Powerful Design Environment...Compare to FileMaker Pro 5
4D's extensive selection of active objects, form events and powerful language let you create the type of interface your users have come to expect in their software. Link your code to a specific event; implement a drag and drop interface; use thermometers, dials, tabs controls, rollover buttons. The possibilities are almost endless!
Give your users some control over their own environment without endangering your application. 4D includes user accessible editors to allow your users to create and save reports, labels, searches and sorts without having access to the Design environment or the Method Editor. And because 4D compiles to true machine code it's completely secure from unwanted and inadvertent changes.
4Ds Password system allows you to assign passwords to individual users, create groups, assign users to multiple groups and even nest groups into a hierarchical system of access privileges. Assign access privileges for tables, menu items, forms, methods and plug-ins or create your own access privileges using the 4D language.
4D incorporates the features you expect in a much more expensive system. Transactions, automatic deletion control, record locking and semaphores ensure that your data is always accurate.
Don't worry, you won't be giving up built-in web features. 4th Dimension led the way in web serving databases! 4D includes a built-in web server and a full suite of internet commands for serving HTML pages, SMTP support, POP support, and even FTP.
4D's full programming language includes over 600 commands and functions and the ability to extend it by writing your own functions using the 4D language. You can also write your own functions or add new graphical interface features by writing plug-ins in C, C++ or Pascal. The language includes support for variables, arrays, pointers, semaphores, stored procedures, triggers, BLOBS and bitwise operators. Save and retrieve documents to and from the hard drive; write preference and resource files from inside your 4D application.
Use 4D's Method Editor to create Methods you can use over and over again and call from anywhere in your application. Copy and paste from any text file or another Method. Use 4D Insider to copy whole sections of code and even layouts from one program to another. Create your own libraries and modules. Then drop them into any new application.
Run Methods automatically based on a wide variety of Form events or User actions. No need to use buttons to make your code run. Use 4D's powerful Debugger and Runtime Explorer to step through Code, set break points and see what's going on deep inside your application.
Did you think you'd have to give up the convenience of one development tool to get more power? Not with 4D you don't. 4th Dimension scales from Single user Desktop data base to multi-user just the way you're used to. Plus you can use your 4D application as a Front End to an enterprise database written in SQL, Oracle or any ODBC compliant database.
What you probably aren't used to is the added power and flexibility of 4D's true RDBMS and Client-Server architecture. Speed up operations and support hundreds of users and hundreds of Tables all at the same time.
There's a significant difference in how multi-user applications communicate with each other... Compare Filesharing to Client-Server
Show data from multiple tables in one subform, even without a direct relation.
Modifications and upgrades are a snap with 4D's separate structure and data files. No need to work on the production application or export and import data just to make a few changes. Make your changes on a copy and then replace the structure with a simple drag and drop. All clients are automatically updated and 4D handles the integration of the new structure with the data. You can even create multiple data files for one structure, No need to copy the whole database over and over again.
4D is internally threaded to give you the power of multi-processing regardless of what operating system you use. Multi processing can make your user's lives a whole lot easier. Use processes to:
More Power for less Money!...Compare to FileMaker Pro 5
You're probably thinking that all this power must cost a lot. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised! 4D can even save you money. Get a full development environment and the ability to make custom applications and distribute your solutions for $150 less than FileMaker Pro! Set up a server solution and only pay for concurrent users - not all users. Choose between the Deployment Server for $200 less than FileMaker Server and the Development Server for $100 less than FileMaker Server. Plus, 4D Server includes the first two client liicenses. That's another $500 savings.
There's an informative reference-style guide which compares FileMaker Pro and 4D, and which acquaints you with the terminology used in both products. Click here for more information and to download this document.
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