FoxPro
Ranked 9 of 22 databases by recommenders
Recommended for fast database work and easy form-based app building in one tool. Common caveat: its local-first design struggles over networks and with modern team tooling.
Recommended for fast database work and easy form-based app building in one tool. Common caveat: its local-first design struggles over networks and with modern team tooling.
56 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 33
- criticize it
- 23
- approval share
- 59%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 33 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Productive all-in-one tool for developers
“its significance was huge as it was the peak of an era where small/single developers could deliver business solutions by knowing a single tool”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “was really nice to developed the db, GUI front end and printable reports all in single runtime”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “As you say the productivity it (xBASE/FoxPro/Clipper) offered was remarkable.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “DBASE on the Kaypro II” - Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
- Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: WebBase-III – dBASE III rebuilt in the browser with its own interpreter”
- Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: WebBase-III – dBASE III rebuilt in the browser with its own interpreter”
- Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
- Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “The Weird OS Built Around a Database [video]”
Fast database handling and bulk operations
“Foxpro's local DB handling was amazing at pulling down tables, doing complex bulk operations, and pushing the changes.”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “It ships database files over the network and does that blazingly fast.”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “it was fast if the database was designed correctly”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” - Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
Easy to learn and build
“It's a super easy language to get started with programming and the fact that you can drag your widgets on the screen helps a lot.”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “I worked with FoxPro and do all the DB code was not only a joy, it makes too much sense!”
Comment from 20 Sep 2026 in “We need to stop using Stored Procedures” “the coding was insanely easy (just a bunch of CRUD process)”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” - Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
Nostalgia for early FoxPro days
“I loved visual fox pro as a kid (~10). I made little UIs to open my favorite sites and files”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “rose-colored affinity for the dBase III, FoxPro and CA Clipper apps that I used to work on”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: WebBase-III – dBASE III rebuilt in the browser with its own interpreter” “I really liked the early DOS versions of FoxPro with their extensive mouse-driven TUI”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “I'm writing a history of Visual Basic, Chapter 1 is up” - Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
- Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: WebBase-III – dBASE III rebuilt in the browser with its own interpreter”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Fragile file sharing over networks
“They rarely fit today since they were all (or mostly) local-first or even local-only.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Java Is Fast. Your Code Might Not Be” “using it over a network drive gave all sorts of file locks and issues with multiple people changing the same record”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “All the users have to have read/write access to the files or the application won't work.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” - Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived”
Hard to rewrite or migrate away
“I hate that it's the hand I'm dealt, but aside from AI rewrites (underway), there's no good answer.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “there is not a way to "rewrite" a foxpro app without tons of stuff along the way”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” Dated, aging software
“I'm very well aware of the limitations of Fox, is ancient software! but the style of programming?”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “Microsoft killed FoxPro in 2007. Anyway, here's FoxPro revived” “aging in house Electronic Medical System built on FoxPro 1999 running on SQL Server 2000”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “AI agents are starting to eat SaaS” “systems such as dBase, FoxPro, and Paradox were starting to show the strain”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “DBase: 1979-2026”
Other databases people recommend
The four most recommended other databases, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | 816 | 233 | 78% | 13 | 10 yrs42 owners | Approved |
| MySQL | 124 | 107 | 54% | 12 | — | — |
| Microsoft SQL Server | 73 | 59 | 55% | 12 | 20 yrs6 owners | — |
| Microsoft Access | 62 | 39 | 61% | 12 | — | — |
| FoxProThis page | 33 | 23 | 59% | 8 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 72 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“what a great idea, and has the potential to pull $10m in a year or so”
“it was fast if the database was designed correctly”
“It's a super easy language to get started with programming and the fact that you can drag your widgets on the screen helps a lot.”
“the fact that is 100% compatible with vfp9 makes it a solid choice”
“Foxpro's local DB handling was amazing at pulling down tables, doing complex bulk operations, and pushing the changes.”
“It ships database files over the network and does that blazingly fast.”
“Used to build some gnarly inventory systems with that.”
“its significance was huge as it was the peak of an era where small/single developers could deliver business solutions by knowing a single tool”
“The spec is simple enough that one can write a reader/writer in an afternoon”
“I rather liked them, but this was long before I had ever seen SQL or anything like that.”
“I'm very well aware of the limitations of Fox, is ancient software! but the style of programming?”
“was really nice to developed the db, GUI front end and printable reports all in single runtime”
“the coding was insanely easy (just a bunch of CRUD process)”
“brought me back to my childhood with FoxPro books on my dad's bookshelf”
“I loved VFP so much, not for the language but for the tools”
“I hate that it's the hand I'm dealt, but aside from AI rewrites (underway), there's no good answer.”
“they were surprisingly accessible to even kids”
“All the users have to have read/write access to the files or the application won't work.”
“bigger tables (2 GB cap) and no source code changes.”
“it excelled as a single-user batteries-included IDE”
“using it over a network drive gave all sorts of file locks and issues with multiple people changing the same record”
“there is not a way to "rewrite" a foxpro app without tons of stuff along the way”
“It moved data around like nobodies business!”
“Seamless remote access to applications is the exact recipe Visual FoxPro apps fail at.”
“I loved visual fox pro as a kid (~10). I made little UIs to open my favorite sites and files”
“I worked with FoxPro and do all the DB code was not only a joy, it makes too much sense!”
“even better than MS Access based on the ideals of the article”
“You could really get things done in that environment.”
“You could really get stuff done in those environments.”
“I started with Foxpro 2.6 and it was a blast”
“This is one of the most important advantages of ERPs and such made with Fox and is still unmatched.”
“rose-colored affinity for the dBase III, FoxPro and CA Clipper apps that I used to work on”
“systems such as dBase, FoxPro, and Paradox were starting to show the strain”
“What was great is the ability to do things like `SELECT name FROM NameOfForm`”
“I really liked the early DOS versions of FoxPro with their extensive mouse-driven TUI”
“They rarely fit today since they were all (or mostly) local-first or even local-only.”
“Everytime someone mentions Clipper (or dBase or FoxPro, or even FoxBase, but Clipper the most)”
“Is also a very productive way to program!”
“As you say the productivity it (xBASE/FoxPro/Clipper) offered was remarkable.”
“aging in house Electronic Medical System built on FoxPro 1999 running on SQL Server 2000”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.