The Separation Model – Part 3

by Matt Petrowsky

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In this Part 3 about the Separation Model, we head into the actual structure of the data. I start to address the issues you're faced with when trying to keep the data file as clean of "extra stuff" as possible. One REALLY good thing to ALWAYS remember is that adding more stuff to your FileMaker file means more to manage (and re-figure out) later on.

When it comes to using the separation model, you've always got a few things to worry about. The first of which is creating related records. As with all things, there's always more than one way to tackle something. Certainly, you can use FileMaker's default method of adding related records by simply throwing a portal onto the layout and connecting a data table occurrence with another data table occurrence. You could also continuously add fields until your tables have thousands of them (hint, not a good idea).

Within this project, I've opted to use FileMaker's Obligatory Create (yes, it's my own made up term for what FileMaker does). This is in contrast to adding a more generic record creation script within the data file and having that script report the id of the newly created record. The later approach is a method which I first saw at Pause on Error in Portland where the MVC (model/view/controller) was the topic of focus.

Using a Global Transfer method, in conjunction with an Obligatory Create, you gain a number of advantages. You can pre-validate your data, ensure requirements have been fulfilled and apply any data formatting prior to actual storage.

These are the topics discussed in this video, plus anything else related to moving the solution forward. One interesting thing to note is that nothing is permanent within your solution. When you start to investigate the files, try to find where things aren't quite working and see if you can figure out how you would solve them. Hint, the counts for items within the filtered portals on the Edit tab are not functioning properly. They'll need to be fixed.... which is coming up in the next video in this series.