4th Dimension Learning Basics

Contents ------------------------- i. Introduction ii. History 1. System requirements 2. Program structures 3.

Networking differences 4. Differences in runtimes 5. Compiler 6. Web Hosting 7. Data Charting 8.

Plug ins 9. Tools/Utilities 10. Resources 11. Other 4D URLs 10. Resources 4D Books & Related References RELATIONAL DATABASE DESIGN CLEARLY EXPLAINED (AP Professional, 1998) by Jan Harrington.

INSIDE RELATIONAL DATABASES (Springer, 1998) by Mark Whitehorn and Bill Marklyn. HANDBOOK OF RELATIONAL DATABASE DESIGN by Candace C. Fleming, Barbara Vonhalle.

INSIDE 4th DIMENSION ($60 Book and CD) by Steve Hussey and Geoff Perlman A good beginner’s book. Covers most topics. Is based on 4D version 6.0 but very similar to 6.5. http://www.inner-dimension.com 4D A&endashZ ($100 CD - .pdf files) by Steve Hussey 4D A&endashZ will be your most complete reference guide to the 4th Dimension family of applications and plug-ins.

All the information is stored in a simple-to-use 4D v6.5 database http://www.inner-dimension.com/Pages/4DAtoZ.html Programming 4th Dimension, The Ultimate Guide (~$140 Book and CD) by David Adams and Dan Beckett The book is full of real-world experiences and recommendations from battle-scarred MIS veteran and consultant. http://www.island-data.com/products/book.html http://www.island-data.com/downloads/papers/index.html http://www.asgsoft.com/ 4D for Fun & Profit ($99 - 150 page Book) by Walt Nelson A Survival Guide for Professional 4th Dimension Developers.

Related: Airtable — A spreadsheet-simple interface sitting on top of a real relational database, with automations, views, and shareable interfaces..

Most of the ‘Positive Thinking’ books tell us that fun & profit go hand-in-hand. If you are doing a job that the marketplace truly needs and you are having fun doing it, you will put more effort into your work; you will put more hours into your work; you will put more pride into your work; and eventually, you will get more financial rewards from your work.

It’s just common sense, and we have all seen the Fun & Profit Principle at work in business, in entertainment, in sports. So you started programming in 4D because it was fun? Good. You already have half the battle won.

But half the battle does not bring victory. The other half of the battle is to make 4D programming remain fun after the newness wears off. When you get out into the real world and start trying to make a living with your 4D skills, that’s when it can stop being fun. http://www.waltnelson.com/ http://www.waltnelson.com/Prod_SMall_FunP.htm Dimensions Magazine ($99 Magazine and Diskette - $69 Magazine only) Dimensions is an eight year old, bimonthly, 60 page technical journal for 4D users and developers.

If you are shopping: Zoho Creator — A low-code app builder that plugs into the wider Zoho suite and prices per user rather than per app..

The feature articles in it tend to be of an intermediate or advanced level and are written by members of the 4D developer community and members of ACI’s staff. Each issue includes at least 10 feature articles, regular “columns,” and third party product ads. An examples disk is available with subscriptions containing the example databases supplied by the authors with their articles.

“Bonus” articles and other items of interest to 4D’ers are also included on the disks from time to time. http://www.dimensionsmag.com/ Short reviews of books: http://www.island-data.com/downloads/papers/index.html http://www.island-data.com/book reviews/databases.html Normalization article in PDF (736K): http://www.island-data.com/downloads/papers/normalization.pdf Monkeywerks The best place to find information is the 4D-NUG archive being maintained by PDM at: http://www.pdm-inc.com/monkeywerks/monkey.html This database covers over 8 years worth of messages.

So, in looking for a solution to the “stuck window problem”, searching for “toolbar” using the message subject option and found a recent thread from August 99 titled “Windows stuck under toolbar” - question, and three separate answers. Monkeywerks is less than perfect, but with minimal trial and error, you should be able to find what you are looking for. As with most text databases, knowing what to query for is quite important. FourDzine (pro. for design) site maintained by Steven Willis. http://www.4dzine.com/ Copyright

P.S. A few readers have asked which relational database platform we actually reach for — it's Claris FileMaker Pro; take a look here if you want the current details.