diff --git a/exaudfclient/.bazelrc b/exaudfclient/.bazelrc
index fe0d63ac4..f6e589f30 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/.bazelrc
+++ b/exaudfclient/.bazelrc
@@ -25,4 +25,5 @@ build:valgrind --copt -O1
 build:valgrind -c dbg
 build:valgrind --copt -g
 build:valgrind --strip=never
-build:valgrind --copt -DVALGRIND_ACTIVE
\ No newline at end of file
+build:valgrind --copt -DVALGRIND_ACTIVE
+build:swig-string-as-buffer --copt='-DSWIG_STRING_AS_BYTES_ENABLED=1' --action_env=SWIG_STRING_AS_BYTES_ENABLED=1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/BUILD b/exaudfclient/base/BUILD
index 357c34da9..3a2c87f15 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/BUILD
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/BUILD
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
 exports_files(["filter_swig_code.py", "build_integrated.py",
 	       "create_binary_wrapper.sh", "create_binary_wrapper_valgrind.sh",
-	       "create_binary_wrapper_valgrind_massif.sh", "exaudfclient.template.sh"])
+	       "create_binary_wrapper_valgrind_massif.sh", "exaudfclient.template.sh",
+	       "add_encoding_decoding.py"])
 
 load("//:variables.bzl", "VM_ENABLED_DEFINES")
 
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/add_encoding_decoding.py b/exaudfclient/base/add_encoding_decoding.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..063ab2baf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/add_encoding_decoding.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import os
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+CONVERT_TO_BYTES = """
+decodeUTF8 = lambda x: x.decode(encoding='utf-8') if isinstance(x, bytes) else x
+encodeUTF8 = lambda x: x.encode(encoding='utf-8') if isinstance(x, str) else x
+"""
+
+IDENTITY = """
+decodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
+encodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
+"""
+
+def add_encoding_decoding(target):
+    if "SWIG_STRING_AS_BYTES_ENABLED" in os.environ:
+        decoding_encdecoding = CONVERT_TO_BYTES
+    else:
+        decoding_encdecoding = IDENTITY
+
+    with open(target, "wt", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        f.write(decoding_encdecoding)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
+        print('Usage: add_encoding_decoding.py target')
+        sys.exit(1)
+    add_encoding_decoding(sys.argv[1])
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/exaudflib/swig/swig_common.h b/exaudfclient/base/exaudflib/swig/swig_common.h
index b4e463fed..8080e5916 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/exaudflib/swig/swig_common.h
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/exaudflib/swig/swig_common.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef SWIG_COMMON_H
 #define SWIG_COMMON_H
 
+#include <cstdint>
 #include <vector>
 #include <string>
 #include <cstdint>
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_preset_core.py b/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_preset_core.py
index 550b31949..5062457cb 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_preset_core.py
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_preset_core.py
@@ -1,19 +1,17 @@
 import sys
 unicode = str
-decodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
-encodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
 
 from exascript_python import *
 import decimal
 import datetime
-import imp
+import types
 
 class ExaUDFError(Exception):
     pass 
 
 def clean_stacktrace_line(line):
     import re
-    match = re.match("""^\s+File "(.+)", line ([0-9]+), in (.+)$""",line)
+    match = re.match(r"""^\s+File "(.+)", line ([0-9]+), in (.+)$""",line)
     if match is not None:
         filename=match.group(1)
         lineno=match.group(2)
@@ -83,14 +81,14 @@ def ci(x, tbl):
                 colprec = self.__meta.inputColumnPrecision(x)
                 colscale = self.__meta.inputColumnScale(x)
                 colsize = self.__meta.inputColumnSize(x)
-                coltn = self.__meta.inputColumnTypeName(x)
+                coltn = decodeUTF8(self.__meta.inputColumnTypeName(x))
             elif tbl == 'output':
                 colname = decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(x))
                 coltype = self.__meta.outputColumnType(x)
                 colprec = self.__meta.outputColumnPrecision(x)
                 colscale = self.__meta.outputColumnScale(x)
                 colsize = self.__meta.outputColumnSize(x)
-                coltn = self.__meta.outputColumnTypeName(x)
+                coltn = decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnTypeName(x))
             class exacolumn:
                 def __init__(self, cn, ct, st, cp, cs, l):
                     self.name = cn
@@ -126,7 +124,7 @@ def import_script(self, script):
             modobj = self.__modules[str(code)]
         else:
             print("%%% new code", modname, repr(code), code in self.__modules)
-            modobj = imp.new_module(modname)
+            modobj = types.ModuleType(modname)
             modobj.__file__ = "<%s>" % modname
             modobj.__dict__['exa'] = self
             self.__modules[str(code)] = modobj
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_wrap.py b/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_wrap.py
index 00ce02a8d..ebb26dd48 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_wrap.py
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/python/exascript_python_wrap.py
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 pyextdataframe_pkg = None
 
 unicode = str
-decodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
-encodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
 long = int
     
