A simple, single file storage db [Beta-8]

[coconutt2000]

Solution / A simple, single file storage db

Description: Still feature incomplete, I slapped this together to keep track of my Filemaker db files that I make to test out different techniques.

There is a rudimentary versioning system, a large description field, a diff field for noting whatever changes are made between versions. Files are stored in a related table, and the most recently modified file record is sorted to the top, and positioned in the layout as an icon, right next to the description field.

From here, it should be relatively easy for someone to add any features they feel like. I just thought I'd share this because may help some FM hobbyists from ending up with files all over the place.

One feature I was thinking about was somehow attaching a prefix or suffix, or maybe some kind of meta data to the Get Info data for the file that will note when it was checked out of the db.

Another feature that I'll probably add later on is a file lock on items that have been checked out for modification, requiring me to either check the file back in, or overriding the lock. But considering I work with FM alone, this is a low priority for me.

Working Under: 8

Solution Status: Beta

Pre-requisites:

Author(s): coconutt2000

Date: 04/17/06

Credits:

Instructions / Other Info:

Disclaimer:

FM Forums does not endorse or warrantee these files are fit for any particular purpose. Do not post or distribute files without written approval from the copyright owner. All files are deemed public domain unless otherwise indictated. Please backup every file that you intend to modify.

Example_Files_DB.fp7.zip

[Søren Dyhr]

a diff field for noting whatever changes are made between versions.

The diffing ought to be an autoenter ...LOL

--sd

[Lee Smith]

Hi Soren,

I'm sure that coconutt2000, welcomes your constructive criticism, but it would have come across nicer without the lol.

Hi coconutt2000, and Welcome to the Forum.

Thank you for your contribution, I'm sure others will benefit by your post.

Lee

Edited April 17, 2006 by Guest

[Ender]

It's a good start, but I hope you don't mind me fixing a couple things:

I guessed that the "version info" TO was for showing the most recent file/version info on the main layout, so I tied that in by fixing the "getversion info key" and changing the target field on the layout and in the export script step. I also had it set a default "db name" from the file name.

Example_Files_DBv2.fp7.zip

[Søren Dyhr]

Well the aim of this project is noble indeed, but I made a joke referring another contemporary dispute/combat coconuft2000 landed himself in.

However, the usual source for reinforcing the matters one deliberatly or accidentally have been vested into is bias, ignorance and prejudice - today called spin. So let's see where versioning tools actually are usefull and deployed ...it's when several developers work together on a project and where concurrency issues occure.

So dropping buzzwords could be an attempt to get ordained among peers, by dealing on behalf of the defendless... who hardly have guessed a use for such a tool anyway.

If such consolidation is urged, might a certification, be a more obvious choise, not that it awakes your senses but it prevents you from deploying filemaker in ill reputing ways.

--sd

[coconutt2000]

Actually, versioning is useful even when you work and develop projects on your own.

Most hobbyists don't keep previous copies of files they've modified, and several generations down the line they figure they'd like to go back and look at something they had done but changed. Without a copy of that version, they're stuck recreating it from memory.

When it comes to playing around with test files, I know I tend to modify the file as it is, and my file names tend to be generic and unimaginative, which means the desc field is useful for entering in descriptions of files and techniques in such files, making them easy to search and reference.

Thanks for fixing that Ender. I decided I didn't need to display the latest version info, I stopped before finishing that. As for the discussion in the other forum, I just wanted to make the point that the proper way to have made your point about the custom function was to post an alternative function that the user could've used. The custom function was a development shortcut because I hate typing out all the condition tests in Case() functions. Have to admit, if I'd thought of using Choose() we would never even have had reason to argue about teaching methods. And I'm all for people fixing things. I'm goal/mission oriented when it comes to tasks. Any help or constructive advice is welcome. Pointless and unhelpful detractions are wasteful. Thanks for the fix. And I wasn't kidding. I've seen your work scattered all over the place. I've been lurking on this forum for over a year, maybe longer. I know for a fact that when it comes to FM I'm only an amateur.

As for an auto entry diff, I wish that were possible. I can't think of a way to do it.

(And Soren, the irony of your post is amusing.)

Edited April 18, 2006 by Guest

[coconutt2000]

Hi Soren.

Note: "I just thought I'd share this because may help some FM hobbyists from ending up with files all over the place."

