Which Windows 10 is better for VFP 9? 2

[SitesMasstec]

Desta colleagues:

I am going to buy a new computer to install the Visual FoxPro 9 software. (I am a developer).
Which version of Windows works better with VFP 9: 64 or 32 bits?


Thank you,
SitesMasstec

 

[yahiadal]

Hi
I found this link for you

http://saltydogllc.com/in-visual-foxpro-using-32-bit-odbc-drivers-on-a-64-bit-machine/

yahya

 

[Scott24x7]

I've had no issue with VFP 9 on any version of Windows 10 (and I'm a Windows Insider Pro, I get all new releases of Windows months before the public does... none of them have broken VFP9 for me.

Best Regards,
Scott
MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[Olaf Doschke]

If you buy a ne computer you don't have the choice of a 32bit CPU and so you install Windows 64bit.
But it doesn't matter, as there still isn't a pure 64bit system, you always have the 32bit subsystem.

Note: It's in SysWOW64 (System Windows32 On Windows64), not in System32, which is the 64bit system, which kept the System32 name for downward compatibility. (I'll always roll my eyes about this decision)

Look into your "old" pc, does it have a folder "C:\Windows\SysWOW64"? then you already have a 64bit CPU. 64bit CPUs are ancient in the fast world fo technology advances. This is even worse than dog years.

So forget about your 64bit fear, there is nothing to fear.

The 32bit/64bit gap is less important than you think.

1. RUN of 64 bit executables is totally possible, you start a new process, this has nothing to do with your process, the OS is involved only.
2. Automation of 64bit OLE Servers is possible - again for the same reason. (In the end starting an OLE automation server is startnig a new EXE, especially in case of Office automation servers).
3. You can Use 64bit SQL Server via 32bit ODBC drivers.
Here is a first hurdle, but 32bit drivers are not rare, you still get them as there still is many and most 32bit software, including Office32bit.
4. local running SQL Server in 64bit does not allow named pipes and shared memory as protocols for communication between 32bit driver and 64bit server, but you can go via TCP/IP, which is usual anyway when you connect to a separate server on a real server pc.

What is complicated is the other way around: A 64bit SQL Server instance can't use the 32bit VFP ODBC driver nor 32bit OLEDB Provider. So adding DBF access to SQL Server via linked server needs a 32bit instance, but again, ther is the 32bit subsystem and 32bit software still runs, you still also get 32bit SQL Server.

Also, there is no pure 64bit CPU, all CPUs so far still have a 32bit mode.
It's also very unlikely 32bit ever is removed, because, hold on to your seat, 16bit ALSO still is around.

There are separations, but it's not as hard as everyone seems to think. Most things are separated by LAN/network and then the bitness play NO ROLE AT ALL.
The bitness is important for the things you directly use within the same PROCESS, but ALL processes are separated, even 32bit processes among themselves, interprocess communication is a topic of its own and I already mentioned it by mentioning shared memory and named pipes communication of SQL Server with the outside world, these protocols play NO ROLE in prodcution as producttion server, you CAN'T have share memory access from a client pc to server pc anyway.

The only core hurdle is, that a 32bit process can't load a 64bit DLL, every other hurdle is a consequence of that and nothing else. So everything separated via network is no topic at all, only the things you use directly. Even thinking of printing, you give a job to windows and it will talk to the printer driver. You're not loading printer drivers into your VFP process.

So in the first approximation forget about 64bit as a hurdle to VFP, it's more a hurdle for anyone programming for 64bit in any other programming language and needing to use VFPs 32bit drivers, which you DON'T use from VFP itself at all, as you do native DBF file access without going through ODBC or OLEDB.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[Mike Gagnon]

In my experience certain updates of windows 10 cause errors in Vfp9. Version 1709 has no issues so far.

Mike Gagnon

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