VB6, FoxPro and Delphi migration

Where VB6, FoxPro and Delphi stand today

Many small businesses still run on a desktop program written twenty or more years ago. It still opens, it still does the job, and it is hard to justify touching. But each of these tools is in a different place:

• Visual Basic 6: Microsoft ended support for the VB6 development environment in 2008. The core VB6 runtime still works on current versions of Windows under Microsoft’s support statement, but that covers only the core files. Many third-party controls (OCX and DLL files) the program depends on are no longer maintained.
• Visual FoxPro: version 9 was the last release, and Microsoft’s extended support for it ended in 2015. FoxPro programs often still run, but there are no fixes, and the DBF data files have size limits and are prone to corruption on busy networks.
• Delphi: still developed and sold today, so the language itself is not the issue. The problem is usually an app built in an old Delphi version, often on the Borland Database Engine (BDE) or Paradox tables, which are long deprecated and increasingly troublesome on modern Windows.

Warning signs it is time to move

• The program only runs on one old PC, or needs “run as administrator” and compatibility settings to start.
• Installing it on a new machine means hunting for setup disks, registering OCX files by hand, or copying folders from another PC.
• The original developer is retired or unreachable, and nobody has the source code, or has it but cannot compile it.
• Staff need to use it from home or on the road, and the only way is a remote desktop session into the office.
• Every Windows update is a small worry that this will be the one that breaks it.
• You want an online portal, mobile access or a connection to your accounting system, and the program has no way to provide it.

Your migration options

There are three common routes for an old desktop app, and they suit different situations:

• Automated conversion to .NET. Tools exist that translate VB6 code into VB.NET or C#. The result is still a Windows desktop app, and converted code usually needs a lot of hand fixing, but it can be a fit when the app is large and the screens must stay the same.
• Upgrade within the same family. A Delphi app can often be moved to a current version of Delphi with a modern database layer. This keeps the desktop app but removes the deprecated parts.
• Rebuild as a web app. The database is moved to a modern server database, the screens are redesigned for the browser, and the business rules are rewritten and tested. This is the route that removes the Windows dependency and opens up remote access, portals and integrations.

How a VB6 migration works

1. Get the program and its dataWe collect whatever exists: source code, the installed program, its database files, and any reports it produces.
2. Work out what it really doesWe read the code where we have it, and watch your staff use every screen to catch the rules that are not written down anywhere.
3. Design the replacementYou click through designs of the new screens before code is written, keeping what people rely on and fixing what never worked.
4. Build in roundsWe build the most used parts first and you review each round, so problems surface early.
5. Move and check the dataRecords from Access, DBF, Paradox or SQL Server files are converted and imported, then compared with the old program’s reports with you.
6. Retire the old programOnce the numbers match, your team switches, and the old program and data are archived read-only.

What it costs

Custom projects at Zoti start at $499/month, on a monthly plan covering design, development, hosting and ongoing changes. The price depends on how many screens and reports the old program has, whether source code is available, and how messy the data is. You get a written quote before any work starts.