A developer wouldn't need my little rudimentary system. And people who use the word "buzz" are funny.

It is my opinion that if one can't say something polite, and they have no reason to be rude, then they should keep quiet. I've found that normally nice people are abnormally rude on the internet because of the layer of insulation that the Internet provides. Being nice to people you don't know or have no vested interest in is important because it keeps you in practice for being nice to people you actually care for. Same with pets, possessions, and other people's possessions. Genuinely nice people take care of their things, take care of the things of others, and take care of their pets. Sincerity is proven by what you're like when nobody is looking.

Anyhow, pleasant day.

[LaRetta]

Hi coconutt2000

"I've found that normally nice people are abnormally rude on the internet because of the layer of insulation that the Internet provides. "

Not my experience at all; particularly on Forums in which we all partake regularly. This is my home. I've found 'internet talk' SEEMS harsher because we can't see the people's eyes and facial expressions. I believe there is much misinterpretation because of this blindness we all share (using only words). The things I must remember are:

1) We have people from all over the world. I must be careful not to misinterpret poor spelling, sentence structure, etc as lack of intelligence ... many times it is NOT a person's first language. Many times BabelFish can twist things, 2) We have people that try to help - but are rushing out the door or feeding a screaming baby. They shouldn't help? Of course they should. Some of the BEST help I've received (in moments of crisis) has been from such scurried (and frantic) responses. So 'shortness' can't be a judge ... we have no idea what happens in another person's life. And 3) Style. We are all different people and I'm glad of it. How utterly boring FM Forums would be if everyone here were ME. I would never come here! :girlgiggle:

LaRetta

Edited April 18, 2006 by Guest
Ooops, typo corrected. :^)

[coconutt2000]

Out of curiosity, how then do you interpret Soren's comments, (intent and effect) in regards to my admittedly simple, and apparently useless contribution?

And I'm not talking about his comment about how the diff notes should be an autoentry, which I think was facetious anyhow.

[Genx]

I have problems :. No matter how much I need a database to keep me organised i struggle to be able to make one for myself. Honestly, i would never ever make myself a database, and not from lack of want. Hence why I would have loved something like this when i was starting out and having difficulty organising my backups in any sort of realistic structure.

Soren, you can't just start - whats the word the hip kids use these days :... flaming? - people when they've put some time and effort into something. It stops them from trying again, then you get less people posting free files in general.

Anywho, just voicing my opinion

~Genx

[LaRetta]

If someone doesn't want their work critiqued or commented upon then they shouldn't post. If I see a way to (I believe) improve something, I will speak up. Period. What should end up, when a thread is finished, are the BEST ideas from all of us. And newer people can have great ideas as well! And I too appreciate Coconutt posting the file. Nobody here is picked on ... or receives special treatment. If you review other posted samples, many have questions or ideas to improve upon them.

Some people realize it will help them and accept it graciously as the gift it is. Most of us learn a great deal from EVERY post and that's why we read them all. And some demos could be dangerous (and a new person might not know that); in which case, we must mention the problems. But sometimes a person considers it as a personal attack. Neither the person posting nor the respondee can control what others think about their post. Soren did not flame. If he had, I would have been on him like flint. He offered a suggestion ... just as Mike did. Just as with the new 7/8 relational model - POV is everything (point-of-view).

Please everyone ... commit the Sin of Assumption while on Forums: You are not being attacked if someone presents a different approach or points out an inconsistency or problem. This is how we all benefit. It is a DISCUSSION forum, after all. We all post our best (or should). If others improve upon it or correct us, we've gained even more.

LaRetta :wink2:

[Genx]

Rightio, Agreed, you always seem to put things so well LaRetta :B

[coconutt2000]

LaRetta,

Soren said, "So dropping buzzwords could be an attempt to get ordained among peers, by dealing on behalf of the defendless... who hardly have guessed a use for such a tool anyway. "

This is an attack, and if it wasn't intended as one, it was a pointless post with no contribution to the thread. Heck, my file wasn't billed as a complete versioning solution for a developer. It was designed as a simple storage database specifically for hobbyists who want to keep copies of their examples and pristine copies of their work safe.

In my opinion, and my opinion still stands, that these forums are unusually hostile even by my own standards. It may be that the regulars have gotten used to one another enough to drop many of the polite mannerisms and conduct Forum business pro forma, but considering the large number of newbies that seem to appear in the forums on a daily basis, I get the feeling the forums are specifically under utilized because so many of them are turned off.

