Editing DBase (section)

==History==

===Origins===
{{Main|Jet Propulsion Laboratory Display Information System}}
In the late 1960s, Fred Thompson at the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (JPL) was using a [[Tymshare]] product named [[Tymshare RETRIEVE|RETRIEVE]] to manage a database of electronic calculators, which were at that time very expensive products. In 1971, Thompson collaborated with Jack Hatfield, a programmer at JPL, to write an enhanced version of RETRIEVE, which became the JPLDIS project. JPLDIS was written in [[FORTRAN]] on the [[UNIVAC 1108]] mainframe, and was presented publicly in 1973. When Hatfield left JPL in 1974, [[Jeb Long]] took over his role.<ref>Susan Lammers, [http://www.foxprohistory.org/jeblong_jpldis.htm "How it Started - JPLDIS: How Came The Idea"], The History of FoxPro</ref>

While working at JPL as a contractor, [[C. Wayne Ratliff]] entered the [[betting pool|office football pool]]. He had no interest in the game as such, but felt he could win the pool by processing the post-game statistics found in newspapers.{{sfn|Lammers|1986|p=113}} In order to do this, he turned his attention to a database system and, by chance, came across the documentation for JPLDIS. He used this as the basis for a port to [[PTDOS]] on his kit-built [[IMSAI 8080]] microcomputer, and called the resulting system '''Vulcan''' (after the home planet of [[Spock|Mr. Spock]] on ''[[Star Trek]]'').<ref>Susan Lammers, [http://www.foxprohistory.org/interview_wayne_ratliff.htm "Interview with Wayne Ratliff"], The History of FoxPro</ref>{{r|pournelle198007}}{{sfn|Lammers|1986|p=114}}

===Ashton-Tate===
{{Main|Ashton-Tate}}

George Tate and Hal Lashlee had built two successful start-up companies: Discount Software, which was one of the first to sell PC software programs through the mail to consumers, and Software Distributors, which was one of the first wholesale distributors of PC software in the world. They entered into an agreement with Ratliff to market Vulcan, and formed [[Ashton-Tate]]{{sfn|Lammers|1986|pp=115-116}} (the name Ashton was chosen purely for marketing reasons) to do so. Ratliff ported Vulcan from PTDOS to [[CP/M]]. Hal Pawluk, who handled marketing for the nascent company, decided to change the name to the more business-like "dBASE". Pawluk devised the use of lower case "d" and all-caps "BASE" to create a distinctive name. Pawluk suggested calling the new product version two ("II") to suggest it was less buggy than an initial release. '''dBASE II''' was the result and became a standard CP/M application along with WordStar and SuperCalc.<ref>[http://www.foxprohistory.org/people_ashton.htm "Ashton-Tate People"], The History of FoxPro</ref>

In 1981, IBM commissioned a port of dBASE for the then-in-development PC. The resultant program was one of the initial pieces of software available when the IBM PC went on sale in the fall of 1981. dBASE was one of a few "professional" programs on the platform then, and became a huge success. The customer base included not only end-users, but an increasing number of "value added resellers", or VARs, who purchased dBASE, wrote applications with it, and sold the completed systems to their customers. The May 1983 release of '''dBASE II RunTime''' further entrenched dBASE in the VAR market by allowing the VARs to deploy their products using the lower-cost RunTime system.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Although some critics stated that dBASE was difficult to learn, its success created many opportunities for third parties. By 1984, more than 1,000 companies offered dBASE-related application development, libraries of code to add functionality, applications using dBASE II Runtime, consulting, training, and how-to books. A company in San Diego (today known as Advisor Media) premiered a magazine devoted to the professional use of dBASE, '''Data Based Advisor'''; its circulation exceeded 35,000 after eight months.<ref name="chin19840409">{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72 | title=Firms grab for dBase II gold | magazine=[[InfoWorld]] | volume=6 |issue=15 | date=1984-04-09 | access-date=2015-02-04 | last=Chin |first=Kathy | pages=72–73}}</ref> All of these activities fueled the rapid rise of dBASE as the leading product of its type;<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Reilly |first=Richard |date=26 September 1994 |title=dBASE 5.0 for Windows has a Big Engine, but Lacks Speed |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/09/26/dbase-50-for-windows-has-a-big-engine-but-lacks-speed/fa865dc2-fdd3-48d7-a9f0-38e2f820320a/ |access-date=8 July 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magid |first=Lawrence |date=25 February 1988 |title=Ashton-Tate has a Likely Winner |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-25-fi-44843-story.html |access-date=8 February 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> by early 1984 Ashton-Tate stated that it had sold more than 150,000 copies of dBASE II.<ref name="hart19840207">{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knOwBOkBuYQC&pg=PA114 | title=The ABC's of dBASE II | magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |volume=3 |issue=2 | date=1984-02-07 | access-date=October 24, 2013 | last=Hart |first=Glenn A. | pages=114}}</ref>

