FMP7 - No CDML?

[CaelC]

I got an answer about this in the FMP7 area of the forum.

Has anyone else heard this and can confirm?

Apparently CDML is gone in favor of XML/XSLT server side translations when FMS Advance comes out?

I have an email in to Blueworld to see if they plan on supporting FMP7 with Lasso.

Has anyone heard anything on this?

Thanks!

Cael.

Version: v7.x

Platform: Mac OS X Panther

[Mariano Peterson]

This mostly just means that instead of using CDML, you'll be using a standard web scripting language like PHP, ASP, Perl, or other. Its a good idea to start familiarizing yourself with one of these technologies now.

You can use PHP to interact with FileMaker 6 via the FX.php class (free at www.iviking.org ).

If you prefer ASP you can use the FMP.asp class I wrote (free at http://mariano.petersonpages.com/demo/asp/FMPasp_v0-2.zip ). The FMP class is inspired by Chris Hansen's FX class.

If you prefer to use Perl to interact with FileMaker, you can take a look at the example I've posted at http://mariano.petersonpages.com/demo/perl/fmp_perl.zip .

[Steve T.]

No CDML in 7? Ugh. Ironically, I just downloaded and installed PHP on my laptop to give it a try so I could eventually explore the FX.php class and improve my FileMaker developer skills. And although this is exactly proving Mariano and FM, Inc.'s point of CMDL being too limited, I must say that IMO, you really have to be a programmer/coder to do this stuff. I used to work primarily WYSIWYG with code only in a side window for reference. I have not programmed for many years (basic, fortran, pascal), but my foray into php today definitely forced a re-wiring of my brain back to thinking in terms of variables, subroutines, functions, and print/echo for user-visible items. Although I will draw upon my programming roots from the 70's and 80's to lead me back down the coding trail, I must admit to not missing it too much. Learning syntax and function calls, debugging, and staring and staring at lines and lines of code were all things from my past that I thought were well behind me.

I feel like FileMaker has decided to shake off the amateurs and appeal to the professional developers (web or otherwise) instead. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but I thought there were already plenty of other tools out there like that (minus ease-of-use). Eventually, I was hoping to learn PHP, but I was not in a hurry and if it turned out that PHP wasn't my cup of tea, at least I knew there was old CDML for non-techs. Well, not anymore.

True, it's not like CDML FMP4-6 is going to suddenly stop working, but with its departure from FileMaker Pro's future completely, it is "dead" to most of us except for those of us living in zombie-land who refuse to let it die. I was going to start developing in FMP4, after all, so I guess I can stay in the world of the undead for a little bit more until my coding skill improves. It will be interesting to see if Lasso survives this. I would have thought they would have worked something out with FileMaker rather than have FileMaker drop CDML as I'm guessing a whole lot of their business comes from FileMaker users.

Alas, I bid thee farewell, CDML. Thou hast shown me a world into which I nary would have tread but for thee. PHP/Apache, thou wilt soon be mine own new web companion henceforward and methinks the loss of CDML may perchance grudgingly lead to the MySQL path.

--ST

[CyberSport]

So, for me, i have the entire business built upon the customized CDML website (the client solution is none-too-elegant and not the big selling point). I would consider myself an expert CDML and filemaker programmer, but not too decent of a programmer in any other language (minus the javascripts and tiny bit of perl i've learned to help out my solutions).

What is the best option for converting? For a while, I'll definitely need to be running both types of solutions, as a lot of my clients aren't going to want to shell out the extra $ for server advanced when they got by on server just fine before.

Here are what I've been thinking are my solutions:

1) outsource the redesign of the web solution and learn to program php so that i can be at the same point i was at in CDML (learning as i go)

2) permanantly bring a web person in house to do the web stuff

3) partner with a more technical company, i stay on for sales/marketing/consulting, they do the conversion, training, support, maintenance

4) SELL THE COMPANY!!! have a kid, be a stay-at-home dad....

What do folks think?

[Unable]

I'm about to retire from all this jive, so I've not bothered to get a copy of 7. What I find interesting about this is that IWP still works. Some seem to think even better than before. Does this mean that IWP no longer writes CDML on the fly but writes XML/XSLT on the fly? What's it take to View Source after all, I mean besides having 7 which I ain't gettin.

Seems to me that if that is not the case, then 7 must be somehow able to work with CDML. Like I say, I'm about to retire and could give a flying frog. But one of you interested cyber duds might want to look into this and experiment just a bit. Maybe 5.x and 6.x Security db's (dupe clones, of course) can be converted from .fp5 to .fp7 with a simple drag and drop and that might solve whatever problem you are perceiving. Like I say, I don't have (or care to have) 7, much less experiment with it. I'm gonna be a consultant and charge big bucks. Hey CyberSport, need a lazy consultant?

[Garry Claridge]

Having no other web access, to the Standard edition of FM7, will end my web-based development work on FM.

As a Developer I will have to purchase FM Server Advanced just to develop and test solutions. In Australia FM Unlimited is close to $2000, so I guess Advanced will be a similar price.

Oh well back to MySQL.

All the best.

Garry

[Bleppe]

The great thing about FMPro (<= 6.0 anyway) is that it's for people with a balanced use of both the left and the right side of the brain.

You don't have to be a programmer to make it work - even as a webserver when using CDML. It's easy to understand how it works. And you don't have to be a super-creative designer to make solutions and GUI's that works for average users.

That's why I fell for FMPro. PHP? ASP? - No way. I've been forced to use limited PHP/Java scripting to make my solutions work on the web, but writing a full PHP solution? I think I would hate as much as I hated trying to learn BASIC back in the old days... That's just not how my brain works.

Why couldn't they have made a plug-in/checkbox/setting/drop-to-convert that allows us to use good old CDML (with the limitations it has) and then keep the "amatuers" as a market?

FMPro is the only db alternative for a company with limited manpower and ressources, as far as I am concerned.

Just my input....

Bleppe