<s>
xBase	B-Language
is	O
the	O
generic	O
term	O
for	O
all	O
programming	O
languages	O
that	O
derive	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
dBASE	B-Application
(	O
Ashton-Tate	O
)	O
programming	O
language	O
and	O
database	O
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
sometimes	O
informally	O
known	O
as	O
dBASE	B-Application
"	O
clones	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ashton-Tate	O
always	O
maintained	O
that	O
everything	O
relating	O
to	O
dBASE	B-Application
was	O
proprietary	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
filed	O
lawsuits	O
against	O
several	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
clone	O
"	O
software	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
effect	O
of	O
this	O
action	O
was	O
to	O
cause	O
the	O
clone	O
vendors	O
to	O
avoid	O
using	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
dBASE	B-Application
"	O
:	O
a	O
trademark	O
term	O
held	O
by	O
Ashton-Tate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
gave	O
rise	O
to	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
the	O
generic	O
term	O
"	O
xBase	B-Language
"	O
meaning	O
"	O
dBASE	B-Application
or	O
dBASE-like.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
suggested	O
name	O
that	O
narrowly	O
failed	O
was	O
"	O
*	O
base	O
"	O
(	O
pronounced	O
"	O
star	O
base	O
"	O
and	O
an	O
homage	O
to	O
Vulcan	O
and	O
Star	B-Operating_System
Trek	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
and	O
some	O
wanted	O
it	O
spelled	O
"	O
X-base	O
"	O
to	O
further	O
differentiate	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
trademark	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1987	O
there	O
were	O
an	O
increasing	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
clone	O
"	O
software	O
products	O
that	O
mimicked	O
dBASE	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
often	O
very	O
difficult	O
to	O
move	O
code	O
developed	O
with	O
one	O
dBASE-like	O
product	O
to	O
run	O
in	O
another	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
were	O
many	O
cries	O
for	O
a	O
standard	O
for	O
the	O
dBASE	B-Application
programming	I-Application
language	I-Application
syntax	O
,	O
nothing	O
would	O
happen	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
Ashton-Tate	O
asserted	O
ownership	O
of	O
all-things	O
dBASE	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marc	O
Schnapp	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
chairman	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
meeting	O
was	O
held	O
at	O
the	O
Jet	O
Propulsion	O
Laboratory	O
in	O
Pasadena	O
,	O
California	O
which	O
was	O
essentially	O
the	O
birthplace	O
of	O
Vulcan	O
and	O
dBASE	B-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1989	O
,	O
Microtrend	O
Books	O
published	O
the	O
first	O
"	O
Xbase	B-Language
"	O
cross-reference	O
book	O
(	O
before	O
the	O
term	O
was	O
coined	O
)	O
,	O
The	O
dBASE	B-Application
Language	O
Handbook	O
,	O
by	O
David	O
M	O
.	O
Kalman	O
,	O
which	O
covered	O
Quicksilver	O
,	O
Clipper	B-Application
,	O
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
III	I-Application
Plus	I-Application
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
IV	I-Application
,	O
and	O
FoxBase+	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
Sybex	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
computer	O
books	O
)	O
published	O
the	O
Xbase	B-Language
Cross	O
Reference	O
Handbook	O
,	O
by	O
Sheldon	O
M	O
.	O
Dunn	O
,	O
another	O
cross	O
reference	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
xBase	B-Language
languages	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
–	O
dBASE	O
III+	O
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
IV	I-Application
,	O
FoxPro	B-Application
for	O
DOS	O
,	O
FoxPro	B-Application
for	O
Windows	O
,	O
FoxPro	B-Application
for	O
Macintosh	O
and	O
Clipper	B-Application
5.1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
1352	O
pages	O
and	O
5.1	O
pounds	O
shipping	O
weight	O
,	O
the	O
Cross	O
Reference	O
was	O
hardly	O
a	O
handbook	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
provided	O
the	O
xBase	B-Language
community	O
with	O
an	O
up-to-date	O
,	O
all-in-one	O
reference	O
manual	O
,	O
and	O
addressed	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
documentation	O
problems	O
that	O
the	O
community	O
was	O
facing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1993	O
was	O
pivotal	O
for	O
the	O
xBase	B-Language
community	O
because	O
,	O
as	O
previously	O
noted	O
,	O
Ashton-Tate	O
had	O
earlier	O
sold	O
dBASE	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
their	O
product	O
line	O
to	O
Borland	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
had	O
purchased	O
FoxPro	B-Application
from	O
Fox	B-Application
Software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Borland	O
had	O
also	O
purchased	O
QuickSilver	O
to	O
get	O
a	O
foot	O
up	O
the	O
development	O
ladder	O
for	O
a	O
dBASE	B-Application
version	O
for	O
Windows	O
(	O
then	O
3.1	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
Borland	O
launched	O
dBase	B-Application
V	O
for	O
Windows	O
and	O
dBASE	B-Application
V	O
for	O
DOS	O
before	O
selling	O
the	O
dBASE	B-Application
name	O
and	O
product	O
line	O
to	O
dBASE	B-Application
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
years	O
there	O
seems	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
renewed	O
interest	O
in	O
xBase	B-Language
,	O
mostly	O
because	O
of	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
open	O
source	O
,	O
portable	O
,	O
xBase	B-Language
implementations	O
(	O
listed	O
below	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
scripting	O
applicability	O
of	O
the	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
newer	O
desk-top	O
database	O
tools	O
are	O
optimized	O
for	O
mouse	O
usage	O
,	O
xBase	B-Language
has	O
always	O
been	O
"	O
keyboard	O
friendly	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
helps	O
make	O
scripting	O
and	O
meta-programming	B-Application
(	O
automating	O
the	O
automation	O
)	O
easier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meta-programming	B-Application
generally	O
does	O
not	O
work	O
as	O
well	O
with	O
mouse-oriented	O
techniques	O
because	O
automating	O
mouse	O
movements	O
can	O
require	O
calculating	O
and	O
processing	O
of	O
screen	O
coordinates	O
,	O
something	O
most	O
developers	O
find	O
tedious	O
and	O
difficult	O
to	O
debug	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
xBase	B-Language
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
table-oriented	O
scripting	O
languages	O
still	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
xBase	B-Language
products	O
generally	O
split	O
into	O
an	O
interpreted	O
camp	O
and	O
the	O
compiler	O
camp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
product	O
was	O
interpreted	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
"	O
clones	O
"	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Clipper	B-Application
,	O
began	O
creating	O
compiler	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