 if 'LIBPYEXADATAFRAME_DIR' in os.environ:
@@ -45,10 +43,10 @@ def resget():
                 return val
             return resget
         def convert_date(x):
-            val = datetime.datetime.strptime(x, "%Y-%m-%d")
+            val = datetime.datetime.strptime(decodeUTF8(x), "%Y-%m-%d")
             return datetime.date(val.year, val.month, val.day)
         def convert_timestamp(x):
-            return datetime.datetime.strptime(x, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f")
+            return datetime.datetime.strptime(decodeUTF8(x), "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f")
         self.__incoltypes = []
         for col in range(self.__meta.inputColumnCount()):
             self.__incoltypes.append(self.__meta.inputColumnType(col))
@@ -67,8 +65,8 @@ def convert_timestamp(x):
                 data[colname] = rd(inp.getInt64, inp.wasNull, col)
             elif self.__incoltypes[col] == NUMERIC:
                 if self.__meta.inputColumnScale(col) == 0:
-                    data[colname] = rd(inp.getNumeric, inp.wasNull, col, lambda x: int(str(x)))
-                else: data[colname] = rd(inp.getNumeric, inp.wasNull, col, lambda x: decimal.Decimal(str(x)))
+                    data[colname] = rd(inp.getNumeric, inp.wasNull, col, lambda x: int(decodeUTF8(x)))
+                else: data[colname] = rd(inp.getNumeric, inp.wasNull, col, lambda x: decimal.Decimal(decodeUTF8(x)))
             elif self.__incoltypes[col] == DATE:
                 data[colname] = rd(inp.getDate, inp.wasNull, col, convert_date)
             elif self.__incoltypes[col] == TIMESTAMP:
@@ -138,7 +136,7 @@ def emit(self, *output):
             elif type(v) in (int, long):
                 if self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT32: self.__out.setInt32(k, int(v))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT64: self.__out.setInt64(k, int(v))
-                elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setNumeric(k, str(int(v)))
+                elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setNumeric(k, encodeUTF8(str(int(v))))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == DOUBLE: self.__out.setDouble(k, float(v))
                 else:
                     raise RuntimeError(u"E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1091: emit column '%s' is of type %s but data given have type %s" \
@@ -147,7 +145,7 @@ def emit(self, *output):
                 if self.__outcoltypes[k] == DOUBLE: self.__out.setDouble(k, float(v))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT32: self.__out.setInt32(k, int(v))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT64: self.__out.setInt64(k, int(v))
-                elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setInt64(k, str(v))
+                elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setInt64(k, encodeUTF8(str(v)))
                 else:
                     raise RuntimeError(u"E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1092: emit column '%s' is of type %s but data given have type %s" \
                             % (decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(k)), type_names.get(self.__outcoltypes[k], 'UNKONWN'), str(type(v))))
@@ -156,7 +154,7 @@ def emit(self, *output):
                     raise RuntimeError(u"E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1093: emit column '%s' is of type %s but data given have type %s" \
                             % (decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(k)), type_names.get(self.__outcoltypes[k], 'UNKONWN'), str(type(v))))
                 self.__out.setBoolean(k, bool(v))
-            elif type(v) in (str, unicode):
+            elif type(v) in (str, unicode, bytes):
                 v = encodeUTF8(v)
                 vl = len(v)
                 if self.__outcoltypes[k] != STRING:
@@ -164,7 +162,7 @@ def emit(self, *output):
                             % (decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(k)), type_names.get(self.__outcoltypes[k], 'UNKONWN'), str(type(v))))
                 self.__out.setString(k, v, vl)
             elif type(v) == decimal.Decimal:
-                if self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setNumeric(k, str(v))
+                if self.__outcoltypes[k] == NUMERIC: self.__out.setNumeric(k, encodeUTF8(str(v)))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT32: self.__out.setInt32(k, int(v))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == INT64: self.__out.setInt64(k, int(v))
                 elif self.__outcoltypes[k] == DOUBLE: self.__out.setDouble(k, float(v))
@@ -175,12 +173,12 @@ def emit(self, *output):
                 if self.__outcoltypes[k] != DATE:
                     raise RuntimeError("E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1096: emit column '%s' is of type %s but data given have type %s" \
                             % (decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(k)), type_names.get(self.__outcoltypes[k], 'UNKONWN'), str(type(v))))
-                self.__out.setDate(k, v.isoformat())
+                self.__out.setDate(k, encodeUTF8(v.isoformat()))
             elif type(v) == datetime.datetime:
                 if self.__outcoltypes[k] != TIMESTAMP:
                     raise RuntimeError("E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1097: emit column '%s' is of type %s but data given have type %s" \
                             % (decodeUTF8(self.__meta.outputColumnName(k)), type_names.get(self.__outcoltypes[k], 'UNKONWN'), str(type(v))))
-                self.__out.setTimestamp(k, v.isoformat(' '))
+                self.__out.setTimestamp(k, encodeUTF8(v.isoformat(' ')))
             else: raise RuntimeError("E-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1098: data type %s is not supported" % str(type(v)))
             msg = self.__out.checkException()
             if msg: raise RuntimeError("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1099: "+msg)
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/BUILD b/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/BUILD
index 9748ef7a1..a82c2a127 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/BUILD
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/BUILD
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ genrule(
         swig -v $$INCLUDES -O -DEXTERNAL_PROCESS -Wall -c++ -python -py3 -addextern -module exascript_python -o "../$(location exascript_python_tmp.cc)" exaudflib/exascript.i
         """,
     outs = ["exascript_python_tmp.cc", "exascript_python.py"],
-    srcs = ["//base/exaudflib:exascript.i","//base/exaudflib:swig/script_data_transfer_objects_wrapper.h"]
+    srcs = ["//base/exaudflib:exascript.i","//base/exaudflib:swig/script_data_transfer_objects_wrapper.h"],
 )
 
 genrule(
@@ -35,14 +35,23 @@ genrule(
     tools = ["//base/python:extend_exascript_python_preset_py.sh"]
 )
 
