Filemaker Pro and External Data

[William Mead]

Hi, I hope I am posting this in the right place. In my email this morning I got a link from Filemaker with this quicktime movie: http://fmdl.filemaker.com/MISC/fmp9/external_sql_sources.mov

Does this really mean what I think it means? Can Filemaker finally separate the data from the presentation? Can you build a database application in Filemaker with the same quick pace and nice front end while having the data stored elsewhere?

I am sure there are limitations in the sense that MySQL for example, is not as robust in the types of data it can hold as filemaker is natively.

I can tell by some of the messages in this forum that people are already doing this, but I would like to know how difficult it really is. The last time I messed with ODBC (some time ago, I admit) it was a bit troublesome.

[TimD]

William --

Yes, some of us are doing what you've described. Essentially, the new External SQL Source (ESS) function makes integrating data from certain types of SQL databases (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL) easier than it ever has been.

Note that FileMaker Inc. has stressed that they do not intend for FileMaker / ESS to be used to develop front-ends to SQL databases... But there's nothing to stop you from doing it.

-- Tim

[William Mead]

Thank you Tim for taking the time to reply to me. Also, thank you for posting your blog in your signature. I have gotten a lot out of reading it.

-Bill