Re: Making FoxPro Ducky

Back to top

Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

Author: <paul@tpcqpc.com>

Posted: 2026-10-19 16:36:13 Link

I've just completed posting a 10-part series on my recent experiment trying

to make FoxPro work with DuckDB as well as my first real programming project

working with AI. The story is convoluted to say the least with Claude.AI and

I trying to find a way to work together efficiently and navigate all of the

rabbit holes we ended up going down to find a solution that ultimately far

exceeded my original expectations.

You can start at the beginning with Part 1, or skip to our final success in

Part 9. Either way, I hope someone else can take advantage of this

experiment. I also hope I don't look too dumb in the process of telling this

tale! <g>

I tried to keep each part as short as I could while including sample code

for you to review. There's even a download in Part 7 for a class Claude

wrote which gives you access to the low-level Win32 APIs to create Named

Pipes to a hidden shell process. Feel free to grab that and use it for you

own work if you need it.

Start here: http://www.paultarver.com/making-foxpro-ducky-part-1/

PS: Kurt you are going to love reading about my new wingman, Claude!!!

Thanks!

Paul H. Tarver

Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

New Search

Back to top

Re: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

Author: Edward Leafe

Posted: 2026-10-19 17:27:07 Link

On Oct 19, 2026, at 16:36, paul@tpcqpc.com wrote:

>

> I tried to keep each part as short as I could while including sample code

> for you to review. There's even a download in Part 7 for a class Claude

> wrote which gives you access to the low-level Win32 APIs to create Named

> Pipes to a hidden shell process. Feel free to grab that and use it for you

> own work if you need it.

I’m surprised you didn’t ask Claude to help write a 32-bit ODBC driver for you! 😁

-- Ed Leafe

New Search

Back to top

Re: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

Author: Edward Leafe

Posted: 2026-10-19 17:46:38 Link

On Oct 19, 2026, at 17:27, Edward Leafe <ed@leafe.com> wrote:

>

> I’m surprised you didn’t ask Claude to help write a 32-bit ODBC driver for you! 😁

… so I did!

============================================================================================

> Would it be possible to write a 32-bit driver for DuckDB that could be used by Visual FoxPro 9? I don't know C/C++ or any other language that drivers are typically written in.

Yes, it’s possible in principle, but a true 32-bit driver is the hardest route. Easier ways to get VFP 9 talking to DuckDB exist, and none of them require you to learn C++.

Why it’s hard: VFP 9 is a 32-bit process, so it can only load 32-bit DLLs and 32-bit ODBC drivers. DuckDB’s official Windows builds, including the ODBC driver, are 64-bit only. Building a 32-bit version means compiling DuckDB from source in C++, and 32-bit Windows isn’t an officially supported target, so you’d be fighting build problems with no one to ask. I’d rule that out. (This is from my knowledge, so check DuckDB’s current release page in case it has changed.)

Practical options, easiest first:

1• Shell out to the DuckDB CLI. duckdb.exe is a 64-bit standalone program, and a 32-bit VFP app can still launch it. VFP writes a SQL string, runs it (via WScript.Shell or RUN), DuckDB exports the result to a CSV or JSON file, and VFP loads it with APPEND FROM ... TYPE CSV or similar. This takes about 20 lines of VFP code and needs no other language. It’s slowish per call because of process startup, so it suits reports, imports and batch work better than row-by-row lookups.

2• A small 64-bit helper service. A short Python script (a few dozen lines, using the duckdb package) listens on localhost HTTP, accepts SQL and returns JSON or CSV. VFP calls it with MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP, which works fine in VFP 9. It keeps the database open between calls, so it’s much faster than option 1 and supports interactive use. I can write both the Python and the VFP side for you.

3• Use SQLite as the bridge. SQLite has solid 32-bit ODBC drivers that VFP handles well through SQL pass-through (SQLSTRINGCONNECT, SQLEXEC). DuckDB can read and write SQLite files, so you do the heavy analytics in DuckDB and exchange results with VFP through a SQLite file. It’s a good fit if you want normal-feeling VFP data access.

4• Exchange files. Parquet, CSV and JSON all work between the two, and DuckDB is very good at reading and writing them.