+genrule(
+    name = "gen_encoding_decoding",
+    cmd = 'python3 "$(location //base:add_encoding_decoding.py)" "$(location exascript_encoding_decoding.py)"',
+    outs = ["exascript_encoding_decoding.py"],
+    srcs = [],
+    tools = ["//base:add_encoding_decoding.py"]
+)
+
 genrule(
     name = "exascript_python_int",
     cmd = """
       cp $(SRCS) .
-      python3 $(location //base:build_integrated.py) "$(location exascript_python_int.h)" "exascript_python.py" "exascript_python_wrap.py" "exascript_python_preset.py"
+      python3 $(location //base:build_integrated.py) "$(location exascript_python_int.h)" "exascript_python.py" "exascript_python_wrap.py" "exascript_python_preset.py" "exascript_encoding_decoding.py"
     """,
     outs = ["exascript_python_int.h"],
-    srcs = [":exascript_python_tmp_cc", "//base/python:exascript_python_wrap.py", ":extend_exascript_python_preset_py"],
+    srcs = [":exascript_python_tmp_cc", "//base/python:exascript_python_wrap.py",
+            ":extend_exascript_python_preset_py", ":gen_encoding_decoding"],
     tools = ["//base:build_integrated.py"]
 )
 
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/python_ext_dataframe.cc b/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/python_ext_dataframe.cc
index 73051398c..da7d31301 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/python_ext_dataframe.cc
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/python/python3/python_ext_dataframe.cc
@@ -175,6 +175,23 @@ inline void checkPyObjIsNotNull(const PyObject *obj) {
         throw std::runtime_error("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1142");
 }
 
+inline PyObject* convertPyStringToPyBytes(PyObject* pyString) {
+#ifdef SWIG_STRING_AS_BYTES_ENABLED
+    return PyObject_CallMethod(pyString, "encode", NULL);
+#else
+    Py_INCREF(pyString);
+    return pyString;
+#endif
+}
+
+inline PyObject* convertPyBytesToPyString(PyObject* pyString) {
+#ifdef SWIG_STRING_AS_BYTES_ENABLED
+    return PyObject_CallMethod(pyString, "decode", NULL);
+#else
+    Py_INCREF(pyString);
+    return pyString;
+#endif
+}
 
 
 struct ColumnInfo
@@ -923,8 +940,11 @@ inline void handleEmitPyInt(
             break;
         }
         case SWIGVMContainers::NUMERIC:
-            pyValue.reset(PyObject_Str(pyInt));
+        {
+            PyPtr pyStrInt(PyObject_Str(pyInt));
+            pyValue.reset(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyStrInt.get()));
             break;
+        }
         case SWIGVMContainers::DOUBLE:
         {
             double value = PyFloat_AsDouble(pyInt);
@@ -977,8 +997,11 @@ inline void handleEmitPyFloat(
             break;
         }
         case SWIGVMContainers::NUMERIC:
-            pyValue.reset(PyObject_Str(pyFloat));
+        {
+            PyPtr pyStrFloat(PyObject_Str(pyFloat));
+            pyValue.reset(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyStrFloat.get()));
             break;
+        }
         case SWIGVMContainers::DOUBLE:
         {
             //pyFloat points to a 'borrowed' reference. We need to explicitly increase the ref counter here, as pyValue will decrease it again later.
@@ -1020,15 +1043,21 @@ inline void handleEmitPyDecimal(
         case SWIGVMContainers::INT64:
         case SWIGVMContainers::INT32:
         {
+            std::cout << "handleEmitPyDecimal: INT" << std::endl;
             PyPtr pyInt(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(pyDecimal, pyIntMethodName.get(), NULL));
             pyValue.reset(pyInt.release());
             break;
         }
         case SWIGVMContainers::NUMERIC:
-            pyValue.reset(PyObject_Str(pyDecimal));
+        {
+            std::cout << "handleEmitPyDecimal: NUMERIC" << std::endl;
+            PyPtr pyStrDecimal(PyObject_Str(pyDecimal));
+            pyValue.reset(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyStrDecimal.get()));
             break;
+        }
         case SWIGVMContainers::DOUBLE:
         {
+            std::cout << "handleEmitPyDecimal: DOUBLE" << std::endl;
             PyPtr pyFloat(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(pyDecimal, pyFloatMethodName.get(), NULL));
             pyValue.reset(pyFloat.release());
             break;
@@ -1067,11 +1096,12 @@ inline void handleEmitPyStr(
         case SWIGVMContainers::STRING:
         {
             Py_ssize_t size = -1;
+            PyPtr bytesString(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyString));
             const char *str = PyUnicode_AsUTF8AndSize(pyString, &size);
             if (!str && size < 0)
                 throw std::runtime_error("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1137: invalid size of string");
             PyPtr pySize(PyLong_FromSsize_t(size));
-            pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), pyString, pySize.get(), NULL));
+            pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), bytesString.get(), pySize.get(), NULL));
             break;
         }
         default:
@@ -1105,7 +1135,8 @@ inline void handleEmitPyDate(
         case SWIGVMContainers::DATE:
         {
             PyPtr pyIsoDate(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(pyDate, pyIsoformatMethodName.get(), NULL));
-            pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), pyIsoDate.get(), NULL));
+            PyPtr bytesIsoDate(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyIsoDate.get()));
+            pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), bytesIsoDate.get(), NULL));
             break;
         }
         default:
@@ -1141,8 +1172,9 @@ inline void handleEmitPyTimestamp(
             // it to the generated string.
             PyPtr pyTzLocalize(PyObject_CallMethod(pyTimestamp, "tz_localize", "z", NULL));
             PyPtr pyIsoDatetime(PyObject_CallMethod(pyTzLocalize.get(), "isoformat", "s", " "));
+            PyPtr bytesDateTime(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyIsoDatetime.get()));
             pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(
-                resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), pyIsoDatetime.get(), NULL));
+                resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), bytesDateTime.get(), NULL));
             break;
         }
         default:
@@ -1177,8 +1209,9 @@ inline void handleEmitNpyDateTime(
         case SWIGVMContainers::TIMESTAMP:
         {
             PyPtr pyIsoDatetime(PyObject_CallMethod(pyTimestamp, "isoformat", "s", " "));
+            PyPtr bytesDateTime(convertPyStringToPyBytes(pyIsoDatetime.get()));
             pyResult.reset(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(
-                resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), pyIsoDatetime.get(), NULL));
+                resultHandler, pyColSetMethods[c].second.get(), pyColSetMethods[c].first.get(), bytesDateTime.get(), NULL));
             break;
         }
         default:
@@ -1377,7 +1410,8 @@ void emit(PyObject *resultHandler, std::vector<ColumnInfo>& colInfo, PyObject *d
 
