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Rocket D3

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by Rocket Software (originally Pick Systems) · since 1993 · also known as D3, D3 DBMS, Pick D3, Pick Systems D3

The direct descendant of the original Pick system: a MultiValue database and environment on Linux and Windows.

multivalue (pick)database engineproprietarylegacy
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Overview

D3 is the MultiValue database that traces straight back to Pick Systems, the company founded around Dick Pick's original Pick operating system, and it still feels like Pick: a self-contained environment with its own account and file model, Pick BASIC, the ACCESS query language and nested multi-value records. It runs natively on Linux and as a virtual machine (VME) on Windows. Rocket Software took it over with the Zumasys MultiValue portfolio in 2021 and keeps it maintained: D3 10.4 is the current line, with 10.4.0.3 for Windows (September 2026) certified on Windows Server 2025. It exists to keep long-lived Pick applications running, and Rocket offers migration paths to jBASE.

Transactional apps (OLTP)

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths

  • +Closest living implementation of the original Pick environment, so old apps run with few changes
  • +Nested multi-value records keep header and line data in one item
  • +Native Linux edition and Windows VME edition
  • +Rocket provides migration tooling towards jBASE

Trade-offs

  • −Very small, ageing developer community
  • −Self-contained environment integrates awkwardly with modern tooling
  • −Linux 10.3 line limited to severity-1 fixes; upgrades to 10.4 involve architectural changes

Great for

  • +Running legacy Pick business applications
  • +Distribution and accounting packages built on D3
  • +Staging migrations from D3 to jBASE or SQL databases

Think twice for

  • −New application development
  • −Analytics or reporting at scale
  • −High-availability clustered deployments

Capabilities

Native or official first-party support · 4 of 25 tracked

✓Transactions
✓Secondary indexes
✓Triggers
✓Durable persistence
–Joins
–Full-text search
–Vector search
–Geospatial
–JSON
–Change data capture
–Stored procedures
–Materialized views
–TTL / expiry
–Pub/Sub
–Columnar storage
–In-memory
–Compression
–Encryption at rest
–Role-based access
–Time travel
–Branching
–Online schema changes
–Streaming ingest
–Offline sync
–Runs in WebAssembly

Scale & consistency

Comfortable data size
Small · ≤ 100 GB
Horizontal scaling
None
Multi-region
No
Transactions
Limited ACID
Consistency
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Architecture
Client server, Single node
Query languages
Pick BASIC (FlashBASIC), ACCESS query language

Deployment

Self-hosted Vendor-managed cloud Serverless Embedded Edge Kubernetes operator

Ecosystem

apis & protocolsMVS Toolkit, ODBC, Telnet/terminal, Python (D3py)
client languagesC, Python, C#, Visual Basic

Alternatives to Rocket D3

Compare all→
jBASEMultivalue (Pick)1.4

MultiValue database that compiles Pick BASIC to native code, now part of Rocket's MV portfolio.

rocket-d3 vs jbase →
Rocket UniData / UniVerseMultivalue (Pick)11.0

Rocket's Pick-style MultiValue databases, powering thousands of vertical business applications.

rocket-d3 vs rocket-unidata-universe →
OpenQMMultivalue (Pick)0.2

Compact MultiValue (Pick) database from Ladybridge, once GPL-licensed, now Rocket's entry-level MV product.

rocket-d3 vs openqm →
InterSystems IRISRelational13.3

Multi-model data platform (SQL, objects, globals, vectors) with built-in interoperability, big in healthcare.

rocket-d3 vs intersystems-iris →
Software AG AdabasMultivalue (Pick)8.4

Inverted-list, multi-value mainframe database paired with Natural, run as a standalone Software AG business.

rocket-d3 vs adabas →
Model 204Multivalue (Pick)4.4

Rocket Software's mainframe inverted-list DBMS, in production since 1972 and still getting releases.

rocket-d3 vs model-204 →

Rocket D3 FAQ

What is Rocket D3?

Rocket D3 is a multivalue (Pick) database by Rocket Software (originally Pick Systems), first released in 1993. D3 is the MultiValue database that traces straight back to Pick Systems, the company founded around Dick Pick's original Pick operating system, and it still feels like Pick: a self-contained environment with its own account and file model, Pick BASIC, the ACCESS query language and nested multi-value records. It runs natively on Linux and as a virtual machine (VME) on Windows. Rocket Software took it over with the Zumasys MultiValue portfolio in 2021 and keeps it maintained: D3 10.4 is the current line, with 10.4.0.3 for Windows (September 2026) certified on Windows Server 2025. It exists to keep long-lived Pick applications running, and Rocket offers migration paths to jBASE.

Is Rocket D3 open source?

No. Rocket D3 is proprietary, closed-source software.

Does Rocket D3 support ACID transactions?

Partly. Rocket D3 offers limited ACID guarantees (for example, single-record or single-partition transactions), with strong consistency.

Does Rocket D3 scale horizontally?

Rocket D3 does not scale horizontally; it runs on a single node, so you scale it up rather than out. It is comfortable at small scale (≤ 100 GB).

How can I run Rocket D3?

You can self-host it.

What is Rocket D3 best for?

Rocket D3 is a strong fit for running legacy Pick business applications; distribution and accounting packages built on D3; and staging migrations from D3 to jBASE or SQL databases. Think twice for new application development.

What are the best alternatives to Rocket D3?

Common alternatives to Rocket D3 include jBASE, Rocket UniData / UniVerse, OpenQM, InterSystems IRIS and Software AG Adabas. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.

How popular is Rocket D3?

Rocket D3 has little measurable public adoption today, so it ranks near the bottom of the WhichDB Score.