DB-EnginesExtremeDB for everyone with an RTOSEnglish
Deutsch
Knowledge Base of Relational and NoSQL Database Management Systemsprovided by solid IT

DBMS > 4D vs. Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL vs. SAP SQL Anywhere

System Properties Comparison 4D vs. Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL vs. SAP SQL Anywhere

Please select another system to include it in the comparison.

Editorial information provided by DB-Engines
Name4D infoformer name: 4th Dimension  Xexclude from comparisonMicrosoft SQL Server  Xexclude from comparisonPostgreSQL  Xexclude from comparisonSAP SQL Anywhere infoformerly called Adaptive Server Anywhere  Xexclude from comparison
DescriptionApplication development environment with integrated database management systemMicrosofts flagship relational DBMSWidely used open source RDBMS infoDeveloped as objectoriented DBMS (Postgres), gradually enhanced with 'standards' like SQLRDBMS database and synchronization technologies for server, desktop, remote office, and mobile environments
Primary database modelRelational DBMSRelational DBMSRelational DBMS infowith object oriented extensions, e.g.: user defined types/functions and inheritance. Handling of key/value pairs with hstore module.Relational DBMS
Secondary database modelsDocument store
Graph DBMS
Spatial DBMS
Document store
Graph DBMS infowith Apache Age
Spatial DBMS
Vector DBMS infowith pgvector extension
DB-Engines Ranking infomeasures the popularity of database management systemsranking trend
Trend Chart
Score2.80
Rank#111  Overall
#55  Relational DBMS
Score845.81
Rank#3  Overall
#3  Relational DBMS
Score634.91
Rank#4  Overall
#4  Relational DBMS
Score4.89
Rank#77  Overall
#42  Relational DBMS
Websitewww.4d.comwww.microsoft.com/­en-us/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.orgwww.sap.com/­products/­technology-platform/­sql-anywhere.html
Technical documentationdeveloper.4d.comlearn.microsoft.com/­en-US/­sql/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.org/­docshelp.sap.com/­docs/­SAP_SQL_Anywhere
Developer4D, IncMicrosoftPostgreSQL Global Development Group infowww.postgresql.org/­developerSAP infoformerly Sybase
Initial release198419891989 info1989: Postgres, 1996: PostgreSQL1992
Current releasev20, April 2023SQL Server 2022, November 202216.2, February 202417, July 2015
License infoCommercial or Open Sourcecommercialcommercial inforestricted free version is availableOpen Source infoBSDcommercial
Cloud-based only infoOnly available as a cloud servicenononono
DBaaS offerings (sponsored links) infoDatabase as a Service

Providers of DBaaS offerings, please contact us to be listed.
Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools.
Implementation languageC++C
Server operating systemsOS X
Windows
Linux
Windows
FreeBSD
HP-UX
Linux
NetBSD
OpenBSD
OS X
Solaris
Unix
Windows
AIX
HP-UX
Linux
OS X
Solaris
Windows
Data schemeyesyesyesyes
Typing infopredefined data types such as float or dateyesyesyesyes
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.yesyesyes infospecific XML-type available, but no XML query functionality.yes
Secondary indexesyesyesyesyes
SQL infoSupport of SQLyes infoclose to SQL 92yesyes infostandard with numerous extensionsyes
APIs and other access methodsODBC
RESTful HTTP API infoby using 4D Mobile
SOAP webservices
ADO.NET
JDBC
ODBC
OLE DB
Tabular Data Stream (TDS)
ADO.NET
JDBC
native C library
ODBC
streaming API for large objects
ADO.NET
HTTP API
JDBC
ODBC
Supported programming languages4D proprietary IDE
PHP
C#
C++
Delphi
Go
Java
JavaScript (Node.js)
PHP
Python
R
Ruby
Visual Basic
.Net
C
C++
Delphi
Java infoJDBC
JavaScript (Node.js)
Perl
PHP
Python
Tcl
C
C#
C++
Delphi
Java
JavaScript (Node.js)
Perl
PHP
Python
Ruby
Server-side scripts infoStored proceduresyesTransact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python and (with SQL Server 2019) Javauser defined functions inforealized in proprietary language PL/pgSQL or with common languages like Perl, Python, Tcl etc.yes, in C/C++, Java, .Net or Perl
Triggersyesyesyesyes
Partitioning methods infoMethods for storing different data on different nodesnonetables can be distributed across several files (horizontal partitioning); sharding through federationpartitioning by range, list and (since PostgreSQL 11) by hashnone
Replication methods infoMethods for redundantly storing data on multiple nodesMulti-source replicationyes, but depending on the SQL-Server EditionSource-replica replication infoother methods possible by using 3rd party extensionsSource-replica replication infoDatabase mirroring
MapReduce infoOffers an API for user-defined Map/Reduce methodsnononono
Consistency concepts infoMethods to ensure consistency in a distributed systemImmediate ConsistencyImmediate ConsistencyImmediate ConsistencyImmediate Consistency
Foreign keys infoReferential integrityyesyesyesyes
Transaction concepts infoSupport to ensure data integrity after non-atomic manipulations of dataACIDACIDACIDACID
Concurrency infoSupport for concurrent manipulation of datayesyesyesyes
Durability infoSupport for making data persistentyesyesyesyes
In-memory capabilities infoIs there an option to define some or all structures to be held in-memory only.noyesnoyes
User concepts infoAccess controlUsers and groupsfine grained access rights according to SQL-standardfine grained access rights according to SQL-standardfine grained access rights according to SQL-standard