                 PyPtr pyCheckException(PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs(resultHandler, pyCheckExceptionMethodName.get(), NULL));
                 if (pyCheckException.get() != Py_None) {
-                    const char *exMsg = PyUnicode_AsUTF8(pyCheckException.get());
+                    PyPtr exceptionAsPyBytes(convertPyBytesToPyString(pyCheckException.get()));
+                    const char *exMsg = PyUnicode_AsUTF8(exceptionAsPyBytes.get());
                     if (exMsg) {
                         std::stringstream ss;
                         ss << "F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1075: emit(): " << exMsg;
diff --git a/exaudfclient/base/python/pythoncontainer.cc b/exaudfclient/base/python/pythoncontainer.cc
index a52b29f52..171cf2930 100644
--- a/exaudfclient/base/python/pythoncontainer.cc
+++ b/exaudfclient/base/python/pythoncontainer.cc
@@ -194,16 +194,22 @@ PythonVMImpl::PythonVMImpl(bool checkOnly): m_checkOnly(checkOnly)
 	check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1010");
 	if (exatable == NULL) throw PythonVM::exception("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1011: Failed to import code module");
 
+        code = Py_CompileString(integrated_exascript_encoding_decoding_py, "<EXASCRIPTDECENC>", Py_file_input); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1143");
+        if (code == NULL) {check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1144");}
+
+        PyEval_EvalCode(code, globals, globals); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1145");
+        Py_DECREF(code);
+
         code = Py_CompileString(integrated_exascript_python_preset_py, "<EXASCRIPTPP>", Py_file_input); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1012");
         if (code == NULL) {check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1013");}
 
- 	PyEval_EvalCode(code, globals, globals); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1014"); 
+        PyEval_EvalCode(code, globals, globals); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1014");
         Py_DECREF(code);
 
-         PyObject *runobj = PyDict_GetItemString(globals, "__pythonvm_wrapped_parse"); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1016");
-         //PyObject *retvalue = PyObject_CallFunction(runobj, NULL); check();
-	 PyObject *retvalue = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(runobj, globals, NULL); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1017");
-         Py_XDECREF(retvalue); retvalue = NULL;
+        PyObject *runobj = PyDict_GetItemString(globals, "__pythonvm_wrapped_parse"); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1016");
+        //PyObject *retvalue = PyObject_CallFunction(runobj, NULL); check();
+        PyObject *retvalue = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(runobj, globals, NULL); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1017");
+        Py_XDECREF(retvalue); retvalue = NULL;
 
 	code = Py_CompileString(integrated_exascript_python_wrap_py, "<EXASCRIPT>", Py_file_input); check("F-UDF-CL-SL-PYTHON-1018");
         if (code == NULL) throw PythonVM::exception("Failed to compile wrapping script");
@@ -489,6 +495,7 @@ const char* PythonVMImpl::singleCall(single_call_function_id_e fn, const Executi
         PyObject* p3str = PyUnicode_AsEncodedString(repr, "utf-8", "ignore");
         const char *bytes = PyBytes_AS_STRING(p3str);
         singleCallResult = string(bytes);
+        std::cout << "pythoncontainer: singleCallResult='" << singleCallResult << "'" << std::endl;
         Py_XDECREF(retvalue); retvalue = NULL;
 	return singleCallResult.c_str();
 }
diff --git a/ext/scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl b/ext/scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl
index da93abea6..95ecdbf6b 100755
--- a/ext/scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl
+++ b/ext/scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ =head1 SYNOPSIS
 my $use_deprecated_legacy_resolver = 0;
 my $ancestor_pip_package_root_path = '';
 my $install_build_tools_ephemerally = 0;
+my $pip_needs_break_system_packages = 0;
 GetOptions (
             "help" => \$help,
             "dry-run" => \$dry_run,
@@ -51,7 +52,8 @@ =head1 SYNOPSIS
             "use-deprecated-legacy-resolver" => \$use_deprecated_legacy_resolver,
             "python-binary=s" => \$python_binary,
             "ancestor-pip-package-root-path=s" => \$ancestor_pip_package_root_path,
-            "install-build-tools-ephemerally" => \$install_build_tools_ephemerally
+            "install-build-tools-ephemerally" => \$install_build_tools_ephemerally,
+            "pip-needs-break-system-packages" => \$pip_needs_break_system_packages
 
           ) or package_mgmt_utils::print_usage_and_abort(__FILE__,"Error in command line arguments",2);
 package_mgmt_utils::print_usage_and_abort(__FILE__,"",0) if $help;
@@ -79,6 +81,10 @@ =head1 SYNOPSIS
   push @pip_parameters, "--use-deprecated=legacy-resolver";
 }
 
