<s>
dBase	B-Application
(	O
also	O
stylized	O
dBASE	B-Application
)	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
database	B-Application
management	I-Application
systems	I-Application
for	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
and	O
the	O
most	O
successful	O
in	O
its	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dBase	B-Application
system	O
includes	O
the	O
core	O
database	B-General_Concept
engine	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
query	O
system	O
,	O
a	O
forms	B-Language
engine	I-Language
,	O
and	O
a	O
programming	O
language	O
that	O
ties	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
components	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
's	O
underlying	O
file	O
format	O
,	O
the	O
file	O
,	O
is	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
applications	O
needing	O
a	O
simple	O
format	O
to	O
store	O
structured	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
released	O
as	O
Vulcan	O
for	O
PTDOS	B-Operating_System
in	O
1978	O
,	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
port	O
caught	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
Ashton-Tate	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
licensed	O
it	O
and	O
re-released	O
it	O
as	O
dBASE	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
and	O
later	O
ported	O
it	O
to	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
computers	O
running	O
DOS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
PC	O
platform	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
dBase	B-Application
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best-selling	O
software	O
titles	O
for	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
upgrade	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
dBase	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
and	O
ported	O
to	O
a	O
wider	O
variety	O
of	O
platforms	O
,	O
adding	O
UNIX	B-Application
,	O
and	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
Ashton-Tate	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
big	O
three	O
"	O
software	O
publishers	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
business	O
software	O
market	O
,	O
the	O
others	O
being	O
Lotus	O
Development	O
and	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
several	O
companies	O
produced	O
their	O
own	O
variations	O
on	O
the	O
dBase	B-Application
product	O
and	O
especially	O
the	O
dBase	B-Application
programming	I-Application
language	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
included	O
FoxBASE+	B-Application
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
FoxPro	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Clipper	B-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
so-called	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
were	O
technically	O
stronger	O
than	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
but	O
could	O
not	O
push	O
it	O
aside	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
changed	O
with	O
the	O
poor	O
reception	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
,	O
whose	O
design	O
and	O
stability	O
were	O
so	O
lacking	O
that	O
many	O
users	O
switched	O
to	O
other	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
database	O
products	O
increasingly	O
used	O
the	O
IBM-invented	O
SQL	B-Language
(	O
Structured	B-Language
Query	I-Language
Language	I-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
factor	O
was	O
user	O
adoption	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
desktop	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shift	O
toward	O
SQL	B-Language
and	O
Windows	O
put	O
pressure	O
on	O
the	O
makers	O
of	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
to	O
invest	O
in	O
major	O
redesign	O
to	O
provide	O
new	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
constituted	O
the	O
leading	O
database	O
platform	O
for	O
implementing	O
business	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
size	O
and	O
impact	O
of	O
the	O
xBase	B-Language
market	O
did	O
not	O
go	O
unnoticed	O
,	O
and	O
within	O
one	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
three	O
top	O
xBase	B-Language
firms	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
larger	O
software	O
companies	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
opening	O
decade	O
of	O
the	O
21st	O
century	O
,	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
had	O
faded	O
from	O
prominence	O
and	O
many	O
disappeared	O
entirely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Products	O
known	O
as	O
dBase	B-Application
still	O
exist	O
,	O
owned	O
by	O
dBase	B-Application
LLC	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
,	O
Fred	O