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
3rd partiesNavicat for SQL Server gives you a fully graphical approach to database management and development.
» more

Navicat Monitor is a safe, simple and agentless remote server monitoring tool for SQL Server and many other database management systems.
» more
Timescale: Calling all PostgreSQL users – the 2023 State of PostgreSQL survey is now open! Share your favorite extensions, preferred frameworks, community experiences, and more. Take the survey today!
» more

Fujitsu Enterprise Postgres: An Enterprise Grade PostgreSQL with the flexibility of a hybrid cloud solution combined with industry leading security, availability and performance.
» more

Datasentinel: Platform for Monitoring and Analyzing the performance problems of your PostgreSQL Clusters
» more

Navicat for PostgreSQL is an easy-to-use graphical tool for PostgreSQL database development.
» more

SharePlex is the reliable and affordable data replication solution for PostgreSQL migrations, high availability and more.
» more

Instaclustr: Fully Hosted & Managed PostgreSQL
» more

Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools.
» more

pgDash: In-Depth PostgreSQL Monitoring.
» more

Navicat Monitor is a safe, simple and agentless remote server monitoring tool for PostgreSQL and many other database management systems.
» more

CYBERTEC is your professional partner in PostgreSQL topics for over 20 years. As our main aim is to be your single-source all-in-one IT service provider, we offer a wide range of products and services. Visit our website for more details.
» more

Redgate webinars: A series of key topics for new PostgreSQL users.
» more

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

More resources
4D infoformer name: 4th DimensionMicrosoft SQL ServerPostgreSQLSAP SQL Anywhere infoformerly called Adaptive Server Anywhere
DB-Engines blog posts

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

show all

MySQL is the DBMS of the Year 2019
3 January 2020, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

The struggle for the hegemony in Oracle's database empire
2 May 2017, Paul Andlinger

Microsoft SQL Server is the DBMS of the Year
4 January 2017, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

show all

PostgreSQL is the DBMS of the Year 2023
2 January 2024, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2022, defending the title from last year
3 January 2023, Matthias Gelbmann, Paul Andlinger

Snowflake is the DBMS of the Year 2021
3 January 2022, Paul Andlinger, Matthias Gelbmann

show all

Recent citations in the news

DBCC CLONEDATABASE in Microsoft SQL Server
25 March 2024, Microsoft

Fortinet FortiClient EMS SQL injection flaw exploited in the wild
26 March 2024, SC Media

Microsoft's SQL Managed Instance Offers Full Platform Cloud Solution
25 March 2024, Business Insider

Configure Kerberos authentication in Linux clients for Amazon RDS for SQL Server with AWS Managed Microsoft AD ...
13 March 2024, AWS Blog

Creating and Managing Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server
8 December 2023, New York Institute of Technology

provided by Google News

The surprising link between Formula One and enterprise PostgreSQL optimisation
28 March 2024, The Stack

PostgreSQL pioneer's latest brainchild promises time travel to dodge ransomware
28 March 2024, The Register

How to Migrate AWS PostgreSQL RDS to Aurora Using Terraform
28 March 2024, Security Boulevard

Distributed PostgreSQL Buyer's Guide
25 March 2024, assets.sdtimes.com

AI GPTs for PostgreSQL Database: Can They Work?
22 March 2024, Unite.AI

provided by Google News

SAP vulnerabilities Let Attacker Inject OS Commands—Patch Now!
11 July 2023, CybersecurityNews

SAP Again Named a Leader in 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Database Management Systems
16 December 2021, SAP News

AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Google emerge Cloud DBMS leaders
22 December 2022, Daily Host News

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

Neo4j logo

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

Milvus logo

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

AllegroGraph logo

Graph Database Leader for AI Knowledge Graph Applications - The Most Secure Graph Database Available.
Free Download

Ontotext logo

GraphDB allows you to link diverse data, index it for semantic search and enrich it via text analysis to build big knowledge graphs. Get it free.

Present your product here