===dBase III===
[[File:Screenshot of Dbase III Plus.png|thumbnail|Screenshot of Dbase III Plus]]
As platforms and [[operating system]]s proliferated in the early 1980s, the company found it difficult to port the [[assembly language]]-based dBase to target systems. This led to a rewrite of the platform in the [[C programming language]], using automated code conversion tools. The resulting code worked, but was essentially undocumented{{why|date=February 2024}} and inhuman in syntax{{how|date=February 2024}}, a problem that would prove to be serious in the future.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}}

In May 1984, the rewritten dBase III was released. Although reviewers widely panned its lowered performance, the product was otherwise well reviewed. After a few rapid upgrades, the system stabilized and was once again a best-seller throughout the 1980s, and formed the famous "application trio" of PC compatibles (dBase, [[Lotus 123]], and [[WordPerfect]]). By the fall of 1984, the company had over 500 employees and was taking in US$40 million a year in sales (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|40|1984}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}), the vast majority from dBase products.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

====Cloning====
There was also an unauthorized clone of dBase III called Rebus in the [[Soviet Union]]. Its adaptation to the Russian language was reduced to the mechanical replacement of the name, the russification of the help files and the correction of the sorting tables for the Russian language.

===dBase IV===
Introduced in 1988,<ref>{{cite news
   |newspaper=CBRonline (Computer Business Review)
   |url=https://techmonitor.ai/technology/new_user_interface_for_ashtons_dbase_iv <!-- This was a broken link to cbr_online (invalid domain) and without the '_' redirected to this new URL. 13 September 2021 -->
   |title=New user interface for Ashton's dBase IV
   |date=February 17, 1988
   |via = TechMonitor
   }}</ref> after delays,<ref>{{cite news  |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/business/the-executive-computer-at-long-last-dbase-iv-arrives.html
   |title=At Long Last, dBase IV Arrives
   |first=Peter H. |last=Lewis |date=January 15, 1989
   |url-access=limited}}</ref>
'''dBase IV''' had "more than 300 new or improved features". By then, [[FoxPro]] had made inroads,
and even dBase IV's  support for [[Query by Example]] and [[SQL]] were not enough.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} dBase IV added a built-in [[screen generator]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Littlefield |first=Warren M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFRJBG4EPOYC&pg=PA205 |title=dBASE-From the Dot Prompt: An Introduction to Structured Programming Using dBASE IV |date=1993-06-04 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-1107-1 |pages=205–220 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Paul W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTi_DN_LCSIC&pg=PA601 |title=The Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists |date=1995-10-25 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2530-4 |pages=601 |language=en}}</ref> in dBASE III and earlier, third party screen generators were available, including Luis Castro's ''ViewGen'' which was purchased by Fox Software and bundled with FoxPro 1.0 as ''FoxView''.<ref name="FoxProHistory">{{Cite web |title=The History of FoxPro - People That Contributed With Other xBase Tools |url=http://www.foxprohistory.org/people_other.htm |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.foxprohistory.org}}</ref>

Along the way, [[Borland]], which had bought [[Ashton-Tate]], brought out a revised dBase IV in 1992<ref>{{cite news   
  |newspaper=Los Angeles Times
   |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-23-fi-1367-story.html
   |title=The Future of Database Programs
   |first=Richard  |last=O'Reilly  |date=April 23, 1992|url-access=subscription}}</ref> but with a focus described as "designed for programmers" rather than "for ordinary users".{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

[[File:DBASE timeline.png|thumb|Full timeline for all the dBase Products.|alt=|center|500x500px]]