Thompson	O
at	O
the	O
Jet	O
Propulsion	O
Laboratory	O
(	O
JPL	O
)	O
was	O
using	O
a	O
Tymshare	O
product	O
named	O
RETRIEVE	B-Application
to	O
manage	O
a	O
database	O
of	O
electronic	O
calculators	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
very	O
expensive	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1971	O
,	O
Thompson	O
collaborated	O
with	O
Jack	O
Hatfield	O
,	O
a	O
programmer	O
at	O
JPL	O
,	O
to	O
write	O
an	O
enhanced	O
version	O
of	O
RETRIEVE	B-Application
which	O
became	O
the	O
JPLDIS	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
JPLDIS	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
on	O
the	O
UNIVAC	O
1108	O
mainframe	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
presented	O
publicly	O
in	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
working	O
at	O
JPL	O
as	O
a	O
contractor	O
,	O
C	B-Language
.	O
Wayne	O
Ratliff	O
entered	O
the	O
office	O
football	O
pool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
do	O
this	O
,	O
he	O
turned	O
his	O
attention	O
to	O
a	O
database	B-Application
system	I-Application
and	O
,	O
by	O
chance	O
,	O
came	O
across	O
the	O
documentation	O
for	O
JPLDIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
used	O
this	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
a	O
port	O
to	O
PTDOS	B-Operating_System
on	O
his	O
kit-built	O
IMSAI	B-Device
8080	I-Device
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
called	O
the	O
resulting	O
system	O
Vulcan	O
(	O
after	O
Mr.	B-Language
Spock	I-Language
on	O
Star	B-Operating_System
Trek	I-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ratliff	O
ported	O
Vulcan	O
from	O
PTDOS	B-Operating_System
to	O
CP/M	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hal	O
Pawluk	O
,	O
who	O
handled	O
marketing	O
for	O
the	O
nascent	O
company	O
,	O
decided	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
name	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
business-like	O
"	O
dBase	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
the	O
result	O
and	O
became	O
a	O
standard	O
CP/M	B-Application
application	O
along	O
with	O
WordStar	O
and	O
SuperCalc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
IBM	O
commissioned	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
for	O
the	O
then-in-development	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resultant	O
program	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
pieces	O
of	O
software	O
available	O
when	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
went	O
on	O
sale	O
the	O
fall	O
of	O
1981	O
.	O
dBase	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
a	O
very	O
few	O
"	O
professional	O
"	O
programs	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
and	O
became	O
a	O
huge	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
customer	O
base	O
included	O
not	O
only	O
end-users	O
,	O
but	O
an	O
increasing	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
value	O
added	O
resellers	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
VARs	O
,	O
who	O
purchased	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
wrote	O
applications	O
with	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
sold	O
the	O
completed	O
systems	O
to	O
their	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
May	O
1983	O
release	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
II	I-Application
RunTime	O
further	O
entrenched	O
dBase	B-Application
in	O
the	O
VAR	O
market	O
by	O
allowing	O
the	O
VARs	O
to	O
deploy	O
their	O
products	O
using	O
the	O
lower-cost	O
RunTime	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
some	O
critics	O
stated	O
that	O
dBase	B-Application
was	O
difficult	O
to	O
learn	O
,	O
its	O
success	O
created	O
many	O
opportunities	O
for	O
third	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1984	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
1,000	O
companies	O
offered	O
dBase-related	O
application	O
development	O
,	O
libraries	O
of	O
code	O
to	O
add	O
functionality	O
,	O
applications	O
using	O
dBase	B-Application
II	I-Application
Runtime	O
,	O
consulting	O
,	O
training	O
,	O
and	O
how-to	O
books	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
company	O
in	O
San	O
Diego	O
(	O
today	O
known	O
as	O
Advisor	O
Media	O
)	O
premiered	O
a	O
magazine	O
devoted	O
to	O
professional	O
use	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
Data	O
Based	O
Advisor	O
;	O
its	O
circulation	O
exceeded	O
35,000	O
after	O
eight	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
these	O
activities	O
fueled	O
the	O
rapid	O
rise	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
as	O
the	O
leading	O
product	O
of	O
its	O
type	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
