The languages have advanced in so many directions, I just took a look at old foxpro code and it was damn ugly, all caps and ENDIF ENDFOR everywhere. That's ugliness if I've seen it.

Now tools, they were unbeatable in their simplicity and effectiveness as you say. A data browser is the most powerful UI and the ability to connect it with a data source by its cursor name can't get any simpler. Try doing that even in Swift and it is a rain dance of sorcery to make it work.

A data source to a report, bam! As simple as that. A data source to a table, bam! to a form, bam! to any UI control, bam! That was productivity if I've ever seen it.