Infor LN & BaanGlossary

What Is Baan IV?

Also known as: Baan 4, Baan IVc, Baan IVc4

Definition

Baan IV is the mid-1990s release of Baan Company's ERP suite, built on the bshell runtime with 3GL and 4GL development tools, package-based modules such as td, ti and tf, and multi-company table sharing.

Baan IV Explained

Baan IV was released by the Dutch software company Baan in the mid-1990s as the successor to Triton 3, and it went through a long series of maintenance releases, of which Baan IVc and its later service packs are the versions still most often found in production. It ran on UNIX and Windows servers against Oracle, Informix, DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server, and users reached it through a character-mode terminal interface or the later Windows client that wrapped the same underlying screens.

Architecturally, everything in Baan IV is a session: a coded screen, report or batch program defined in the Tools data dictionary and executed as pseudo-code by the bshell. The platform-specific pieces live in a separately versioned porting set, so the same application code runs across operating systems and databases. Source code is layered in VRCs (version, release, customer), which is how standard code, patches and site-specific customizations are kept apart while still compiling into one runtime picture.

Functionally the suite is organized into packages: tc for common master data, td for distribution, ti for manufacturing, tf for finance, tp for project, ts for service and tt for tools. Dynamic Enterprise Modeling sits above them, letting an implementation describe its processes and generate role-based menus. Multiple companies coexist in one environment, with table sharing controlling which master tables are physically common and which are kept separate for each company.

Today Baan IV is well past mainstream vendor support, and the practical risks are operational rather than functional: the software still works, but the operating systems, databases and hardware under it are aging out of certification, and the pool of developers who can read 4GL scripts written twenty years ago keeps shrinking. Many aerospace, defense and industrial manufacturers still run it because their program lifecycles are measured in decades, which makes a deliberate migration path to Infor LN or CloudSuite the real decision to make.

Why It Matters

Running unsupported ERP shifts every security patch, OS upgrade and database certification issue onto your own team, with no vendor backstop.
The scarcity of Baan IV 3GL/4GL developers drives up both hourly rates and the elapsed time to make any change.
Baan IV data structures carry hard limits, such as short item and order code fields, that constrain modern part numbering and EDI requirements.
Understanding what is genuinely standard versus customized in your Baan IV VRCs is the single biggest driver of migration cost to Infor LN.

In Practice

The most common surprise on a Baan IV assessment is customization sprawl nobody can inventory. Sites routinely find hundreds of modified standard sessions sitting in a derived VRC, with no source control history and no documentation of why. Before estimating any upgrade, extract the full list of customized objects per VRC and classify each one as still used, obsolete or replaceable by standard LN functionality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Baan IV still supported?

Baan IV is long past Infor's mainstream support window. Some third-party and Infor sustaining arrangements exist, but you should assume no new functionality, no regulatory updates and no certification of new operating systems or database versions. Most organizations still on Baan IV are effectively self-supporting, relying on internal knowledge and specialist partners to keep the environment running.

What is the difference between Baan IV and Baan V?

Baan V, marketed as BaanERP, restructured the application: warehousing moved out of distribution into its own package, planning was rebuilt as Enterprise Planning instead of the older MPS and MRP modules, and the client and component architecture were modernized. Baan IV code does not simply upgrade in place; the move to Baan V or Infor LN is a data and process migration project.

What is Baan?

Baan is an ERP software product line created by the Dutch company Baan in the 1990s for manufacturers. Its main releases were Baan IV (Baan 4), BaanERP (Baan V), and then SSA ERP LN, which Infor continues today as Infor LN. People still say Baan or Baan LN when they mean the platform and its sessions, tables and 4GL tooling.

Related Terms

BaanERP (Baan V)

BaanERP, also called Baan V, is the late-1990s successor to Baan IV. It introduced a separate Warehousing package, Enterprise Planning, and a component-based Windows architecture, and it is the direct code ancestor of SSA ERP LN and today's Infor LN.

Infor LN

Infor LN is Infor's enterprise ERP suite for complex discrete manufacturers, descended from Baan IV and Baan V. It is deployed as on-premises LN 10.x or as an Infor CloudSuite edition, and covers manufacturing, warehousing, projects, service and multi-company finance.

Bshell

The bshell is the Baan and Infor LN virtual machine. It loads compiled pseudo-code for sessions, scripts and reports, executes it, and translates the application's database calls into native SQL through porting set drivers - one bshell process typically serves one user session.

Go Deeper

Free Tool

Baan to Infor LN Migration Readiness Assessment

Score your organization's readiness to migrate from Baan IV or Baan V to Infor LN across ten dimensions, from data quality to executive sponsorship.

Baan ERP: History, Versions, and Modern Migration Paths

Baan ERP history from Triton to Baan IV, Baan V, and Infor LN, plus practical migration paths for manufacturers still running Baan today. Get a proven roadmap.

Infor LN to CloudSuite: Migration Playbook

Infor LN to CloudSuite migration playbook: Baan and LN version paths, extension conversion, ION integration rework, timelines, and defense compliance steps.

Working with Baan IV in a live environment? Our engineers do this every day - and our AI agents automate most of it.

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Baan IV and Infor LN BSE Command-Line Tools Reference

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What each program and file under $BSE does, with a usage example and Baan IV versus LN notes: bshell, database tools, compiler, shared memory, IPC, config files and clients.