platforms	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
proliferated	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
found	O
it	O
difficult	O
to	O
port	O
the	O
assembly	O
language-based	O
dBase	B-Application
to	O
target	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
re-write	O
of	O
the	O
platform	O
in	O
the	O
C	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
using	O
automated	O
code	O
conversion	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1984	O
,	O
the	O
rewritten	O
dBase	B-Application
III	I-Application
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
few	O
rapid	O
upgrades	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
stabilized	O
and	O
was	O
once	O
again	O
a	O
best-seller	O
throughout	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
and	O
formed	O
the	O
famous	O
"	O
application	O
trio	O
"	O
of	O
PC	O
compatibles	O
(	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
Lotus	B-Application
123	I-Application
,	O
and	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
fall	O
of	O
1984	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
over	O
500	O
employees	O
and	O
was	O
taking	O
in	O
US$40	O
million	O
a	O
year	O
in	O
sales	O
(	O
equivalent	O
to	O
$million	O
in	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
vast	O
majority	O
from	O
dBase	B-Application
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
an	O
unauthorized	O
clone	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
III	I-Application
called	O
Rebus	O
in	O
the	O
Soviet	O
Union	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
had	O
"	O
more	O
than	O
300	O
new	O
or	O
improved	O
features	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
then	O
,	O
FoxPro	B-Application
had	O
made	O
inroads	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
even	O
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
's	O
support	O
for	O
Query	B-Application
by	I-Application
Example	I-Application
and	O
SQL	B-Language
were	O
not	O
enough	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
the	O
way	O
,	O
Borland	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
bought	O
Ashton	O
Tate	O
,	O
brought	O
out	O
a	O
revised	O
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
in	O
1992	O
but	O
with	O
a	O
focus	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
designed	O
for	O
programmers	O
"	O
rather	O
than	O
"	O
for	O
ordinary	O
users	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
Released	O
Notes	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
9	O
June	O
18	O
,	O
2014	O
Additional	O
key	O
features	O
of	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
9	O
include	O
:	O
dComplete	O
-	O
an	O
Intelli-Sense	O
like	O
feature	O
for	O
the	O
dBASE	B-Application
language	O
;	O
dBlocks	O
-	O
add	O
dBASE	B-Application
snippets	O
of	O
code	O
in	O
a	O
couple	O
of	O
key	O
strokes	O
,	O
dLocator	O
-	O
now	O
find	O
the	O
information	O
across	O
multiple	O
files	O
;	O
dBabel	O
-	O
now	O
support	O
for	O
color-highlighting	O
HTML	O
,	O
XML	O
,	O
SQL	B-Language
,	O
JavaScript	O
and	O
others	O
;	O
dExtract	O
-	O
now	O
export	O
your	O
source	O
code	O
into	O
HTML	O
,	O
RTF	O
,	O
PDF	O
,	O
LaTeX	O
,	O
and	O
XML	O
;	O
dbfExplorer	O
-	O
now	O
reveal	O
the	O
file	O
properties	O
inside	O
the	O
Windows	O
Explorer	O
interface	O
;	O
Updated	O
Editor	O
-	O
it	O
includes	O
Code	O
Folding	O
,	O
Auto	O
Indent	O
,	O
End	O
of	O
Line	O
markers	O
,	O
Indentation	O
Guides	O
,	O
Line	O
Numbers	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
features	O
,	O
60%	O
more	O
keyboard	O
shortcuts	O
;	O
Lookup	O
Data	O
–	O
royalty	O
free	O
data	O
that	O
includes	O
stock	O
,	O
geography	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
common	O
types	O
of	O
lookup	O
data	O
;	O
and	O
Catalyst	O
SocketTools	O
ActiveX	O
controls	O
and	O
libraries	O
help	O
developers	O
create	O
Internet-enabled	O
applications	O
quickly	O
and	O
easily	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbfExport	O
2	O
April	O
17	O
,	O
2015	O
The	O
next	O
major	O
release	O
of	O
dbfExport	O
2	O
,	O
from	O
dBase	B-Application
LLC	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Can	O
convert	O
dBASE	B-Application
data	O
from	O
.dbf	O
files	O
to	O
CSV	O
,	O
HTML	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
2003	I-Application
and	O
below	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
2008	O
and	O
above	O
,	O
or	O
XML	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
4.0	O
May	O
6	O
,	O
2015	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
LLC	O
Unveils	O
New	O
Version	O
of	O
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
4	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
4	O
,	O