If your goal is analytics on large data, with VFP as the front end, I’d start with option 2, or option 1 if you want to avoid installing anything beyond duckdb.exe.

What is VFP doing in your setup: a desktop app that needs query results on screen, or batch processing? And do you have Python available, or do you want to avoid installing it? With that I can write the VFP code and any helper script for you.

============================================================================================

So it sounds like you ended up with a hybrid of #1 and #3. Of course, I would have gone with the Python option!

-- Ed Leafe

New Search

Back to top

AW: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

Author: Jürgen Wondzinski

Posted: 2026-10-20 04:52:29 Link

Maybe you should take a look at https://foxscript.org/ , which makes VFP a real 64bit version.

FoxScript (aka "FoxDev Studio") is a 64-bit runtime (Electron/Node.js, x64 packages) for Visual FoxPro 9. It supports DECLARE ... DLLs for 64-bit libraries within the same process and has implemented the SQL pass-through functions (SQLCONNECT, SQLSTRINGCONNECT, SQLEXEC, etc.) (listed as “Runs” in Language Coverage).

In a 64-bit process, ODBC accesses the 64-bit ODBC Driver Manager, this allows 64-bit ODBC drivers to be loaded and used. (32-bit drivers require the existing 32-bit bridge approach, as with FLLs.)

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: Edward Leafe <ed@leafe.com>

Gesendet: Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2026 00:27

An: ProFox Email List <profox@leafe.com>

Betreff: Re: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

On Oct 19, 2026, at 16:36, paul@tpcqpc.com wrote:

>

> I tried to keep each part as short as I could while including sample code

> for you to review. There's even a download in Part 7 for a class Claude

> wrote which gives you access to the low-level Win32 APIs to create Named

> Pipes to a hidden shell process. Feel free to grab that and use it for you

> own work if you need it.

I’m surprised you didn’t ask Claude to help write a 32-bit ODBC driver for you! 😁

-- Ed Leafe

_______________________________________________

Post Messages to: profox@leafe.com

Subscription Maintenance: https://lists.leafe.com/postorius/lists/profox.leafe.com/

To unsubscribe send an email to profox-leave@leafe.com

OT-free version of this list: https://lists.leafe.com/postorius/lists/profoxtech.leafe.com/

Searchable Archive: https://leafe.com/archives

This message: https://leafe.com/archives/byMID/3A8DEC68-CF5D-46F3-BA32-14F1EC647897@leafe.com

** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious

New Search

Back to top

RE: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

Author: <paul@tpcqpc.com>

Posted: 2026-10-20 08:30:42 Link

Ed, somehow, I knew you would have gone with Python! <g>

But where's the fun in doing something the easy way?

Maybe Claude remembered our journey and that's why it suggested #1 and #3. I know it took us a lot longer to come to that same conclusion.

Paul H. Tarver

Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

-----Original Message-----

From: Edward Leafe <ed@leafe.com>

Sent: Monday, October 19, 2026 5:47 PM

To: ProFox Email List <profox@leafe.com>

Subject: Re: Making FoxPro Ducky - The Series

On Oct 19, 2026, at 17:27, Edward Leafe <ed@leafe.com> wrote:

>

> I’m surprised you didn’t ask Claude to help write a 32-bit ODBC driver

> for you! 😁

… so I did!

============================================================================================

> Would it be possible to write a 32-bit driver for DuckDB that could be used by Visual FoxPro 9? I don't know C/C++ or any other language that drivers are typically written in.

Yes, it’s possible in principle, but a true 32-bit driver is the hardest route. Easier ways to get VFP 9 talking to DuckDB exist, and none of them require you to learn C++.

Why it’s hard: VFP 9 is a 32-bit process, so it can only load 32-bit DLLs and 32-bit ODBC drivers. DuckDB’s official Windows builds, including the ODBC driver, are 64-bit only. Building a 32-bit version means compiling DuckDB from source in C++, and 32-bit Windows isn’t an officially supported target, so you’d be fighting build problems with no one to ask. I’d rule that out. (This is from my knowledge, so check DuckDB’s current release page in case it has changed.) Practical options, easiest first: