Definition: dBASE Plus

A relational database management (DBMS) and object-oriented application development system for Windows from dBase LLC, Binghamton, NY. Providing cross-database capability, it reads and writes natively to dBASE, Paradox, Access, Oracle, MS SQL Server and other databases. dBASE is an interpreted language that can also be compiled to speed up runtime operation.

dBASE's dQuery/Web interface provides a drag-and-drop capability for building and manipulating databases as well as interactively editing data. One-Click Windows and Web applications can be generated directly from the data models.

Distributed External Objects (DEO) provides a thin client capability that allows dBASE programs to be stored and updated on a LAN or Internet server and downloaded into the PC for execution.

dBASE Has History
dBASE was the first sophisticated database program for personal computers, and dBASE file formats became de facto standards. It was originally developed for the CP/M operating system and later DOS, but starting with dBASE for Windows, it became a client/server development system with the inclusion of the Borland Database Engine.

dBASE provides a Pascal-like, fourth-generation interpreted programming language that became very popular. Its interpreted nature allows small fragments of code to be instantly tested and databases to be interactively edited. For example, the following commands, which convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, can be entered one at a time for execution or placed in a program file:

    INPUT "Enter Fahrenheit  " TO FAHR
    ? "Celsius is ", (FAHR - 32) * 5 / 9

The following dBASE 4GL example opens the Products file and displays green items:

    use products
    list for color ='GREEN'

dBASE Evolution
Originally named Vulcan, dBASE was created by Wayne Ratliff to manage a company football pool. It was modeled after JPLDIS, the DBMS at Jet Propulsion Labs in Los Angeles. Renamed dBASE II when Hal Lashlee and George Tate formed Ashton-Tate to market it in 1981, dBASE became a huge success within a couple of years. In 1991, Borland acquired the company, and in 1999, dBASE, Inc. acquired dBASE from Borland. The company's name was later changed to dataBased Intelligence, Inc., and dBase LLC took over the product in 2012.

dBASE spawned the "Xbase" industry, which included Clipper, FoxBase, FoxPro and other products that provided a dBASE-like programming language and support for dBASE file formats. See dBASE versions and Xbase.

C. Wayne Ratliff

Ratliff designed and programmed the first successful DBMS for personal computers, dBASE II. (Image courtesy of Ratliff Software Productions.)