the	O
latest	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
best-selling	O
solution	O
for	O
supporting	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
based	O
applications	O
on	O
Windows	O
Vista	O
and	O
above	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
4.0N	O
May	O
18	O
,	O
2015	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
LLC	O
Introduces	O
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
4N	O
–	O
Supports	O
Multi-User	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
Applications	O
,	O
on	O
Windows	O
Vista	O
and	O
above	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
10	O
July	O
21	O
,	O
2015	O
Additional	O
key	O
features	O
of	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
10	O
include	O
:	O
A	O
new	O
set	O
of	O
Native	O
Components	O
,	O
the	O
new	O
data-aware	O
GridEx	O
(	O
dGrid	O
)	O
and	O
ListView	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
10	O
introduces	O
a	O
new	O
Debugger	O
–	O
called	O
dBugger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Embedded	O
Runtime	O
gives	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
single	O
.exe	O
with	O
the	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
10	O
Runtime	O
embedded	O
into	O
the	O
.exe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
10	O
includes	O
over	O
15,000	O
royalty-free	O
images	O
to	O
use	O
in	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
5+N	O
July	O
,	O
2016	O
dBase	B-Application
,	O
LLC	O
Introduces	O
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
5+N	O
–	O
dbDOS	O
PRO	O
5+N	O
,	O
the	O
latest	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
MS-DOS-based	O
virtual	O
machine	O
(	O
VM	O
)	O
to	O
run	O
DOS	B-Device
based	O
applications	O
on	O
Windows	O
64-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
January	O
,	O
2017	O
Additional	O
New	O
features	O
of	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
include	O
:	O
Touch	O
and	O
Tablet	O
support	O
–	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
now	O
supports	O
touch	O
and	O
gesturing	O
with	O
enhanced	O
support	O
for	O
tablets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
makes	O
building	O
data-aware	O
web	O
applications	O
easier	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
responsive	O
web	O
framework	O
that	O
works	O
on	O
both	O
Apache	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
IIS	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dmOutput	O
–	O
the	O
new	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
allows	O
generating	O
output	O
from	O
data	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
–	O
the	O
new	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
allows	O
generating	O
a	O
starter	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
includes	O
seven	O
new	O
open	O
source	O
fonts	O
that	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
make	O
code	O
easier	O
to	O
read	O
and	O
print	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
Theming	O
–	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
11	O
now	O
supports	O
10	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
themes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
:	O
A	O
Windows-based	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
2019	O
:	O
Successor	O
of	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
12	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
32-bit	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
Vista	O
is	O
supported	O
,	O
but	O
32	O
and	O
64-bit	O
Windows	O
Server	O
2012	O
are	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBASE	B-Application
CLASSIC	O
:	O
dBASE	B-Application
V	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
without	O
DOS	B-Device
emulator	O
,	O
originally	O
found	O
in	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbDOS	O
:	O
A	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dbfInspect	O
:	O
Read	O
,	O
modify	O
,	O
insert	O
,	O
delete	O
,	O
pack	O
,	O
and	O
print	O
using	O
any	O
dBASE	B-Application
IV	I-Application
and	O
later	O
tables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
is	O
an	O
application	O
development	O
language	O
and	O
integrated	O
navigational	B-General_Concept
database	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
which	O
Ashton-Tate	O
labeled	O
as	O
"	O
relational	B-Application
"	O
but	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
meet	O
the	O
criteria	O
defined	O
by	O
Dr.	O
Edgar	O
F	O
.	O
Codd	O
's	O
relational	B-Architecture
model	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ashton-Tate	O
and	O
its	O
competitors	O
also	O
began	O
to	O
incorporate	O
SQL	B-Language
,	O
the	O
ANSI/ISO	O
standard	O
language	O
for	O
