Is the FM - FlashMX Worth it?

[Gary Weisbrodt]

I would like to start a discussion on weather or not it is worth developing in FMP 7 and Flash.

I have been hard pressed to find one example of how to make FMP 7 work with FlashMX. On the other hand I can find examples on how to make PHP and MySql work.

such as http://actionscript-toolbox.com/samplemx_php.php

A list of pros and cons would be helpful.

Con FMP limited to five connections

Con FMP Advanced Server costly

Pro MySql free in fact it comes with Mac OSX Server

I think PHP has been arround longer and has a wider base of users than XML

[kfutter]

Actually, PHP retrieves data from FileMaker via XML - without FM's XML output, PHP would be useless in that context. Also, if memory servers, MySQL is built into all recent client versions of OS X, not just Server.

I haven't tried connecting FM with Flash yet (though I'm currently considering this for an upcoming project), but it shouldn't be too much more complicated than connecting Flash to any other database, especially if you put PHP in the middle.

Kevin

[Gary Weisbrodt]

Hi Kevin

So a PHP document calls a XML document that calls FMP or is the XML within the PHP?

Will this work with FMP or is Advanced Server required?

By using PHP is the 5 user limit still in effect?

How would you justify the cost of FMP or Advanced Server against MySql?

[kfutter]

Hi Gary,

PHP simply asks FM to return its results as XML - you can do this yourself without PHP by specifying -fmp_xml as the format file in your query. For example:

FMPro?-db=myFMDb&-format=-fmp_xml& ...

PHP is used only to transform the result into HTML, much as XSLT does (though via different mechanisms obviously).

This will work with any version of FM that uses Web Companion, but I think with v7, Server Advanced might be required - I've had no experience with v7 so I can't comment with any authority.

As far as I know, PHP can't circumvent any of FM's client or connection limitations.

Your last question is a tricky one, and the answer really depends on individual circumstances. If you're setting up something from scratch, FM7SA is a big ask, and can't really compete on a bang-for-buck basis with LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) solutions. Again, it depends on the primary focus of a particular project - is it primarily a web-publishing solution (homespun CMS), or primarily a data management solution?

If you're already wedded to FM, as we are in my organisation, then migrating to another solution is often not an option. We're sticking with v6 for the time being because v7 is so different that it's not so much an upgrade as a migration to another solution, ironically enough. But, in preparation for an eventual move (to v8 perhaps?), we're migrating from CDML to PHP/XML for our web stuff. And because we're a Mac shop, MySQL is everywhere anyway.

Cheers,

Kevin

[Gary Weisbrodt]

Hi Kevin

Hmmmmm I thought that PHP would be the place where we put the business logic, FlashMX the presentation and MySql or FMP the data. Seems to me if FM has to communicate with XML it just gives us something else to learn.

[kfutter]

Gary - it still should work this way. I wasn't really thinking about Flash in my previous post, so I'm not sure if PHP is all that necessary. FM outputs XML and this output is reasonably well documented. Flash can parse XML to some extent, so possibly no need for middleware for simple solutions. Personally I think Flash isn't quite ready for primetime as a front end for database-driven websites, but I'm sure Macromedia will improve this aspect of it in future releases. However, in the meantime I might have to stop theorising and go build something to see what works best.

Cheers,

Kevin

[Garry Claridge]

re: MySQL v FMSA

If I were planning a web/http only application then I would choose MySQL.

If I were providing a multi-user inhouse FM application, which also needed to be accessed by the web/http then I would choose FMSA (unless the cost is prohibitive, then I would have to provide a "workaround").

FMSA does not talk to XML, it talks XML! That is the format used for data interchange via web/http requests.

All the best.

Garry

[kfutter]

Garry (Claridge!) - the scenario you describe of "a multi-user inhouse FM application, which also needed to be accessed by the web/http" is exactly what we have (hosting over 90 databases on Server v5.5, with about 7 or 8 of them providing web content as well). So, MySQL isn't really in the picture here.

Anyway, not really anything to do with Flash anymore ...

Cheers,

Kevin

[Garry Claridge]

I guess I should add where I see FlashMX fitting in.

If I have a browser-based application which needs "live" data from a database, I would use the "Flash Data Connector".

If this database is FMSA, as in scenario two of my last post, I would be using the "Flash Data Connector" component "XML Connector".

As I said to Gary in another thread, I don't see Flash MX being used to build interfaces for FMSA. I see Flash MX being used to build browser-based applications. Some of these application may need to interchange data with FMSA.

All the best.

Garry

[sixteen days]

I'm looking at the same functionality.

Will be back with the results!

watch this space

[bruceR]

We're still watching...

[shilpa]

Hey..

am new in the Forums section but not to Filemaker..

Anyways...

I am going through the same functionality.. just curious whether you have come up with some solution to that... I am still struggling.