+if($pip_needs_break_system_packages){
+  push @pip_parameters, "--break-system-packages";
+}
+
 my $pip_parameters_str = join( ' ', @pip_parameters);
 my $element_separator = '\\|';
 my $combining_template = "$python_binary -m pip install $pip_parameters_str --no-cache-dir <<<<0>>>>";
diff --git a/ext/scripts/tests/install_scripts/run_pip_tests.sh b/ext/scripts/tests/install_scripts/run_pip_tests.sh
index b507202c5..c5c87954c 100644
--- a/ext/scripts/tests/install_scripts/run_pip_tests.sh
+++ b/ext/scripts/tests/install_scripts/run_pip_tests.sh
@@ -111,5 +111,10 @@ TEST_OUTPUT=$(run_install "$PATH_TO_INSTALL_SCRIPTS/install_via_pip.pl --file te
 assert "$TEST_OUTPUT" "Dry-Run: python3 -m pip install  --no-cache-dir 'azure-common==1.1.28' 'azure-batch==14.2.0' 'azure-storage-queue==1.1.0'"
 echo
 
+echo ./install_via_pip.pl with pip-needs-break-system-packages
+TEST_OUTPUT=$(run_install "$PATH_TO_INSTALL_SCRIPTS/install_via_pip.pl" --file test_files/pip/with_versions/all_versions_specified --pip-needs-break-system-packages --python-binary python3 "$DRY_RUN_OPTION")
+assert "$TEST_OUTPUT" "Dry-Run: python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages --no-cache-dir 'humanfriendly' 'requests'"
+echo
+
 check_for_failed_tests
 echo "All pip tests passed"
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.10/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.10/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile
index a18d69b23..992344671 100644
--- a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.10/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.10/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/udfc
 
 RUN addgroup --gid 1000 exasolution
 RUN adduser --disabled-login --uid 1000 --gid 1000 exasolution --gecos "First Last,RoomNumber,WorkPhone,HomePhone"
-RUN addgroup --gid 500 exausers 
+RUN addgroup --gid 500 exausers
 RUN adduser --disabled-login --uid 500 --gid 500 exadefusr --gecos "First Last,RoomNumber,WorkPhone,HomePhone"
 