creating	O
,	O
modifying	O
,	O
and	O
retrieving	O
data	O
stored	O
in	O
relational	B-Application
database	I-Application
management	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
clear	O
that	O
the	O
dBase	B-Application
world	O
had	O
expanded	O
far	O
beyond	O
Ashton-Tate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
third-party	O
"	O
community	O
formed	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
Fox	B-Application
Software	I-Application
,	O
Nantucket	B-Application
,	O
Alpha	O
Software	O
,	O
Data	O
Based	O
Advisor	O
Magazine	O
,	O
SBT	O
and	O
other	O
application	O
development	O
firms	O
,	O
and	O
major	O
developer	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paperback	O
Software	O
launched	O
the	O
flexible	O
and	O
fast	O
VP-Info	B-Application
with	O
a	O
unique	O
built-in	O
compiler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
community	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
variants	O
sought	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
dBase	B-Application
language	O
standard	O
,	O
supported	O
by	O
IEEE	O
committee	O
X3J19	O
and	O
initiative	O
IEEE	O
1192	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
said	O
"	O
xBase	B-Language
"	O
to	O
distinguish	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
Ashton-Tate	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ashton-Tate	O
saw	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
xBase	B-Language
as	O
an	O
illegal	O
threat	O
to	O
its	O
proprietary	B-Application
technology	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1988	O
they	O
filed	O
suit	O
against	O
Fox	B-Application
Software	I-Application
and	O
Santa	O
Cruz	O
Operation	O
(	O
SCO	O
)	O
for	O
copying	O
dBase	B-Application
's	O
"	O
structure	O
and	O
sequence	O
"	O
in	O
FoxBase+	B-Application
(	O
SCO	O
marketed	O
XENIX	O
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Fox	O
products	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1990	O
,	O
U.S.	O
District	O
judge	O
Terry	O
Hatter	O
Jr.	O
dismissed	O
Ashton-Tate	O
'	O
s	O
lawsuit	O
and	O
invalidated	O
Ashton-Tate	O
'	O
s	O
copyrights	O
for	O
not	O
disclosing	O
that	O
dBase	B-Application
had	O
been	O
based	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
public	O
domain	O
JPLDIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1991	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
case	O
was	O
still	O
under	O
appeal	O
,	O
Borland	O
International	O
acquired	O
Ashton-Tate	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
merger	O
's	O
provisions	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Justice	O
Department	O
required	O
Borland	O
to	O
end	O
the	O
lawsuit	O
against	O
Fox	O
and	O
allow	O
other	O
companies	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
dBase/xBase	O
language	O
without	O
the	O
threat	O
of	O
legal	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1992	O
,	O
major	O
software	O
companies	O
raised	O
the	O
stakes	O
by	O
acquiring	O
the	O
leading	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Borland	O
acquired	O
Ashton-Tate	O
'	O
s	O
dBase	B-Application
products	O
(	O
and	O
later	O
WordTech	O
's	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
)	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
acquired	O
Fox	B-Application
Software	I-Application
's	O
FoxBASE+	B-Application
and	O
FoxPro	B-Application
products	O
,	O
and	O
Computer	O
Associates	O
acquired	O
Nantucket	B-Application
's	O
Clipper	B-Application
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advisor	O
Media	O
built	O
on	O
its	O
Data	O
Based	O
Advisor	O
magazine	O
by	O
launching	O
FoxPro	B-Application
Advisor	O
and	O
Clipper	B-Application
Advisor	O
(	O
and	O
other	O
)	O
developer	O
magazines	O
and	O
journals	O
,	O
and	O
live	O
conferences	O
for	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
a	O
planned	O
dBase	B-Application
Advisor	O
Magazine	O
was	O
aborted	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
market	O
failure	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
year	O
2000	O
,	O
the	O
xBase	B-Language
market	O
had	O
faded	O
as	O
developers	O
shifted	O
to	O
new	O
database	B-Application
systems	I-Application
and	O
programming	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Associates	O
(	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
CA	O
)	O
eventually	O
dropped	O
Clipper	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Borland	O
restructured	O
and	O
sold	O
dBase	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
major	O
acquirers	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
stuck	O
with	O
xBase	B-Language
the	O
longest	O
,	O
evolving	O
FoxPro	B-Application
into	O
Visual	B-Application
