4th Dimension (software)
4D (4th Dimension, or Silver Surfer, as it was known during early development) is a relational database management system and integrated development environment developed by Laurent Ribardière. 4D was created in 1984 and had a slightly delayed public release for Macintosh in 1987 with its own programming language.
| Designed by | Laurent Ribardière |
|---|---|
| Developer | 4D SAS |
| First appeared | 1984 (dev) 1987 (official) |
| Stable release | v18 R5
/ 19 January 2021 |
| Preview release | v18 R6 Beta
|
| Implementation language | C, C++ |
| Platform | Cross-Platform |
| OS | Windows, macOS |
| License | Proprietary |
| Filename extensions | 4DB, 4DC |
| File formats | Interpreted, Compiled |
| Website | us |
| Original author(s) | Laurent Ribardière |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | 4D SAS |
| Initial release | 1984 (ss) 1987 (v1) |
| Stable release | v18 R5
/ 19 January 2021 |
| Preview release | v18 R6 Beta
|
| Written in | C++, C |
| Operating system | Windows, Mac OS |
| Type | RAD RDBMS IDE Language GUI Designer Web Server |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | us |
| Original author(s) | Laurent Ribardière |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | 4D SAS |
| Initial release | 1993 (v1) |
| Stable release | v18 R5
/ 19 January 2021 |
| Preview release | v18 R6 Beta
|
| Written in | C++, C |
| Operating system | Windows, Mac OS |
| Type | RDBMS Web Server Application Server SQL Server Database Server Language |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | us |
The 4D product line has since expanded to an SQL back-end, integrated compiler, integration of PHP, and several productivity plug-ins and interfaces. Some of the plug-ins created by 4D include 4D Write (a word processor), 4D View (somewhat like a spreadsheet, but with extra functionality) and 4D Internet Commands (which allowed for the addition of Internet-related functionality to a database). There are also over 100 third-party plugins, free and commercial.
4D can also be used as a web server, to run compiled database applications.
Today, 4D is published by the French company 4D SAS and has a sales, distribution and support presence in most major markets, with the United States, the United Kingdom, and France being the primary markets. The product is localized in more than a dozen languages.