Third Party Developer Tools

[JPaul]

Hello Chuck,

i've also used Analyzer Lite (the only available for WIN) and, in some circumstances, i have found it helpful.

I've replied Waves in Motion (as they ask in their filling form) in order to obtain the unlocking PWD but i'm waiting ....

In my 26 years of programming experience i have SELF MADE my development tools (i'm very tired of this, believe me, but every time i fall in this temptation): the concept is simple: what is good for me and my projects management could not be the same for you or anybody else.

I have used also sophisticated 3GL and 4GL tools but it is the same old story: in many circumstances you have to write, BY HAND, lines of hard code interacting with the code & logic produced by the development tool and here you spend the hardest moments of your programmer's life (blood,sweat and tears) !

Because i've planned, when i will have the time, to build something laso for FM, i would agree to stay in touch with the people interested in.

Best regards.

[SteveB]

I've been using WinBatch and the Troi File plugin together to do a number of things that FM can't do alone. WinBatch has a lot of power and would be easy to use if Troi would enable command line parsing (remember DOS?). As it stands now, I write a temp command file, and then call my WinBatch EXE to play .WAV files, back up to a Zip drive, etc.

[Chuck]

I'm interested in what others are using in addition to FileMaker (and perhaps AppleScript's Script Editor) as part of your developer toolkit.

For instance, in addition to FileMaker and FileMaker Developer I use Analyzer from Waves In Motion and the Scriptology Developer's Toolkit (which I can't recommend, although the Scriptology book is very good) and I plan to soon get AutoScript, which I've demoed and liked (such as the ability to type scripts into a text editor).

In the last week I've been browsing through www.fmfiles.com and have found a few other developer tools, some of which seem similar to Analyzer (such as LFSVR) and some of which seem to perform entirely different functions (such as LitheFM Toolkit). I've also found LORE, which it something I haven't checked out yet. Others I've found and am going to check out are SQDR, ProMaker Utils, ScriptBuilder, ProHelp and PerformanceMonster.

On the AppleScript side I use Scripter from Main Event, which I find to be much more useful than Apple's included Script Editor. I've also used the Use Printer scripting addition to change printers with a script and the DialogDirector addition to create some complicated dialogs (more than is possible with display dialog). In the near future I plan to also check into Dialog Studio, which provides a graphic interface for creating dialogs with DialogDirector. I have also toyed with FaceSpan, but haven't really used it yet.

Have any of you used these or other tools in your development to document your systems or automate some portion of the building process? What has your experience been? What couldn't you live without? What's worth the money? Many of the FileMaker tools available are Macintosh based because they tend to take advantage of AppleScript or at least AppleEvents to do their job, but I would love to hear about the best tools for Windows too.

Thanks,

Chuck

[Moon]

Chuck,

Don't know how I missed the June 19 post all this time, especially since you are requesting opinons. The less I know about something, the stronger my opinion.

I also have Analyzer (the full version) from Waves In Motion, and I give it mixed reviews. It is really cosmic when it works. The problem is that I find it does not always work properly, and there is no documentation or interface help to troubleshoot what goes wrong. Problems I have had include hanging at startup under OS 9 (solved after running Conflict Catcher for hours by turning off ATI Graphics Accelerator); failure to document the password data on suites even though opened with the Master password (unsolved); sometimes fails to record ANY field definition data, even though it counts the fields correctly (unsolved); and other bugs that I forget. Given the hefty price I paid for it, the sorry documentation that accompanies it, the spartan and unintuitive interface, the absence of any online help, and the limited response I received from queries via internet, I am very reluctant to give it much of an endorsement. Since I already own it, I use it when I want to trace complex scripting over several databases, and I do use it to find broken relationships and calc errors which it is good at. If I knew what I know now I would not buy it.

By the way, I would welcome a forum opened for discussion, troubleshooting and questions on Analyzer and other helper solutions. I may get a different slant on Analyzer if I were to share some of my problems and learn from others, as I do so much for all of the other FileMaker stuff here.

