How To Implement Cross Platform Solution 3.0 Mac/5.0 Win (155851)

MORE INFORMATION

You can create a cross-platform solution between Visual FoxPro (VFP) 3.0 for the Macintosh and Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows in different ways. For example, one of the following situations may apply:

1. A Visual FoxPro 3.0 for the Macintosh cross-platform application that you want to upgrade to Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows but also want to keep using on the Macintosh.
2. A Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Macintosh application with Macintosh-specific items that you want to upgrade in Windows 5.0 or 6.0 and use concurrently.
3. A Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows application that you want to deploy on Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Macintosh and use concurrently.

The following recommendations apply to situations 1 and 2. They also apply to situation 3 as long as the application is written with respect to the new properties and methods in Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 that do not exist in Visual FoxPro 3.0.

What to Do with the Data

Data between Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Macintosh and Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows is completely transparent with the exception of stored procedures. To avoid conflicts with stored procedure code, place it in a program outside of the database and access it when needed using SET PROCEDURE TO cProcedureProgram. You can open both a Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Macintosh or a Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows .dbc file without distinction. One recommendation would be to modify the .dbc file in Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows, so you can have access to the new data features. Another option would be to keep the .dbc file in Visual FoxPro 3.0 for Macintosh format (with the appropriate stored procedures) and use the data in Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 for Windows by using the ODBC driver.

What to Do with Project Files, Forms, Reports, and So Forth

Create two different applications from the same source files. The best way to do this is to have two projects in the same directory (folder) accessible by both platforms, the one for the Macintosh in Visual FoxPro 3.0 format and the one for Windows in Visual FoxPro 5.0 or 6.0 format. You need to add only Macintosh- specific files (CFM libraries, PICTS, AppleScript files) to the Macintosh project--same idea with Windows (specific DLLs if needed).