Dataphor is an open-source truly-relational database management system (RDBMS) and its accompanying user interface technologies, which together are designed to provide highly declarative software application development.
[1] The stated purpose of Dataphor is to attempt to raise the bar of automation when building and maintaining complex software applications.
Originally referred to as a framework, Dataphor provides more of a software development platform, complete with its own programming and user interface paradigms.
The purpose of the Dataphor Server is to provide a standardized language and runtime for the definition, manipulation, and integrity of application data.
The Frontend is concerned with the dynamic derivation of user interfaces and the presentation thereof in either the Windows or Web thin client.
Dataphor's D4 language is based on the principles of Christopher J Date's and Hugh Darwen's Tutorial D, but with a Pascal-like imperative syntax.
E.g. when a new column is added to the system, no additional development is needed to have that be a new field visible to the users for viewing or editing.
[4] Fabian Pascal calls Dataphor "Truly Relational",[5] and "superior to SQL"[1] In 1999, point of sale systems developer Softwise Inc, found they were writing much of the same code over and over again, and looked for a tool to automate their database applications.
They didn't find an application which did what they want, so they created a division of their company, called it Alphora, and set some of their developers to build such a tool.
The library is exposed as a standard set of D4 functions (called operators in D4) such as Form ('library', 'name') and Derive ('D4 expression', 'form type').
The Windows client establishes a connection to a Dataphor Server, from which it (through D4) requests form definitions and coordinates the manipulation of application data.