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Name	Type	Purpose	Typical usage example	Baan IV / LN 10.x availability	Notes
bshell	executable	The virtual machine (logic server) that runs sessions and scripts	Options passed from the BW configurator, e.g. -set CORE=1 -keeplog	UNIX bshell6.2, Windows ntbshell.exe; Baan IVc environments use the 6.1 file set	-logfile <file> logs stdout and stderr to a file; -keeplog keeps $BSE_TMP/bshell.<pid>.
bshcmd	executable	Change log and debug settings of a running bshell, or kill bshells	bshcmd -p (process list); bshcmd -k <pid> (kill one bshell)	Enterprise Server porting sets	-d sets the debug level (octal); -m shows memory usage.
ba	executable	ASCII display server	Used for job management on UNIX	UNIX only, not used on Windows	Character-based client path.
bdbpre	executable	Export tables to a sequential dump	bdbpre -Ntcmcs023 -C100 -O tcmcs023_100.dmp	UNIX bdbpre6.2, Windows bdbpre.exe	-C takes a list or range (000-005); -I reads table names from a file; related session ttaad4226m000.
bdbpost	executable	Create or append tables from a bdbpre dump	bdbpost -c 200 -A -I tcmcs023_100.dmp	UNIX bdbpost6.2, Windows bdbpost.exe	-c target company, -A append without overwrite, -R replace, -k drop existing tables; related session ttaad4227m000.
bdbreconfig	executable	Reconfigure tables to a new data dictionary; analyse differences	bdbreconfig6.2 -m -c -A <source pacc> -A <target pacc> -C 0	Enterprise Server porting sets	Normally called by 4GL sessions; run it directly only for the -A change analysis.
refint	executable	Check or repair referential integrity	Run for a list of tables with -I file	Enterprise Server porting sets	Use after imports done with bdbpost -n.
bic	executable	3GL program compiler (Baan C compiler)	Called when you compile scripts from the development sessions	Baan IV and LN	std_gen is the 4GL preprocessor; repgen the report generator.
bic_info	executable	Show information about a compiled object	bic_info <object> to check what an object contains	Enterprise Server porting sets	Useful to confirm which object version is deployed.
shmmanager / shmserv	executable	Shared memory manager	shmmanager6.2 -i (initialize), -s (show contents)	shmmanager on UNIX, shmserv on Windows	-k deletes and -r resets shared memory only when no process is attached.
shmtimer	executable	Daemon that keeps the current time in shared memory	Started when shared memory is initialized	UNIX porting sets	Part of shared memory start-up.
srdd_init6.2	executable	Loads the data dictionary for the bshell from shared memory	Part of the shared memory set-up	LN and Baan 5 file set (6.2)	Which components load is set in srdd_tab6.2 (srdd_tab6.1 for Baan IVc).
pdaemon6.2	executable	Printer daemon for print requests	pdaemon6.2 -r in rc.start	UNIX only	Must be started by root; defaults in $BSE/lib/defaults/pdaemon6.2.
ipc_boot	executable	Start remote processes such as database drivers	Looks up the server name in $BSE/lib/ipc_info	Enterprise Server porting sets	fs handles remote file I/O and is also configured in ipc_info.
rc.start / rc.stop	executable	Start or stop the environment: shared memory, printer daemon, database	$BSE/etc/rc.start at system boot	UNIX only	rc.startjobdm and rc.stopjobdm start and stop the job daemon.
$BSE/lib/tabledef6.2	config file	Which database driver and server serve each table	Read by bdbpre and the bshell to pick the driver	tabledef6.2 for Baan 5 and LN; tabledef6.1 for Baan IVc	Error 505 ENOSERVER points here.
$BSE/lib/compnr6.2	config file	Mapping of logical to physical companies	Used for logical table sharing	compnr6.2 for Baan 5 and LN; compnr6.1 for Baan IVc	Generated by tools; do not edit by hand.
$BSE/lib/ipc_info	config file	Server name, protocol (socket, pipe, direct) and executable for each service	bshell s $BSE_BIN/bshell6.2 style lines	Enterprise Server porting sets	Direct connections load the driver into the client (combo driver).
$BSE/lib/defaults/db_resource	config file	Database driver resources	Driver tuning resources set by the DBA	Enterprise Server porting sets	Takes precedence over the same resource in $BSE/lib/defaults/all.
$BSE/lib/user	directory	u<User> files with each user's start menu, package combination and default company	Generated from user data in the tools sessions	Baan IV and LN	Optional r<User> remote user files live here too.
$BSE/log	directory	Program log files	bshell.log, or bshell-001.log with rotation (porting set 9.0b and later)	Older porting sets use log.<program name>	log_size and log_rotation_count resources control rotation.
BSE_TMP	variable	Directory for temporary files	BSE_TMP=$BSE/tmp	Baan IV and LN	The running bshell writes bshell.<pid> here.
BW (Infor BW)	client	Windows client for Baan and LN sessions	BW configurator command field passes bshell options	Baan IV and LN releases that still support it	BwPrint is part of the BW installation.
LN UI	client	HTML5 browser user interface	Standard client for LN 10.4 and later	LN 10.3 supports LN UI, Web UI and WorkTop; LN 10.4 and later support only LN UI	Web UI and WorkTop are not supported from LN 10.4.

Names, options and version statements follow the Infor Enterprise Server Technical Manual. On UNIX most binaries carry the 6.2 suffix (bdbpre6.2), on Windows the .exe extension (bdbpre.exe), and a few have different Windows names (ntbshell.exe). The manual advises not to edit files in $BSE/lib by hand, because many are maintained by Infor tools.