Request to the Fox Community

Hey FoxFolks,

I get lots of really nice feedback when I post walkthroughs on SQL Server Reporting Services stuff here, and I also get some generally-useful suggestions for new walkthroughs and similar stuff that I can post for the RS community, if I have information to share.

From the VFP community, I don’t.  I don’t even get any opinions on which of the unfinished TMM articles I should prioritize.

I occasionally get a request e-mail to share some Fox information privately.  I can’t do that.  Even when I used to be a consultant to VFP developers, I couldn’t do that; my rule was always “I’ll help you publicly for free, or you gotta hire me.”  You can surely see why.

Now, the situation is even worse, although the reasons why might not be as obvious (that’s why I’m posting about it!).  I have very limited time to do this, and whatever information I supply has got to help everybody equally and help other folks down-the-line who don’t happen to know me personally and might need it.

What I can do

We all know the documentation for VFP Reporting did not get updated at all in SP1, and it was not properly updated in SP2.  That’s the reason for the TMM project.

I’ve posted my idea of “what was missing” in the TOC for TMM; if you think there are items there that should be top priority for me, because you need the information immediately, don’t hesitate to let me know.  If you think that there are items missing there, likewise.

Before I stopped my initial push on TMM content, BTW, I completed all the topics that were absolutely critical in my own opinion, and felt comfortable stopping there.  “Absolutely critical” means: with that set completed, and with the related session papers that we put together as Spacefold articles, there is no secret knowledge, there is no huge gap, as far as I know.

Beyond that set of already-completed topics, I’m really stuck for any idea of what you need.

What I can’t do

But don’t ask me to share the information with you privately as a favor, it ain’t fair to me or your fellow Fox developers, IMHO.  Even if you plan to share the information with other developers, you still shouldn’t ask me to give it to you privately.

There are no issues regarding MS restrictions on this information any more, so that’s no excuse.  I don’t want anybody misinformed on that subject, either.

And consider how VFP Reporting is moving on, so you think about ways that you and others can contribute to both this process, and the documentation of this process, by working on it on CodePlex.

None of this information belongs to me, and none of this work belongs to me, either.  The only part in it I still have is some pride in an accomplishment, which I hope is justifiable.

Sometimes I get some additional satisfaction in elaborating on the details of that accomplishment, which is one reason I’m happy to work on walkthroughs or TMM posts to share with everyone, if you indicate that it will be of any use.

I don’t get the same satisfaction out of writing a private e-mail and then watching somebody else publish the insights.  Maybe that’s petty, but there it is.  It’s how I feel.

What I’ve already done

Don’t be surprised if I send you to the documentation first <g>.  There’s a lot already there. If I send you there and it still doesn’t answer your question, I really will be happy to oblige, probably with a TMM page.

What else I can do

Some folks may remember that I have other connections to the VFP Xbase in-the-box code base, and other insights to share about Fox, beyond reporting.  These are still available to you, although I think you have plenty of other VFP-oriented resources eager to help you, on many of these topics.

Either way. If there’s something non-reporting I’ve written about in the past, or something about VFP Reporting through the VFP 9 SP2 period that you need, don’t be a stranger.

I can’t write Fox articles “in mid air” anymore. But if there’s something that I know is needed, I’ll do my best to help, time permitting, and I’ll do it publicly. I won’t know (so I won’t do it) unless you tell me.