I have invested in one plugin/solution that I recommend very highly for the developer, and that is Dialog Magic from New Millenium Communications. This plugin is primarily for us who have to manage the behind the scenes work on solutions, such as Passwords, cloning, copying, and all of the stuff that you have to do to keep stuff up to date. The documentation that comes with this is excellent (it is a database with all of the functionality demonstrated, explained, and full of commented scripts. It is totally accessible (Analyzer cannot be accessed at all. Field definitions, scripts, relationships, layouts, nuthin. Another minus.) The scripting and commenting techniques themselves are an education, and the power and utility of the whole solution is outstanding. I purchased a license several months ago and am kicking myself for not getting it years ago. New Millenium produces first class solutions. Totally professional, totally useful. Did I mention I recommend Dialog Magic highly?

I also use AutoScript, and I recommend it for the same reasons you have mentioned. It complements FileMaker's script importing capabilities very well, although it can be pretty slow on big scripts. Its documentation of missing fields and script elements when the import is complete is very valuable, however.

I am a Macintosh developer, so cannot give you any of my long-winded opinions on Windows solutions (I can give you a very long-winded opinon of Widows, but that is another story).

I have tried trial copies of several of the other tools, such as ProMaker Utils and ScriptBuilder, but did not find enough in my shallow perusal to make me dig further. Haven't tried the Scriptology Toolkit, but the book is great and the solutions that came with it are sometimes very handy. A super reference book. This forum is even bettter though.

One last item I have used a lot is the Troi Text plugin. It is surprising how many uses you can find for this inexpensive enhancement. I use if for finding discrepancies in big solutions, such as files that did not get a required password when they were developed. This is vague, I know, but trust me, the plugin is simple to use and potent.

I am glad you asked the question, and I hope more come forward with their opinons. I also hope that as a moderator you may be instrumental in opening a discussion forum on Analyzer and its ilk. I think Analyzer could be fantastic if it were better documented and opened up the the license holder, or maybe if I just understood it better.

[Chuck]

Moon,

I have to say, I haven't had anywhere near the trouble you're having with Analyzer. Have you contacted Waves In Motion about the problems? When I first purchased Analyzer I did have some problem, which they were more than happy to help me solve over the phone. I also quickly found a bug in Analyzer that sometimes enters an infinite loop when tracing scripts that call external scripts. Waves In Motion is aware of this problem, and is working on fixing it for the next version. I would suggest that you either email them or call them. One advantage of getting software from such a small company is that you can speak to the programmers themselves instead of tech support personnel.

I agree that the documentation on it seems to be sparse, and my experience is that this seems to be the case with most of Waves In Motion's products.

A forum on developer tools might be a good idea. Would anyone else here be interested? I have to admit that I've been a bit disappointed in the responses so far to my inquiry. I was really hoping that more of the FM Forum's participants would chime in with that they use, especially with regards to some of the tools I've checked out but not purchased. But perhaps we'll still get some more input.

Chuck

[DLS]

I'd like to chime in here and say first of all that I appreciate all the info on this Forum.

I have been developing fulltime for 3 months now (part time hobby/business for a few years) so I am still developing my own work habits, tools, etc. to become more efficient. Now it's a job and time is money. I don't have much to add other than to say the Scriptolgy book and files are great. I am however going to check in to some of the other items mentioned here. Thanks. In the future I will add my two cents as I discover things I like.

I would like to see a Forum on developer tools, contracts, pricing structures, and all the other wonderfull stuff you deal with when you are on your own that you have to learn somehow. I suspect there are other mostly lurker type new developers out there like me who would read the Forum and benefit but might not have much to add yet.

[Chuck]

quote:

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I would like to see a Forum on developer tools, contracts, pricing structures, and all the other wonderfull stuff you deal with when you are on your own that you have to learn somehow.

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That's exactly what this forum is for. Always feel free to post your questions on such matters to the Making a Living forum. What we were thinking of was a forum to deal with developer tools separately, but so far, I don't see much of a demand for it.

Chuck