You have to approach the issue of manners as an outsider. Your current POV is as an insider, and thus you are more tolerant of certain things you consider normal, but which are not normal outside of the forums, or to most people who don't spend much time on the Internet forums.

Example: If you walk into a shop and are treated in a perfunctory but terse manner, with the staff talking to you in shorthand insider speech, because that is how they normally talk to one another - how long do you expect you'll stay if you can hardly understand them, and what little you do understand are mostly sarcastic jokes about you.

The fact that I'm still here attests to the fact that I have very thick skin, but I don't tolerate rudeness unless that rudeness has a point. I also dislike it when people criticize without offering solutions to problems. Just saying you're doing something wrong, but not offering the right way to do something is a waste of time, since the same effort it takes to post "You're wrong." is the same as the effort it takes to post, "Hey, try this..."

I've had this argument dozens of times with lots of people, and I'm always surprised at how willing people are to defend the status quo, even when it involves defending behavior they won't accept in their own homes. Now, I get a lot out of the forums, and I extract a lot from the posts of more experienced people, but I shouldn't have to grow thick skin just to stick around. If people can't be put to the effort of trying to convey the same degree of politeness and good manners that we expect in the real world, then we might as well start letting schoolyard bullies do their worst, criminals commit crimes, and liars lie. A higher standard of behavior should be expected of everyone, and cultural or language barriers should only excuse offenses up to a point. And fun at someone else's expense is not fun, for the person who is paying, unless that person is in on it. Otherwise, the person having fun is nothing more than a bully, and I have no tolerance for bullying, even when the bully is usually helpful, being helpful doesn't buy a pass for rudeness.

Just my views on this subject, and I have to warn you - they are strongly held views. If people don't have something nice to say, they shouldn't say anything. If they don't have something helpful to say, they shouldn't offer abuse. And if you're in an environment such as these forums where it is difficult to gauge "intent" and "motive", one should be careful to convey as much as possible through the use of /tags and emoticons, or if an intended joke or attempt at humor goes awry - to apologize quickly and promptly. Telling the victim to grow thick skin is not an apology.

[LaRetta]

"I've had this argument dozens of times with lots of people"

Not surprising.

"and I have to warn you - they are strongly held views."

And you've made that clear on countless posts as well, including carrying your arguments from one post to another (see reference above to Ender about another post).

... I give up. :idunno:

[Søren Dyhr]

I also dislike it when people criticize without offering solutions to problems. Just saying you're doing something wrong, but not offering the right way to do something is a waste of time

I apologise my lingual inadequacies, which made you ignore that I actually did - provide a "way". I sincerly hope that you instead consider these following quotes merely as guidance, than offensive remarks:

Styling and problem-solving need not conflict, but design has been distorted throughout its history by an emphasis on styling at the expense of problem-solving. The reasons for this distortion are clear enough: (1) designers must care about their professional standing, and accordingly they design largely for other designers, whose training equips them to judge styling but who are generally far from the situations where a design is used, and (2) the users themselves are generally ill-educated about the problem-solving aspects of design and make their purchasing decisions in situations where the styling aspects of a design are more apparent anyway

...snipped here...

But you have also been perhaps accidentally caught in the crossfire of my frustations of the filemaker parnassus, which I feel do this:

discourse is currently being very seriously distorted in a more pernicious way. The sophistication of irrationalism is unprecedented; the practice of systematically designing a set of supposedly impartial facts to support previous decisions or actions has never been more pervasive

...snipped here...

Especially when more geek'ish like me approach Devcon as institution. What I have a feeling of is carrying similarities to these two matters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Inquisitor

...and this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Constance

Hence my sarcastic remarks regarding certification!

--sd

[Genx]

... I am so lost...

[coconutt2000]

For the record LaRetta, I didn't carry the argument over to this thread. Soren did. I would have dropped the argument from the other thread as dead, except for it being brought up here - as a sarcastic aspersion on my motives for posting my file, which has actually saved me since I posted it by letting me roll back to an earlier version after an FM crash corrupted my working file.

As for Soren, I accept your explanation, and I admire your expertise with Filemaker and your extensive knowledge of formal relational design. It far exceeds my own, and I expect to learn a lot from reading your posts.