FoxPro	I-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
product	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
offered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
Advisor	O
Media	O
stopped	O
its	O
last-surviving	O
xBase	B-Language
magazine	O
,	O
FoxPro	B-Application
Advisor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
era	O
of	O
xBase	B-Language
dominance	O
has	O
ended	O
,	O
but	O
there	O
are	O
still	O
xBase	B-Language
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dBase	B-Application
product	O
line	O
is	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
dBase	B-Application
LLC	I-Application
which	O
currently	O
sells	O
dBASE	B-Application
PLUS	O
12.3	O
and	O
a	O
DOS-based	O
dBASE	B-Application
CLASSIC	O
(	O
dbDOS	O
to	O
run	O
it	O
on	O
64-bit	O
Windows	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
open	O
source	O
implementations	O
are	O
available	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Harbour	B-Application
,	O
xHarbour	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Clip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
xBase	B-Language
family	O
was	O
born	O
:	O
the	O
XSharp	O
(	O
X#	O
)	O
language	O
,	O
maintained	O
as	O
an	O
open	O
source	O
project	O
with	O
a	O
compiler	O
,	O
its	O
own	O
IDE	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
Visual	O
Studio	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XSharp	O
produces	O
.NET	O
assemblies	O
and	O
uses	O
the	O
familiar	O
xBase	B-Language
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compiler	O
is	O
created	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
Roslyn	B-Application
compiler	I-Application
code	O
,	O
the	O
code	O
behind	O
the	O
C#	O
and	O
VB	O
compilers	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
implementations	O
of	O
the	O
dBase	B-Application
language	O
have	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
many	O
features	O
targeted	O
for	O
business	O
applications	O
,	O
including	O
object-oriented	O
programming	O
,	O
manipulation	O
of	O
remote	O
and	O
distributed	O
data	O
via	O
SQL	B-Language
,	O
Internet	O
functionality	O
,	O
and	O
interaction	O
with	O
modern	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
its	O
origins	O
as	O
an	O
interpreted	O
interactive	O
language	O
,	O
dBase	B-Application
used	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
contextual	O
techniques	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
typing	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
dBase	B-Application
was	O
not	O
designed	O
with	O
this	O
in	O
mind	O
,	O
developers	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
careful	O
about	O
porting	O
(	O
borrowing	O
)	O
programming	O
code	O
that	O
assumed	O
a	O
certain	O
context	O
and	O
it	O
would	O
make	O
writing	O
larger-scale	O
modular	O
code	O
difficult	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
It	O
is	O
somewhat	O
comparable	O
to	O
SQL	B-Language
's	O
WHERE	O
clause	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
was	O
also	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
business-oriented	O
languages	O
to	O
implement	O
string	O
evaluation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
made	O
dBase	B-Application
programming	O
flexible	O
and	O
dynamic	O
,	O
sometimes	O
called	O
"	O
meta	O
ability	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
profession	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
,	O
dBase	B-Application
tended	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
custom	O
internal	O
applications	O
for	O
small	O
and	O
medium	O
companies	O
where	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
protection	O
against	O
copying	O
,	O
as	O
compared	O
to	O
compiled	O
software	O
,	O
was	O
often	O
less	O
of	O
an	O
issue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
dot-prompt	O
,	O
dBase	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
III+	O
,	O
and	O
IV	O
came	O
packaged	O
with	O
an	O
ASSIST	O
application	O
to	O
manipulate	O
data	O
and	O
queries	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
an	O
APPSGEN	O
application	O
which	O
allowed	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
generate	O
applications	O
without	O
resorting	O
to	O
code	O
writing	O
,	O
like	O
a	O
4GL	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dBase	B-Application
IV	I-Application
APPSGEN	O
tool	O
was	O
based	O
largely	O
on	O
portions	O
of	O
an	O
early	O
CP/M	B-Application
product	O
named	O
Personal	O
Pearl	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
language	O
has	O
fallen	O
out	O
of	O
favor	O
as	O
a	O
primary	O
business	O
language	O
,	O
some	O
find	O
dBase	B-Application
an	O
excellent	O
interactive	O
ad	O
hoc	O