 ENV LANG en_US.UTF-8
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/FLAVOR_DESCRIPTION.md b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/FLAVOR_DESCRIPTION.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7398e1a51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/FLAVOR_DESCRIPTION.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Details for template-Exasol-all-python-3.12
+
+## Packages
+
+**Remarks:** The packages are grouped by there main usage and their type.
+
+- [UDFclient dependencies](flavor_base/udfclient_deps/packages/apt_get_packages)
+- [Language dependencies](flavor_base/language_deps/packages/apt_get_packages)
+- Flavor packages
+  - [Ubuntu packages](flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/apt_get_packages)
+  - [Python3 pip packages](flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages)
+- Customization
+  - [Ubuntu packages](flavor_customization/packages/apt_get_packages)
+  - [Python3 pip packages](flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages)
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/ci.json b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/ci.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1bda959cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/ci.json
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+{
+  "build_runner": "ubuntu-24.04",
+  "test_config": {
+    "default_test_runner": "ubuntu-24.04",
+    "test_sets": [
+      {
+        "name": "python",
+        "folders": ["python3/all"],
+        "goal": "release",
+        "generic_language_tests": []
+      },
+      {
+        "name": "pandas",
+        "folders": ["pandas/all", "pandas/pandas2"],
+        "goal": "release",
+        "generic_language_tests": []
+      },
+      {
+        "name": "linker_namespace",
+        "folders": ["linker_namespace_sanity"],
+        "goal": "base_test_build_run",
+        "generic_language_tests": []
+      },
+      {
+        "name": "generic",
+        "folders": [],
+        "goal": "release",
+        "generic_language_tests": ["python3"]
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_build_run/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_build_run/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f289dc767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_build_run/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+FROM {{language_deps}}
+
+RUN mkdir /conf /buckets
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /usr /usr
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /lib /lib
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /bin /bin
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /opt /opt
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /etc /etc
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{base_test_deps}} /env /env
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN ldconfig
+
+RUN mkdir /exaudfclient /exaudf
+COPY /exaudfclient/ /exaudfclient/
+
+WORKDIR /exaudfclient/
+RUN ["/bin/bash", "-c", "source /env && bash build.sh --config no-tty -c dbg --config python --config test-binaries --config swig-string-as-buffer"]
+RUN cp -r -L bazel-bin/* /exaudf
+
+WORKDIR /exaudfclient/base
+RUN ./test_udfclient.sh /exaudf/exaudfclient
+RUN ./test_udfclient.sh /exaudf/exaudfclient_static
+
+WORKDIR /
+RUN mkdir /exasol_emulator
+COPY emulator/ /exasol_emulator
+COPY /exaudfclient/base/exaudflib/zmqcontainer.proto /exasol_emulator
+RUN cd /exasol_emulator && protoc zmqcontainer.proto --python_out=.
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3a8ca3f61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+FROM {{build_deps}}
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages
+COPY base_test_deps/packages /build_info/packages/base_test_deps
+
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/base_test_deps/apt_get_packages --with-versions
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..04a04253f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/base_test_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+gdb|15.0.50.20240403-0ubuntu1
+valgrind|1:3.22.0-0ubuntu3
+binutils|2.42-4ubuntu2.5
+patchelf|0.18.0-1.1build1
+strace|6.8-0ubuntu2
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fecd4ef27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+ENV ARCHIVE_UBUNTU_PREFIX=""
+RUN sed --in-place --regexp-extended "s/(\/\/)(archive\.ubuntu)/\1$ARCHIVE_UBUNTU_PREFIX\2/" /etc/apt/sources.list
+
+COPY 01_nodoc /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/01_nodoc
+COPY scripts /scripts
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages
+COPY build_deps/packages /build_info/packages/build_deps
+
+ENV BAZEL_PACKAGE_VERSION="7.2.1"
+ENV BAZEL_PACKAGE_FILE="bazel_$BAZEL_PACKAGE_VERSION-linux-x86_64.deb"
+ENV BAZEL_PACKAGE_URL="https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases/download/$BAZEL_PACKAGE_VERSION/$BAZEL_PACKAGE_FILE"
+
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/build_deps/apt_get_packages --with-versions
+
+RUN apt-get -y update && \
+    curl -L --output "$BAZEL_PACKAGE_FILE" "$BAZEL_PACKAGE_URL" && \
+    apt-get install -y "./$BAZEL_PACKAGE_FILE" && \
+    rm "$BAZEL_PACKAGE_FILE" && \
+    apt-get -y clean && \
+    apt-get -y autoremove
+	  
+RUN curl -L -o swig-4.3.1.tar.gz https://exasol-script-languages-dependencies.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/swig-4.3.1.tar.gz && \
+    tar zxf swig-4.3.1.tar.gz && \
+    (cd swig-4.3.1 && ./configure --prefix=/usr && make && make install) && \
+    rm -rf swig-4.3.1 swig-4.3.1.tar.gz
+
+RUN locale-gen en_US.UTF-8 && \
+    update-locale LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 && \
+    ldconfig
+
+RUN touch /env && \
+    echo "export PROTOBUF_BIN=/usr/bin/protoc" >> /env && \
+    echo "export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.11.0-openjdk-amd64" >> /env
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..75e3ba6e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+coreutils|9.4-3ubuntu6
+tar|1.35+dfsg-3build1
+curl|8.5.0-2ubuntu10.6
+openjdk-11-jdk|11.0.27+6~us1-0ubuntu1~24.04
+build-essential|12.10ubuntu1
+libpcre2-dev|10.42-4ubuntu2.1
+protobuf-compiler|3.21.12-8.2ubuntu0.1
+chrpath|0.16-2build1
+locales|2.39-0ubuntu8.4
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_run/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_run/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..162d19a2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_run/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+FROM {{language_deps}}
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /usr /usr
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /lib /lib
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /bin /bin
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /opt /opt
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /etc /etc
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /env /env
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN ldconfig
+
+RUN mkdir /exaudfclient /exaudf
+COPY exaudfclient/ /exaudfclient/
+
+WORKDIR /exaudfclient/
+RUN ["/bin/bash", "-c", "source /env && bash build.sh --config no-tty --config optimize --config python --config fast-binary --config swig-string-as-buffer"]
+RUN cp -r -L bazel-bin/* /exaudf
+RUN rm -r /root/.cache/bazel #Delete bazel cache as it contains java rules with special characters which will cause a problem for Bucketfs
+
+WORKDIR /exaudfclient/base
+RUN ./test_udfclient.sh /exaudf/exaudfclient
+
+WORKDIR /exaudf
+
+RUN rm -r /exaudfclient
+
+COPY --from={{build_deps}} /build_info /build_info
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN mkdir /conf /buckets
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_steps.py b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_steps.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d6a10c28f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/build_steps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+from typing import Dict
+
+from exasol.slc.internal.tasks.build.docker_flavor_image_task import DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask
+
+
+class AnalyzeUDFClientDeps(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "udfclient_deps"
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"01_nodoc": "ext/01_nodoc", "scripts": "ext/scripts"}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeLanguageDeps(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "language_deps"
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"scripts": "ext/scripts"}
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"udfclient_deps": AnalyzeUDFClientDeps}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeBuildDeps(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "build_deps"
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"01_nodoc": "ext/01_nodoc", "scripts": "ext/scripts"}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeBuildRun(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "build_run"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"build_deps": AnalyzeBuildDeps,
+                "language_deps": AnalyzeLanguageDeps}
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"exaudfclient": "exaudfclient"}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeBaseTestDeps(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "base_test_deps"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"build_deps": AnalyzeBuildDeps}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeBaseTestBuildRun(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "base_test_build_run"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"base_test_deps": AnalyzeBaseTestDeps,
