The Genero platform
Genero — the platform mission-critical Informix 4GL applications run on.
The applications your business runs on, kept current — without rewriting the logic that took decades to get right.
What Genero is
Genero is a platform from Four Js for building and running interactive, database-driven business applications. It is the evolution of Informix 4GL: existing 4GL source recompiles into Genero BDL — no rewrite — and the same code then runs on desktop, web and mobile, against Informix, HCL One DB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLite.
One codebase, runs everywhere
One codebase
Build once, then run on desktop, web and mobile — the same application everywhere.
Database freedom
The same source code, whichever database engine you run.
Cloud-ready
Deploy on-premises or on any major cloud — the same source code, no rewrite.
Step by step
Modernize module by module — keep your business logic, and keep shipping.
Open standards
OpenTelemetry and typed REST APIs — integrate with everything else, no lock-in.
How Genero fits together
Write
3 components
Run
3 components
Ship & verify
2 components
10,000+
satisfied customers
1,000,000+
users
20+
market sectors
30+
years
Trusted by
The five product families
Is Genero one platform or a set of separate products?
One platform. The foundation components are layers of a single system, built and supported by Four Js — the language and its tooling, the server and clients that run your application, and the pieces that ship, report and test it. The five products run on that foundation, not beside it.
Which components do I actually need to run a Genero application?
In production, the Genero Application Server runs your compiled BDL on Genero's Dynamic Virtual Machines and delivers the application to the Genero Browser Client in a web browser. You write and debug in Genero Studio or in Visual Studio Code. The Report Engine, Container Images and Ghost Client are added when you need reporting, containerized deployment or automated testing.
Can I adopt Genero step by step, or is it all at once?
Step by step. Existing Informix 4GL source recompiles into Genero BDL with no rewrite, so the whole application runs on Genero from day one. From there you modernize module by module — a new interface here, a different database there, a web deployment next — while the rest keeps shipping unchanged.
Do I keep ownership of my source code?
Yes. Your source code is yours, before and after recompilation. Genero BDL is readable source, not an intermediate format, and it stays in your environment — on your servers or on the cloud you choose. Genero Intelligence never receives your code.
What is the difference between Genero and Informix 4GL?
Informix 4GL is the language many mission-critical applications were written in, tied to character terminals and, in practice, to the Informix database. Genero is its evolution: the same language, extended into Genero BDL, plus the tooling and runtime to run that code on desktop, web and mobile, against Informix, HCL One DB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite, on-premises or in the cloud.