data	O
manipulation	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
SQL	B-Language
retrieves	B-Application
data	O
sets	O
from	O
a	O
relational	B-Application
database	I-Application
(	O
RDBMS	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
dBase	B-Application
one	O
can	O
more	O
easily	O
manipulate	O
,	O
format	O
,	O
analyze	O
and	O
perform	O
calculations	O
on	O
individual	O
records	O
,	O
strings	O
,	O
numbers	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
in	O
a	O
step-by-step	O
imperative	B-Application
(	O
procedural	O
)	O
way	O
instead	O
of	O
trying	O
to	O
figure	O
out	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
SQL	B-Language
's	O
declarative	B-Language
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
granularity	O
of	O
operations	O
is	O
generally	O
smaller	O
than	O
SQL	B-Language
,	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
split	O
querying	O
and	O
table	O
processing	O
into	O
easy-to-understand	O
and	O
easy-to-test	O
parts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
an	O
application	O
development	O
platform	O
,	O
dBase	B-Application
fills	O
a	O
gap	O
between	O
lower-level	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
C	B-Language
,	O
C++	O
,	O
and	O
Java	O
,	O
and	O
high-level	O
proprietary	B-Application
4GLs	B-Language
(	O
fourth	B-Language
generation	I-Language
languages	I-Language
)	O
and	O
purely	O
visual	O
tools	O
,	O
providing	O
relative	O
ease-of-use	O
for	O
business	O
people	O
with	O
less	O
formal	O
programming	O
skill	O
and	O
high	O
productivity	O
for	O
professional	O
developers	O
willing	O
to	O
trade	O
off	O
the	O
low-level	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
remained	O
a	O
popular	O
teaching	O
tool	O
even	O
after	O
sales	O
slowed	O
because	O
the	O
text-oriented	O
commands	O
were	O
easier	O
to	O
present	O
in	O
printed	O
training	O
material	O
than	O
the	O
mouse-oriented	O
competitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
legacy	O
of	O
dBase	B-Application
is	O
its	O
file	O
format	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
been	O
adopted	O
in	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
shapefile	O
format	O
,	O
developed	O
by	O
ESRI	O
for	O
spatial	O
data	O
in	O
its	O
PC	O
ArcInfo	B-Application
geographic	B-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
uses	O
.dbf	O
files	O
to	O
store	O
feature	O
attribute	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
recommends	O
saving	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Works	I-Application
database	I-Application
file	O
in	O
the	O
dBase	B-Application
file	O
format	O
so	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
read	O
by	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
package	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
Emacs	B-Application
to	O
read	O
xbase	B-Language
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LibreOffice	B-Application
and	O
OpenOffice	B-Application
Calc	I-Application
can	O
read	O
and	O
write	O
all	O
generic	O
dbf	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
's	O
database	B-Application
system	I-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
header	B-General_Concept
section	O
for	O
describing	O
the	O
structure	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
in	O
the	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
variations	O
on	O
the	O
.dbf	O
file	O
structure	O
,	O
and	O
not	O
all	O
dBase-related	O
products	O
and	O
.dbf	O
file	O
structures	O
are	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VP-Info	B-Application
is	O
unique	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
read	O
all	O
variants	O
of	O
the	O
dbf	O
file	O
structure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
was	O
very	O
limited	O
in	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
process	O
memo	O
fields	O
,	O
but	O
some	O
other	O
xBase	B-Language
languages	O
such	O
as	O
Clipper	B-Application
treated	O
memo	O
fields	O
as	O
strings	O
just	O
like	O
character	O
fields	O
for	O
all	O
purposes	O
except	O
permanent	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
dBase	B-Application
uses	O
files	O
for	O
single	O
indexes	O
,	O
and	O
(	O
multiple-index	O
)	O
files	O
for	O
holding	O
between	O
1	O
and	O
48	O
indexes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
xBase	B-Language
languages	O
such	O
as	O
VP-Info	B-Application
include	O
compatibility	O
with	O
files	O
while	O
others	O
use	O
different	O
file	O
formats	O
such	O
as	O
used	O
by	O
Clipper	B-Application
and	O
used	O
by	O
FoxPro	B-Application
or	O
FlagShip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
iterations	O
of	O
Clipper	B-Application
included	O
drivers	O
for	O
indexes	O
.	O
</s>
