4D Inc.

4D Inc. is a United States-based software company and subsidiary of 4D SAS. It publishes 4D, also known as 4th Dimension, a development environment and database platform intended for building database-driven applications. The company traces its origins to 1984, when development began on a product initially known by the code name Silver Surfer. The early product was designed around its own programming language and subsequently emerged as 4D, positioning the company in the market for integrated database and application-development tools rather than as a general-purpose consumer software publisher. For its first sixteen years, the business operated under the name ACIUS. The corporate name was changed officially to 4D Inc. in 2000, aligning the company identity with its principal software product and with the 4D brand used internationally. The first release of the product arrived in 1987 and included its own programming language, a defining characteristic of the platform. This integrated approach allowed developers to work with application logic, data management, and database-backed user interfaces within a single environment. 4D Inc. is also identified as the original developer of Wakanda, a separate development platform associated with web and application development. The company’s documented activities therefore extend beyond the core 4D product, although 4D remains its principal historical product and the basis of its brand identity. Public reference material identifies 4D Inc. as a subsidiary of 4D SAS, but does not establish detailed information about its headquarters, current executive team, ownership percentages, financial performance, market footprint, or present corporate operating structure. Those details are therefore not stated here. The company’s historical significance lies in the longevity of its integrated development model. Beginning in the mid-1980s, 4D combined a database engine, programming language, and development environment in a product aimed at professional application builders. The transition from ACIUS to 4D Inc. marked a formal shift from an earlier corporate identity to one centered on the 4D platform. Because the available source material is limited, a complete account of later product generations, distribution arrangements, customer sectors, and current operations would require additional reliable sources.

4D Inc. originated in 1984, when development began on a software project code-named Silver Surfer. The project eventually became 4D, also called 4th Dimension, an integrated database and application-development environment. From the outset, the product was conceived as more than a standalone database: it incorporated development tools and its own programming language so that developers could construct database-driven applications within a unified system. Guy Kawasaki is identified as an early leader during this formative period. The product reached its initial release in 1987. Its own programming language was a central feature of that release and helped distinguish 4D from database products that primarily provided data storage or query capabilities without an integrated application-building environment. The platform’s historical role was therefore tied to the development of professional business applications and to the combination of programming, database management, and application construction in one product family. The company operated under the name ACIUS from 1984 through 2000. After sixteen years under that identity, it officially adopted the name 4D Inc. in 2000. The change brought the corporate name into closer alignment with the 4D product brand, which had become the company’s principal public identity. The naming transition represents the clearest documented organizational milestone in the available material, although the sources do not provide a detailed account of the company’s internal structure, acquisitions, offices, or management changes during this period. 4D Inc. is described as a United States-based subsidiary of 4D SAS. In addition to developing and publishing 4D, the company is identified as the original developer of Wakanda. This indicates that its activities included more than the maintenance of the original database-development environment and extended into newer web or application-development tooling. The available reference does not specify the chronology, commercial terms, product generations, or present status of Wakanda, so those aspects are not expanded here. The documented history of 4D Inc. is consequently centered on the evolution of a long-running developer platform: its beginnings as Silver Surfer in 1984, its first product release in 1987, its sixteen-year operation as ACIUS, and its 2000 renaming as 4D Inc. Publicly supplied material does not reliably establish a founder, headquarters, current executives, financial results, detailed ownership information, or a full account of later releases. Additional primary-company records and independent technology references would be needed to develop those areas further.

• 2000

  ACIUS becomes 4D Inc.

  [1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Following sixteen years of operation as ACIUS, the company officially changed its name to 4D Inc.

• 1987

  First 4D product release

  [1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  The initial version of 4D was released with an integrated development environment, database functionality, and its own programming language.

• 1984

  Development begins under the Silver Surfer code name

  [1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Development started on Silver Surfer, the early code name for the software that later became 4D.

Integrated database and application-development platforms for professional software developers.

• Database application-development platform · 1987

  4D

  4D, also known as 4th Dimension, is the company’s principal software platform. It combines database capabilities with an application-development environment and its own programming language, allowing developers to create database-driven business applications within an integrated toolset. The product originated in the Silver Surfer project in 1984 and received its initial release in 1987. The supplied sources do not establish a complete version history or current feature set.

• Web and application-development platform

  Wakanda

  Wakanda is a development platform for which 4D is identified as the original developer. Its inclusion shows that the company’s development-tool activities extended beyond the traditional 4D database environment. The available reference material does not provide reliable details about its launch date, product architecture, commercial history, or current availability.

• 2000

  Corporate rebranding from ACIUS to 4D Inc.Strategy

  Background

  The company had operated as ACIUS since its formation in 1984, while its principal software product was known as 4D or 4th Dimension.

  Action taken

  The company officially changed its name to 4D Inc., adopting the identity associated with its flagship software platform.

  Aftermath

  The rebranding established 4D Inc. as the documented corporate identity for the United States-based subsidiary and publisher of 4D.

  Source

• 2000

  ACIUS adopts the 4D Inc. name[1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change · Other

  After operating as ACIUS for sixteen years, the company officially changed its name to 4D Inc.

• 1987

  Initial release of 4D[1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The first release of 4D appeared with its own programming language, establishing the product’s integrated development and database-platform model.

• 1984

  Development begins on the Silver Surfer project[1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Development began on Silver Surfer, the early code name for the software that later became 4D or 4th Dimension.

• 4D identified as the original developer of Wakanda[1]4D Inc.en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Reference material identifies 4D as the original developer of Wakanda, extending the company’s development-tool activities beyond its core 4D platform.

1. 14D Inc.en.wikipedia.org