WEBSITE ALPHA · AI-assisted, source-reviewed documentation · Full-stack docs reconciled 2026-08-26
64x64base

Getting Started: Overview

What DotTalk++ / x64base is today, what is active, and where to begin.

DotTalk++ / x64base is a working educational and research runtime for xBase-style database ideas. It is an object-oriented hybrid: areas, workspaces, memos, indexes, relations, metadata, and GUI/script surfaces are runtime objects wrapped around DBF-family interoperability.

It is not currently positioned as a finished commercial database product. It is an active beta system that exposes database layers directly: table files, records, fields, work areas, indexes, relations, metadata, HELP, validation, scripts, browsers, and simple UI surfaces.

The central thesis is that x64base is a database system that uses its own metadata and documentation infrastructure to describe, validate, and increasingly prove itself. The 64-bit xBase lineage matters, but the larger project is the feedback loop between runtime behavior, metadata, documentation, proof, and teaching.

The system is being built in co-development with its documentation. SelfDoc and the Master Documentation Organizer are part of the working system: the database engine develops and documents the same structures it is building. The goal is an open, cross-platform architecture that can be studied, extended, validated, and rebuilt across Windows, WSL/Linux, Ubuntu, and macOS.

What the local project contains

  • DotTalk++ command shell - the canonical runtime surface for commands, scripts, HELP, browsing, validation, and workspace state.
  • DotScript - the repeatable script-language product for command files, IF, loops, variables, line continuation, comments, scans, one-level subscript nesting, CSV/DBF import-export, and automation.
  • x64base / DBF runtime - DBF-style table handling across classic/MS-DOS DBF, VFP DBF, and x64 DBF_64 work, cursor movement, record mutation, work areas, and table inspection.
  • xindex - INX, CNX, CDX, and LMDB-backed indexing work.
  • Workspaces and areas - workspace wrappers over active DbArea-style objects, including table state, cursor state, indexes, relations, memos, and metadata.
  • Memo subsystem - object-oriented memo architecture with active canary coverage.
  • Extension hooks - student code hooks plus custom field type hooks for validators, display behavior, import/export semantics, and documentation metadata.
  • Metadata and self-documentation - command reflection, CMDHELPCHK, SYS* metadata work, data dictionary readers, and congruence validation.
  • Table listing and browser surfaces - SMARTLIST, SMARTBROWSE, SM, SMART, SIMPLEBROWSE, SB, BROWSE, BROWSER, BROWSETUI, ERSATZ, and RBROWSE.
  • UI lanes - Turbo Vision-style TUI, wxWidgets workbench work, and Python/Tk preview tools.
  • Python integration - the optional native pydottalk binding, local pydottalk_api bridge, and pycrud teaching surface, each with a separate role and evidence boundary.

Current truth source

This site is aligned to the local checkout at implementation checkout, branch homegrown-cnx-20251112-branch, commit bed0828e.

See Current Project Truth for the scan snapshot.

Next steps

  1. Read the Quickstart.
  2. Review Engine Architecture.
  3. Browse DotTalk++ Language Guide.
  4. Check Developer Handbook before changing source or docs.
Installation →