4D (4th Dimension) Migration
for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US.
4D is still developed, and it is unusual in that the database, the application code and the interface all live inside one structure file. That integration is what made it productive and what makes leaving it a specific kind of work.
- Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
- 18+ yrs Building business software
- Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
- AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
Everything in one file, which cuts both ways
Fourth Dimension has a long history on Macintosh and Windows, and it was a genuinely productive way to build a business application when you needed a database and an interface together. It is common in professional services, research, membership organisations and anywhere a capable non-specialist built the first version.
That integration is the sticking point. The data cannot simply be pointed at by another tool, because it is inside the 4D structure rather than in a database another application can open.
Your 4D project, end to end
Three stages. Scoped and fixed-price before anything starts, delivered by the founder, and your existing system stays running until cutover.
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Week 0
Read the system as it is
We go through the existing application and record what it actually does, including the parts nobody documented. You get a written inventory and a fixed price before any build starts.
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Weeks 1-N
Rebuild and run in parallel
The replacement runs beside the original until the numbers reconcile. The old system stays untouched and switched on the whole time.
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Cutover
Go live and hand over
Cutover on a date you choose, then thirty days of support. Source code, documentation and credentials are handed to you, in your name.
What the work actually is
Get the data into something other tools can open
The first task is separating the data from the environment holding it. Once it is in a standard database, integration and reporting become ordinary and the decision about the application can be taken calmly.
What you have now
- A 4D structure file holding data, code and interface
- 4D methods and forms
- A small internal developer community
- Per-user 4D licensing
Get the data into something other tools can open
The first task is separating the data from the environment holding it. Once it is in a standard database, integration and reporting become ordinary and the decision about the application can be taken calmly.
See how a project runsWhat you end up with
- Data exported into a standard database with structure intact
- Methods read as documentation of the business rules
- A web application, or a current 4D build
The 5 pieces of 4D work we are asked for
Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.
Export the structure and data
Tables, fields and relationships extracted with the structure preserved, then reconciled against the original.
Read the methods
4D methods hold the business rules and the validation. They are worth documenting regardless of what happens to the application.
Rebuild the interface
4D forms translated into a web application, so access is not tied to a client install on specific machines.
Handle the file storage
Documents and images held inside the structure moved into proper storage, which usually shrinks the database dramatically.
Or stay, if that is right
If 4D suits the work and the licence is manageable, extracting the data for reporting while keeping the application is the cheaper answer.
Where you are now
It works, and nobody will touch it
- Data locked inside a 4D structure file
- Other systems cannot reach it without an export
- Per-user licensing that grows with headcount
- A very small pool of 4D developers to hire from
After
Supported, documented and yours
- Data in a standard database that other tools can read
- Reporting and integration without a manual export
- Browser access instead of a client install
- A stack with a normal hiring market
Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.
Get a fixed-price scope4D questions
Is 4D still supported?
Yes, it is actively developed. The reasons people move are usually the hiring market and the difficulty of getting data out to other systems, not the product being abandoned.
Can data be extracted from a 4D structure?
Yes, with the tables, fields and relationships preserved. The care goes into reconciling the result and into documents stored inside the structure, which are easy to overlook.
Do we have to leave 4D?
No. If it fits the work and the licence is bearable, extracting data for reporting and integration while keeping the application is a smaller and often better project.
We run 4D on Macs. Does that complicate things?
Not materially. 4D has a long Macintosh history and the data extraction is the same work either way.
What about documents stored inside the database?
They come out into proper file storage with the record links preserved. It is worth doing on its own, because it usually makes backups far smaller and faster.
Sending your details…
You can stay on this page while we send it.
Tell us what you are running
What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.
Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.
