fmDotNet: .NET classes for working with FileMaker data.

[Wim Decorte]

Media Contact:

Wim Decorte

[mailto:[email protected]]

For Release 1600 GMT, 03/20/2006

Connecting Data Releases fmDotNet for FileMaker Server Advanced

[Holzkirchen, Germany]

Connecting Data [http://www.connectingdata.com], a FileMaker Solutions Alliance

Associate member and developer of the FMrobot developer automation tool, today announced the release and immediate availability of fmDotNet, a set of .NET classes for FileMaker Server 8 Advanced.

Wim Decorte, CEO of Connecting Data, described fmDotNet as "an extension to the .NET framework. In FileMaker terms, this is a “plugin” to the .NET framework. While the .NET framework itself has plenty of tools to work with XML data returned from FileMaker Server Advanced, fmDotNet makes it easier to use by providing pre-built XML parsing code."

The fmDotNet classes, released as an Open Source project, can be downloaded from http://fmDotNet.sourceforge.net. Additional information and samples are available on the Connecting Data web site at http://www.connectingdata.com.

The fmDotNet classes are expected to find wide acceptance in corporate environments where developers and IS/IT professionals are already familiar with the .NET framework and where they will not be required to install and then manage third party software or scripting languages in order to utilize FileMaker Server 8 Advanced.

According to Decorte, "The target developer here is an independent or corporate developer who by choice or by necessity works with the .NET framework. With fmDotNet he or she doesn't have to understand FileMaker Server XML data grammars or how to extract data from FileMaker. They can stay within their .NET comfort zone. fmDotNet was inspired by similar work done for PHP developers by the creators of fx.php and fm-and-php. But fmDotNet is not limited to being used for dynamic web sites (ASP.NET), it can also be used in standard Windows applications."

Without fmDotNet developers would typically have to write a considerable amount of code to issue commands to FileMaker Server Advanced and especially to parse the returned XML to extract information from FileMaker Pro files hosted by FileMaker Server 8 Advanced - an exercise that would easily require a couple of hundred lines of code. However, as an example of the versatility and power of fmDotNet, the developer instead can make one reference to fmDotNet and then add just a couple of lines of code to return the same result that otherwise would require those hundreds of lines of custom code.

FileMaker developers have reacted positively to the release of fmDotNet. "Once again, Wim Decorte has been a trailblazer. fmDotNet will expand the reach and the usefulness of FileMaker Server Advanced in many organizations," said Steven H. Blackwell of Management Counseling Services, a FileMaker Solutions Alliance Partner.

"Finally, the door is opened to .NET, and with that, Wim Decorte has removed an imposing barrier separating Filemaker from the rest of the programming world. 'Classes' may not mean much to the Filemaker community, but the addition of these classes empowers every in-house VB or other .NET language programmer to easily build any front end to Filemaker tables without needing to become expert at Filemaker or its XML grammar. That, in turn, opens up corporate IT to Filemaker big time. By the same token, we Filemaker developers who can master a bit of programming are at last freed from the restrictions of IWP, or of having to master the intricacies of CWP and XML", said John Weinshel of Datagrace, a FileMaker Solutions Alliance Associate.

Connecting Data is an IT consultancy company that specializes in developing database driven management and production solutions. The company supports Windows, Linux, and Macintosh platforms. Decorte, a winner of the FileMaker Excellence Award given by FileMaker, Inc., is a frequent speaker at industry events and is the author or co–author of several major White Papers featured on the FileMaker corporate website.

FileMaker® Pro 8 and FileMaker® Server 8 Advanced are products of FileMaker, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. With more than 11 million units distributed worldwide, FileMaker Pro is used by workgroups within the Fortune 100, the top 250 school districts in the U.S. and each of the top 50 U.S. undergraduate colleges. Since shipping in August 2005, FileMaker Pro 8 has received numerous top editorial awards from leading publications, including "Product of the Year" awards from PC Magazine and Macworld.

FileMaker Pro was recently selected as a 2006 Codie Award finalist in the "Best Database Management Solution" category by the Software Information Industry Association.

FileMaker, Inc. is a subsidiary of Apple Computer, Inc., of Cupertino, California [NASDAQ: AAPL]

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