DB-EnginesextremeDB - Data management wherever you need itEnglish
Deutsch
Knowledge Base of Relational and NoSQL Database Management Systemsprovided by Redgate Software

DBMS > 4D vs. dBASE vs. Microsoft Access

System Properties Comparison 4D vs. dBASE vs. Microsoft Access

Please select another system to include it in the comparison.

Editorial information provided by DB-Engines
Name4D infoformer name: 4th Dimension  Xexclude from comparisondBASE  Xexclude from comparisonMicrosoft Access  Xexclude from comparison
DescriptionApplication development environment with integrated database management systemdBase was one of the first databases with a development environment on PC's. Its latest version dBase V is still sold as dBase classic, which needs a DOS Emulation. The up-to-date product is dBase plus.Microsoft Access combines a backend RDBMS (JET / ACE Engine) with a GUI frontend for data manipulation and queries. infoThe Access frontend is often used for accessing other datasources (DBMS, Excel, etc.)
Primary database modelRelational DBMSRelational DBMSRelational DBMS
DB-Engines Ranking infomeasures the popularity of database management systemsranking trend
Trend Chart
Score1.89
Rank#122  Overall
#59  Relational DBMS
Score7.29
Rank#47  Overall
#30  Relational DBMS
Score95.36
Rank#13  Overall
#9  Relational DBMS
Websitewww.4d.comwww.dbase.comwww.microsoft.com/­en-us/­microsoft-365/­access
Technical documentationdeveloper.4d.comwww.dbase.com/­support/­knowledgebasedeveloper.microsoft.com/­en-us/­access
Developer4D, IncAsthon TateMicrosoft
Initial release198419791992
Current releasev20, April 2023dBASE 2019, 20191902 (16.0.11328.20222), March 2019
License infoCommercial or Open Sourcecommercialcommercialcommercial infoBundled with Microsoft Office
Cloud-based only infoOnly available as a cloud servicenonono
DBaaS offerings (sponsored links) infoDatabase as a Service

Providers of DBaaS offerings, please contact us to be listed.
Implementation languageC++
Server operating systemsOS X
Windows
DOS infodBase Classic
Windows infodBase Pro
Windows infoNot a real database server, but making use of DLLs
Data schemeyesyesyes
Typing infopredefined data types such as float or dateyesyesyes
XML support infoSome form of processing data in XML format, e.g. support for XML data structures, and/or support for XPath, XQuery or XSLT.yes
Secondary indexesyesyesyes
SQL infoSupport of SQLyes infoclose to SQL 92noyes infobut not compliant to any SQL standard
APIs and other access methodsODBC
RESTful HTTP API infoby using 4D Mobile
SOAP webservices
none infoThe IDE can access other DBMS or ODBC-sources.ADO.NET
DAO
ODBC
OLE DB
Supported programming languages4D proprietary IDE
PHP
dBase proprietary IDEC
C#
C++
Delphi
Java (JDBC-ODBC)
VBA
Visual Basic.NET
Server-side scripts infoStored proceduresyesno infoThe IDE can access stored procedures in other database systems.yes infosince Access 2010 using the ACE-engine
Triggersyesnoyes infosince Access 2010 using the ACE-engine
Partitioning methods infoMethods for storing different data on different nodesnonenonenone
Replication methods infoMethods for redundantly storing data on multiple nodesMulti-source replicationnonenone
MapReduce infoOffers an API for user-defined Map/Reduce methodsnonono
Consistency concepts infoMethods to ensure consistency in a distributed systemImmediate Consistency
Foreign keys infoReferential integrityyesyesyes
Transaction concepts infoSupport to ensure data integrity after non-atomic manipulations of dataACIDno infonot for dBase internal data, but IDE does support transactions when accessing external DBMSACID infobut no files for transaction logging
Concurrency infoSupport for concurrent manipulation of datayesyesyes
Durability infoSupport for making data persistentyesyesyes infobut no files for transaction logging
In-memory capabilities infoIs there an option to define some or all structures to be held in-memory only.no
User concepts infoAccess controlUsers and groupsAccess rights for users and rolesno infoa simple user-level security was built in till version Access 2003

More information provided by the system vendor

We invite representatives of system vendors to contact us for updating and extending the system information,
and for displaying vendor-provided information such as key customers, competitive advantages and market metrics.

Related products and services

We invite representatives of vendors of related products to contact us for presenting information about their offerings here.

More resources
4D infoformer name: 4th DimensiondBASEMicrosoft Access
DB-Engines blog posts

MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis are the winners of the March ranking
2 March 2016, Paul Andlinger

show all

DB-Engines Ranking coverage expanded to 169 database management systems
3 June 2013, Paul Andlinger

show all

MS Access drops in DB-Engines Ranking
2 May 2013, Paul Andlinger

Microsoft SQL Server regained rank 2 in the DB-Engines popularity ranking
3 December 2012, Matthias Gelbmann

New DB-Engines Ranking shows the popularity of database management systems
3 October 2012, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

show all

Recent citations in the news

Tailored Solutions details features of new Label Traxx Version 5.0
26 September 2006, Labels & Labeling

provided by Google News

Carl Townsend Obituary - Tigard, OR
5 March 2025, Dignity Memorial

Microsoft Access 2016 Now Supports dBase Database Format
7 September 2016, Redmondmag.com

Inside Liam Brady's personal life with wife and children as he appears on Late Late Show
11 April 2025, Irish Mirror

Figure 4. Data view constructed from dBase files in a legacy Windows...
8 February 2018, ResearchGate

WFP DBase (Logistics Data, Budgets and Systems Execution) Factsheet (November 2019)
30 November 2019, ReliefWeb

provided by Google News

How to Fix Common Corruption Problems with Access Database
4 October 2024, TechSpective

Access Migration to Power Apps and Dataverse is released to General Availability
11 May 2022, Microsoft

MS patients in England to benefit from major roll out of take-at-home pill
12 March 2025, The Guardian

MS Access How To Control and Open a POS Cash Register Cash Drawer With VBA
19 January 2018, experts-exchange.com

MS access program to increase awareness and independence of those living with MS and disability
10 July 2023, Nebraska Medicine Omaha, NE

provided by Google News



Share this page

Featured Products

Datastax Astra logo

Bring all your data to Generative AI applications with vector search enabled by the most scalable
vector database available.
Try for Free

RaimaDB logo

RaimaDB, embedded database for mission-critical applications. When performance, footprint and reliability matters.
Try RaimaDB for free.

Milvus logo

Vector database designed for GenAI, fully equipped for enterprise implementation.
Try Managed Milvus for Free

SingleStore logo

The data platform to build your intelligent applications.
Try it free.

Neo4j logo

See for yourself how a graph database can make your life easier.
Use Neo4j online for free.

Present your product here