility Steep Competition for Jobs Geared towards teams, not individuals Not as productive as VFP Immature 3rd Party Market Shrinking Job Market?
- 11. Java Pros Backed by Big Companies such as SUN, IBM & Oracle By Far the Largest Developer Job Market Growing Job Market Lots of Opportunity Cross Platform (Linux, Unix, Phones, PDAs) Lots of tools, frameworks, publications, etc. available Highly capable Mature 3rd Party Market Backward Compatibility Desktop & Web
- 12. Java Cons Steep Learning Curve Most development is not on Windows (Unix, Linux) Steep Competition for Jobs Geared towards teams, not individuals Not as productive as VFP Desktop apps are generally slow, Java is primarily geared for the web.
- 13. C, C++ Pros Makes learning anything else easy No limits Lots of opportunity Cross Platform Cross Vendor Lots of add-ons, frameworks, toolkits, etc. Desktop & Web Not going away
- 14. C, C++ Cons Steep Learning Curve Low Productivity Not really for business apps Makes your brain hurt
- 15. PHP Pros Open Source Cross Platform Backed by large vendors such as IBM & Oracle Tons of tools, frameworks, publications, etc. Widely Supported Cross Platform Rapidly Growing Job Market Easy to Learn Backward Compatible Commercial Compiler available
- 16. PHP Cons Open Source Smaller Job Market Most development is not on Windows (Linux) Not as robust as .NET or Java Low Priced Competition for work Web Only (at present)
- 17. PERL Pros Open Source Large, Growing Job Market Cross Platform (Windows, UNIX, Mac, Linux) Tons of tools, frameworks, publications, etc. Easy to Learn?
- 18. PERL Cons Open Source Older Technology (around since 1987) Not as robust as .NET or Java
- 19. JavaScript Pros Hot! Rapidly expanding job market Cross Platform Lots of tools, frameworks, resources, tools, etc. Cross-Platform Standards based Needed for most web application development Will probably never go away Backward compatible Generally needed for any web project
- 20. JavaScript Cons Limited OOP Support Quirky Web Only Client-side only, runs in browser Not for enterprise applications No major vendors pushing it forward directly, up to browser implementations
- 21. Python Pros Open Source Easy to learn Growing Job Market DABO (dabodev.com) Cross Platform Desktop & Internet Fair # of Tools, Frameworks, etc.
- 22. Python Cons Small Job Market Limited Opportunity Not widely used for business applications Fewer Tools, Frameworks, etc. than many others No major corporate backing
- 23. Ruby Pros Growing Job Market Exciting Possibilities VFP Like (& Beyond) Productivity Cross Platform (Mac, Windows, Linux) Ruby on Rails is rapidly emerging Easy to learn Totally free Open Source Internet & Desktop
- 24. Ruby Cons Open Source No large corporate backing (although its used heavily by Google) Seems that most developers are on Macs Very new Job Market is very small No real IDE & Limited Tools (although thats part of the appeal) In its infancy for desktop apps
- 25. The Job Market Studied available positions for the last 6 months in various technologies Programming Languages: C#, VB, Java, PHP, Delphi, Coldfusion, Ruby, C++, Javascript, PERL, FoxPro, Python Databases: SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Sybase, DB2 Based on Dice.com, CareerBuilder.com and hotjobs.com
- 26. The Programmer Job Market Language Jobs Share Growth % Growth C# 10,109 9% (866) -9% VB 7,223 7% (3,958) -55% Java 39,546 37% 4,927 12% PHP 4,166 4% 1,001 24% Delphi 546 1% 49 9% AJAX 2,654 2% 1,502 57% Cold Fusion 1,465 1% (299) -20% RUBY 666 1% 203 30% C++ 16,605 15% (2,787) -17% JavaScript 10,295 10% 931 9% PERL 11,659 11% 1,154 10% FoxPro 305 0% (16) -5% Python 1,965 2% 103 5% Total 107,204 100% 1,944 2% .NET 17,332 16% (4,824) -28%
- 27. Database Jobs Database Jobs Share Growth % Growth SQL Server 23,127 34% (1,384) -6% Oracle 41,425 61% 3,264 8% MySQL 3,253 5% 649 20% Sybase 3,870 6% (333) -9% DB2 7,365 11% 706 10% Total 67,805 100% 2,529 4%
- 28. Other IT Jobs Project Manager Network Engineer Systems Architect CIO/CTO
- 29. What am I doing Working like crazy in VFP really no end in sight to my VFP work Doing JavaScript, AJAX, DOM, CSS work in conjunction with VFP Learning more and more SQL Server all the time Keeping my eyes on PHP, Ruby & .NET
- 30. What You Should Do Make a business decision Where will you get the most ROI? How can you deliver the most value to your clients? Start to learn other technologies now Read Get Tools, especially frameworks
- 31. Dont Be a Hater! Youll Go Hungry Employers & Customers like optimism Make Informed Business Decisions
- 32. Summary Its possible to be gainfully employed in VFP for a long time There are opportunities in a lot of other technologies .NET should be given very strong consideration, but its not the only thing out there. Make decisions that are right for you
- 33. Thank you! Remember to fill out your session evaluation. Session slides, white paper, and code samples will be updated.