+                "language_deps": AnalyzeLanguageDeps}
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"exaudfclient": "exaudfclient", "emulator": "emulator"}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeFlavorBaseDeps(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "flavor_base_deps"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"language_deps": AnalyzeLanguageDeps}
+
+    def get_additional_build_directories_mapping(self):
+        return {"01_nodoc": "ext/01_nodoc", "scripts": "ext/scripts"}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeFlavorCustomization(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "flavor_customization"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"flavor_base_deps": AnalyzeFlavorBaseDeps}
+
+
+class AnalyzeFlavorTestBuildRun(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "flavor_test_build_run"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"flavor_customization": AnalyzeFlavorCustomization,
+                "base_test_build_run": AnalyzeBaseTestBuildRun}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class AnalyzeRelease(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "release"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"flavor_customization": AnalyzeFlavorCustomization,
+                "build_run": AnalyzeBuildRun,
+                "language_deps": AnalyzeLanguageDeps}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
+
+
+class SecurityScan(DockerFlavorAnalyzeImageTask):
+    def get_build_step(self) -> str:
+        return "security_scan"
+
+    def requires_tasks(self):
+        return {"release": AnalyzeRelease}
+
+    def get_path_in_flavor(self):
+        return "flavor_base"
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/derived_from b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/derived_from
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fb0760244
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/derived_from
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.10
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33c65c6ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+FROM {{ language_deps }}
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages
+COPY flavor_base_deps/packages /build_info/packages/flavor_base_deps
+
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/flavor_base_deps/apt_get_packages --with-versions
+
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl --file /build_info/packages/flavor_base_deps/python3_pip_packages --python-binary python3 --with-versions --pip-needs-break-system-packages --ancestor-pip-package-root-path /build_info/packages
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b66a1381
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+unzip|6.0-28ubuntu4
+git|1:2.43.0-1ubuntu7
+libcurl4-openssl-dev|8.5.0-2ubuntu10.6
+build-essential|12.10ubuntu1
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_base_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_test_build_run/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_test_build_run/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..32230a4d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/flavor_test_build_run/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+FROM {{base_test_build_run}}
+
+RUN mkdir -p /conf /buckets
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /usr /usr
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /opt /opt
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /lib /lib
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /bin /bin
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /etc /etc
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /build_info /build_info
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN ldconfig
+
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_definition b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_definition
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0576fe703
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_definition
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+PYTHON3=localzmq+protobuf:///{{ bucketfs_name }}/{{ bucket_name }}/{{ path_in_bucket }}{{ release_name }}?lang=python#buckets/{{ bucketfs_name }}/{{ bucket_name }}/{{ path_in_bucket }}{{ release_name }}/exaudf/exaudfclient
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1ca7dfc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+FROM {{udfclient_deps}}
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages/language_deps
+COPY language_deps/packages/apt_get_packages /build_info/packages/language_deps
+
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/language_deps/apt_get_packages --with-versions
+
+COPY language_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages /build_info/packages/language_deps
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl --file /build_info/packages/language_deps/python3_pip_packages --python-binary python3 --with-versions --pip-needs-break-system-packages --ancestor-pip-package-root-path /build_info/packages
+
+ENV PYTHON3_PREFIX /usr
+ENV PYTHON3_VERSION python3.12
+
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1c5cf2d71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ca-certificates|20240203
+python3.12-dev|3.12.3-1ubuntu0.7
+curl|8.5.0-2ubuntu10.6
+python3-pip|24.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..63697c0e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/language_deps/packages/python3_pip_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+pandas|2.2.2
+numpy|1.26.4
+pyarrow|16.0.0
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/release/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/release/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b5e1d4708
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/release/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+RUN mkdir /conf /buckets
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /usr /usr
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /lib /lib
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /bin /bin
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /opt /opt
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /etc /etc
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /build_info /build_info
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /var /var
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{language_deps}} /scripts /scripts
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /usr /usr
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /lib /lib
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /bin /bin
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /opt /opt
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /etc /etc
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /build_info /build_info
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{flavor_customization}} /var /var
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN ldconfig
+
+COPY --from={{build_run}} /exaudf /exaudf
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+COPY --from={{build_run}} /build_info /build_info
+RUN true # workaround for https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/37965
+
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/actual_installed_packages/release && \
+    /scripts/list_installed_scripts/list_installed_apt.sh > /build_info/actual_installed_packages/release/apt_get_packages && \
+    /scripts/list_installed_scripts/list_installed_pip.sh python3.12 > /build_info/actual_installed_packages/release/python3_pip_packages
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/.trivyignore b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/.trivyignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5dabc1ff6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+FROM {{release}}
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages
+COPY security_scan/packages /build_info/packages/security_scan
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/security_scan/apt_get_packages_trivy_deps
+RUN curl -s https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy-repo/deb/public.key | apt-key add - && \
+   /scripts/install_scripts/install_ppa.pl --ppa 'deb https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy-repo/deb noble main' --out-file trivy.list
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/security_scan/apt_get_packages
+
+ENV SECURITY_SCANNERS="trivy"
+COPY /security_scan/.trivyignore /.trivyignore
+COPY /security_scan/trivy.rego /trivy.rego
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/scripts/security_scan/run.sh"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6bd628d4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+trivy
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages_trivy_deps b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages_trivy_deps
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8920661bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/packages/apt_get_packages_trivy_deps
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+apt-transport-https
+gnupg
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/trivy.rego b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/trivy.rego
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ea531bfaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/security_scan/trivy.rego