===Recent version history===
{{Promotional section|date=March 2022}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:center; margin:0 0 0.5em 1em;"
|-
! Version
! Released
! Notes
|-
| dBASE PLUS 9
| June 18, 2014 
| Additional key features of dBASE PLUS 9 include: dComplete - an Intelli-Sense like feature for the dBASE language; dBlocks - add dBASE snippets of code in a couple of key strokes, dLocator - now find the information across multiple files; dBabel - now support for color-highlighting HTML, XML, SQL, JavaScript and others; dExtract - now export your source code into HTML, RTF, PDF, LaTeX, and XML; dbfExplorer - now reveal the file properties inside the Windows Explorer interface; Updated Editor - it includes Code Folding, Auto Indent, End of Line markers, Indentation Guides, Line Numbers, and other features, 60% more keyboard shortcuts; Lookup Data – royalty free data that includes stock, geography, and other common types of lookup data; and Catalyst SocketTools ActiveX controls and libraries help developers create Internet-enabled applications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prlog.org/12338018-dbase-llc-unveils-new-version-of-legendary-dbase-database-management-system.html|title=New dBASE PLUS 9 includes new tools to make developing great programs, applications, and solutions easier than ever before!}}</ref>
|-
| dbfExport 2
| April 17, 2015 
| The next major release of dbfExport 2, from dBase LLC.<ref>{{cite web|title=Introducing dbfExport™ 2 the easiest way to export your dBASE data ever!| url=http://www.prlog.org/12446902-introducing-dbfexport-2-the-easiest-way-to-export-your-dbase-data-ever.html/}}</ref> Can convert dBASE data from .dbf files to CSV, HTML, Microsoft Excel 2003 and below, Microsoft Excel 2008 and above, or XML.
|-
| dbDOS PRO 4.0
| May 6, 2015 
| dBase, LLC Unveils New Version of dbDOS PRO 4!<ref>{{cite web|title=dBase, LLC Unveils New Version of dbDOS™ PRO 4!| url=http://www.prlog.org/12453418-dbase-llc-unveils-new-version-of-dbdos-pro-4.html/}}</ref> dbDOS PRO 4, the latest version of the best-selling solution for supporting MS-DOS based applications on Windows Vista and above operating systems. 
|-
| dbDOS PRO 4.0N
| May 18, 2015 
| dBase, LLC Introduces dbDOS PRO 4N – Supports Multi-User MS-DOS Applications, on Windows Vista and above operating systems.<ref>{{cite web|title=dBase, LLC Introduces dbDOS™ PRO 4N – Supports Multi-User MS-DOS Applications!| url=http://www.prlog.org/12456803-dbase-llc-introduces-dbdos-pro-4n-supports-multi-user-ms-dos-applications.html}}</ref> Added network communications. 
|-
| dBASE PLUS 10
| July 21, 2015 
| Additional key features of dBASE PLUS 10 include:  A new set of Native Components, the new data-aware GridEx (dGrid) and ListView components. An updated Compiler, which allows it to compile larger files, more symbols and is 30% faster. dBASE PLUS 10 introduces a new Debugger – called dBugger. The Embedded Runtime gives the ability to build a single .exe with the dBASE PLUS 10 Runtime embedded into the .exe. Also included, is the new Resource Handling, which now works with both .BMP and .PNG graphic types from resource .dll(s). In addition, dBASE PLUS 10 includes over 15,000 royalty-free images to use in applications. The product also introduced the updated dComplete 2.0, which adds significant code-completion functionality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prlog.org/12456802-dbase-llc-unshackle-your-windows-application-development-process-with-the-new-dbase-plus-10.html|title=The New dBASE PLUS 10 includes new tools and functionality to make developing great data-driven Windows® and Web based applications a breeze!}}</ref>
|-
| dbDOS PRO 5+N
| July, 2016 
| dBase, LLC Introduces dbDOS PRO 5+N – dbDOS PRO 5+N, the latest version of the MS-DOS-based virtual machine (VM) to run DOS based applications on Windows 64-bit operating systems.<ref>{{cite web|title=dBase, LLC Introduces dbDOS PRO 5+N| url=https://www.prlog.org/12567044-dbase-llc-innovates-with-new-version-of-dbdos-pro-5n.html}}</ref> 
|-
| dBASE PLUS 11
| January, 2017
| Additional New features of dBASE PLUS 11 include: Touch and Tablet support – dBASE PLUS 11 now supports touch and gesturing with enhanced support for tablets.  Assist Technologies. dmAssist – the data module designer introduces a much easier interface for building and working with data modules. The new dmAssist works with both data-layers of the BDE and ADO technologies. dBASE PLUS 11 makes building data-aware web applications easier with a new responsive web framework that works on both Apache and Microsoft IIS technologies.  dmOutput – the new dBASE PLUS 11 allows generating output from data modules. dmC.R.U.D. – the new dBASE PLUS 11 allows generating a starter application.  dBASE PLUS 11 includes seven new open source fonts that are designed to make code easier to read and print. databuttons.cc – the standard data-aware components have been enhanced to support components with graphics 24x24 through 64x64. Windows Theming – dBASE PLUS 11 now supports 10 Microsoft Windows themes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prlog.org/12610667-all-hail-the-new-dbase-plus-11.html|title=All Hail the new dBASE™ PLUS 11!}}</ref>
|-
|}