What is 4D?

4D Dimension (or 4D) is a database management system whose slogan is "4D, When the solution matters."

The 4D software was created by Laurent Ribardière in 1984 and is one of the first (if not the first) database systems to emerge on the Apple Macintosh platform. This particularity has long "stuck" to it, but in 1995, 4D became cross-platform and also runs on Microsoft Windows.

4D v11 SQL release 6 (11.6) is the current version, certified for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 SP2, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.

Year Version Remarks
1984 ABCBase
1985 4D v1
1986 4D v2
1987 4D v3
1989 4D v4 Multi-user Support - Compiler
1992 4D v5Integrated client/server environment
1995 4D v5.5 Multi-platform Mac OS and Windows
1997 4D v6 Integrated Web Server
1999 4D 6.5 4D 6.5.9r2 is the last version of this line
2000 4D 6.7 4D 6.7.4 is the last version of this line
2001 4D 6.8 Mac OS X Certification (6.8.5); version 6.8.6 is the last version of this line.
2003 4D 2003 XML, Web Services, and Integrated Compiler; version 2003.8r2 is the last version of this line.
2004 4D 2004 Revamped interface; high-level ODBC command integration, 4D Customizer, 4D Backup, and 4D Engine; version 2004.8 is the last version of this line.
2007 4D v11 SQL New database engine, integrated SQL, Unicode support, SVG management, integrated maintenance center, web zone,... 4D v11 SQL Release 6 (11.6) is the latest current version.
2010 4D v12 New features, development environment improvements, multi-databases, integrated synchronization system between multiple databases, PHP support

4D Software [edit]
4D is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) with a fourth-generation programming language (4GL). A true integrated development environment (IDE), 4D includes a compiler, a debugger, a complete automated backup and mirroring system, a web server, a web services server and client, and a mono-user execution engine and multi-platform client-server. Recently, 4D has been enriched with the 4D Web 2.0 Pack suite, integrating the 4D Live Window plugin and the 4D Ajax Framework component.

4D includes many plugins:

Productivity: 4D View (spreadsheet), 4D Write (word processing), 4D Chart (graphs)
Connectivity: 4D ODBC, 4D for MySQL, 4D for ADO, 4D for OCI, 4D for PostgreSQL, 4D Internet Commands (ftp, email, http), ODBC Driver for 4D, JDBC Driver for 4D, ...
Extensions: 4D Pack (language extensions), 4D Live Window (document display), 4D Ajax Framework (component), 4D Ajax for Dreamweaver (plugin for Adobe Dreamweaver), 4D for Flex (libraries for Flex client applications), 4D Plugin SDK (plugin development), ...

The 4D software traditionally had 3 modes:

The structure mode (or Design mode) allowing the creation of forms and methods, as well as modifying the database structure, compiling, and debugging.
The usage mode, allowing the unit launch of created programs and the modification of the database content.
The so-called created menus mode in which users can view a fully "dressed" custom application.
Since version 4D v11 SQL, the Structure and Usage modes have merged into a single Development mode. The Created Menus mode has become the Application mode.

4D in a few notions [edit]
High-level proprietary language independent of the operating system
Cross-platform: Mac OS X (including MacIntel since version 4D 2004.5) and Windows (Vista certification since version 4D 2004.6 and Windows Server 2008 since version 4D v11 SQL 11.3, Windows 7 certification since version 4D V11.5) - see the certification matrices on the official site
Single-user and client/server solutions
Extensible architecture: plugins, object libraries, components
Ability to develop in client/server (collaborative development)
Since 4D v11 SQL:

Native SQL engine
SVG support
Integration of Unicode
Extended support for ODBC, XML, and SOAP Web Services
Main features [edit]
Opening databases in interpreted or compiled code
Form generator
User access and password management
Method editor
Menu editor, help bubbles (or tooltips), lists, style sheets, filters
Multilingual spell checker
HTML rendering engine
Debugger, syntax checker
Compiler and application generator
Integrated backup and mirroring system
Web server
Web Services Server and Client
Data Server and Client (ODBC, JDBC, Oracle, SQL, MySQL, ...)
Strengths of 4D V11 SQL [edit]
Whether for basic local projects or client-server solutions with many clients, the transition is seamless: without changing a line of code, the 4D engine takes care of everything. The server version of version 11 delivers excellent results in terms of responsiveness.
Cross-platform: the same program can be ported from Mac OS to MS Windows (and vice versa) without changing a single line of code. Linux compatibility is hoped for...
All database administration and configuration are centralized in a single point (the Support and Maintenance Center)
Backups can either be triggered in code or scheduled at regular intervals
The very powerful indexing allows for full-text searches
4D complies with all market standards: SQL2 (the latest): the vast majority of commands existing in this language are implemented in 4D
XML: 4D is "XML-oriented." Data and structure are directly exportable to XML for reuse with other products.
Web services: an assistant makes it easy to utilize Web services.
Web 2.0: an Ajax framework has been developed to simplify the integration of data from 4D into dynamic web pages
Flex: 4D libraries for Flex allow connecting 4D data via SQL in a rich client application
Oracle: through the ODBC driver, 4D can communicate with Oracle databases
UTF8
A word processor (4D Write) and a spreadsheet (4D View) are natively integrated into 4D. Additionally, there are 4D objects that allow for direct communication with applications in the Office suite.
Complete development can be easily reused in another by simple drag-and-drop, thanks to the consideration of component-oriented programming
4D serves as a data server, web server, web services server, and SQL server.
The programming language of 4D is tokenized: development done with French commands will be automatically translated into English, German, Spanish, or Japanese according to the version of 4D used.
A framework allows for developing web pages specifically tailored to the iPhone
The client/server deployment is very simple.
Limitations [edit]
4D is a closed platform, making collaborative work very difficult.
The 4D platform, with its integrated architecture, allows for great simplicity of development but does not target the development of management applications intended to support thousands of concurrent intensive users.
The programming language of 4D is not object-oriented.
The integrated programming language is rudimentary compared to current technologies, especially object-oriented programming. It is difficult to reuse and factor parts of code.
External links [edit]
(fr) Official website
(fr) Technical resource center for 4D: Documentation, F.A.Q, Tips, ...
(fr) 4D Solutions: Resources for developers
(fr) (en) 4DToday portal
Notes and references [edit]