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package trivy
+
+import data.lib.trivy
+
+default ignore = false
+
+ignore {
+        input.PkgName == "linux-libc-dev"
+        regex.match("^(kernel:|In the Linux kernel)", input.Title)
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/testconfig b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/testconfig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d1bdb8113
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/testconfig
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+generic_language_tests=python3
+test_folders=python3/all pandas/all pandas/pandas2
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c67b999ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+ENV ARCHIVE_UBUNTU_PREFIX=""
+RUN sed --in-place --regexp-extended "s/(\/\/)(archive\.ubuntu)/\1$ARCHIVE_UBUNTU_PREFIX\2/" /etc/apt/sources.list
+
+COPY 01_nodoc /etc/dpkg/dpkg.cfg.d/01_nodoc
+COPY scripts /scripts
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages
+COPY udfclient_deps/packages /build_info/packages/udfclient_deps
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/udfclient_deps/apt_get_packages --with-versions
+
+RUN addgroup --gid 1001 exasolution
+RUN adduser --disabled-login --uid 1001 --gid 1001 exasolution --gecos "First Last,RoomNumber,WorkPhone,HomePhone"
+RUN addgroup --gid 501 exausers
+RUN adduser --disabled-login --uid 501 --gid 501 exadefusr --gecos "First Last,RoomNumber,WorkPhone,HomePhone"
+
+ENV LANG en_US.UTF-8
+ENV LANGUAGE en_US:en
+ENV LC_ALL en_US.UTF-8
+
+ENV PROTOBUF_LIBRARY_PREFIX=/usr/lib/
+ENV PROTOBUF_INCLUDE_PREFIX=/usr/include/
+ENV ZMQ_LIBRARY_PREFIX=/usr/lib
+ENV ZMQ_INCLUDE_PREFIX=/usr/include
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8d9e27f08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_base/udfclient_deps/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+coreutils|9.4-3ubuntu6
+adduser|3.137ubuntu1
+locales|2.39-0ubuntu8.4
+libnss-db|2.2.3pre1-9build3
+libzmq3-dev|4.3.5-1build2
+cppzmq-dev|4.10.0-1build1
+libprotobuf-dev|3.21.12-8.2ubuntu0.1
+libssl-dev|3.0.13-0ubuntu3.5
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/Dockerfile b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e83813dbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+############################################################################################
+############################################################################################
+# This Dockerfile allows you to extend this flavor by installing packages or adding files. 
+# IF you didn't change the lines below, you can add packages and their version to the  
+# files in ./packages and they get automatically installed.                                
+############################################################################################
+############################################################################################
+
+#######################################################################
+#######################################################################
+# Do not change the following lines unless you know what you are doing 
+#######################################################################
+#######################################################################
+
+FROM {{flavor_base_deps}}
+
+RUN mkdir -p /build_info/packages/flavor_customization
+
+COPY flavor_customization/packages/apt_get_packages /build_info/packages/flavor_customization
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_apt.pl --file /build_info/packages/flavor_customization/apt_get_packages --with-versions
+
+COPY flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages /build_info/packages/flavor_customization
+RUN /scripts/install_scripts/install_via_pip.pl --file /build_info/packages/flavor_customization/python3_pip_packages --python-binary python3 --with-versions --allow-no-version
+
+
+##########################################################################
+##########################################################################
+# Below this text you can add any Dockerfile commands except of FROM.            
+# However only commands which change the filesystem will be              
+# reflected to the final script-language container.                      
+# We recommend to use only RUN, COPY and ADD. For example, WORKDIR, USER 
+# and ENV will be not carried over into the final container. For more 
+# information about Dockerfile commands, please check the reference 
+# https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/builder/#dockerfile-reference 
+##########################################################################
+##########################################################################
+
+
+###########
+###########
+# Examples:
+###########
+###########
+
+#################################################
+# Execute a command during the build of the image
+#################################################
+
+# With RUN you can excute any command you usally would run in a bash shell.
+# It usually is a good idea to cleanup downloaded files or packages 
+# caches in the same in the same RUN statement to keep the image size
+# small. You can execute multiple shell commands in one RUN statement
+# by combine them with 
+# - `&&` (only execute if the previous command was successfull), 
+# - `||` (only execute if the previous command was unsuccesfull)
+# - `;` (execute regardless of the success of the previous command)
+# To format multiple command per RUN statement you can add a line break with `\`.
+# If you need to execute complex sequences of commands you should execute
+# scripts which you can copy into the image.
+# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# RUN git clone https://github.com/exasol/data-science-examples
+# RUN curl -o data-science-examples.zip https://codeload.github.com/exasol/data-science-examples/zip/master && \
+#     unzip data-science-examples.zip && \
+#     rm data-science-examples.zip
+
+#####################################
+# Copy a file from ./ into the image. 
+#####################################
+
+# In case of exaslct it is important to prefix source files or directories with `flavor_customization`
+# if you want to copy files or directories located in the same directory as this Dockerfile
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# COPY flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages /build_info/packages/flavor_customization
+# ADD flavor_customization/code.tar.gz /code
+
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/apt_get_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/apt_get_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d78cd6de0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/apt_get_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# This file specifies the package list which gets installed via apt.
+# You must specify the the package and its version separated by a |.
+# We recommend here the usage of package versions, to ensure that the container 
+# builds are reproducible. However, we allow also packages without version.
+# As you can see, this file can contain comments which start with #.
+# If a line starts with # the whole line is a comment, however you can
+# also start a comment after the package definition.
+
+# p7zip-full|16.02+dfsg-6 # you can check which versions of a package are available with apt-cache policy <package-name>
diff --git a/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9f22f993
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flavors/template-Exasol-all-python-3.12/flavor_customization/packages/python3_pip_packages
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# This file specifies the package list which gets installed via pip for python3.
+# You must specify the the package and its version separated by a |.
+# We recommend here the usage of package versions, to ensure that the container 
+# builds are reproducible. However, we allow also packages without version.
+# As you can see, this file can contain comments which start with #.
+# If a line starts with # the whole line is a comment, however you can
+# also start a comment after the package definition.
+
+#tensorflow-probability|0.9.0
diff --git a/test_container/tests/test/generic/get_connection.py b/test_container/tests/test/generic/get_connection.py
index 7f5ad9d39..f4733f11c 100644
--- a/test_container/tests/test/generic/get_connection.py
+++ b/test_container/tests/test/generic/get_connection.py
@@ -172,8 +172,7 @@ def testAccessConnectionInAdapter(self):
             CREATE OR REPLACE PYTHON3 ADAPTER SCRIPT adapter.fast_adapter_conn AS
             import json
             import string
-            encodeUTF8 = lambda x: x
-
+            
             def adapter_call(request):
                 root = json.loads(request)
                 if root["type"] == "createVirtualSchema":
@@ -197,9 +196,9 @@ def adapter_call(request):
                             }]
                         }
                     }
-                    return encodeUTF8(json.dumps(res))
+                    return json.dumps(res)
                 elif root["type"] == "dropVirtualSchema":
-                    return encodeUTF8(json.dumps({"type": "dropVirtualSchema"}))
+                    return json.dumps({"type": "dropVirtualSchema"})
                 else:
                     raise ValueError('Unsupported callback')
             /