pc Questions re: FM from a complete novice

[pspar917]

Hello,

 

I have been developing applications in Visual Foxpro for a couple of decades and am currently evaluating a demo version of FM Pro 13. My plan is to re-create a few of my apps currently in VFP9 to FM Pro 13 Advanced. I haven't used this version of FM yet but it appears to be the one I would purchase when my trial is up. So far, I really like what I see.

 

I know I have a lot to learn and don't know if I my 30 day trial will be long enough to answer all my questions. So, I'd thought I would throw out a few to you experienced FM developers:

 

1. My goal is to create standalone applications I can distribute. It is my understanding that this is a feature of Pro Advanced. Are these standalone apps multi-user? Can they be installed and shared on a network?

 

2. My current apps have several complex programs - are these able to be replicated in FM? I looked at the scripting functions and was curious as to how flexible and elaborate these can become.

 

3. Any (current or former) VFP developers out there that can lend any guidance?

 

I appreciate any insight you can give me. 

 

P

 

 

[Wim Decorte]

 

1. My goal is to create standalone applications I can distribute. It is my understanding that this is a feature of Pro Advanced. Are these standalone apps multi-user? Can they be installed and shared on a network?

 

 

The "standalone" is called "runtime" in FM.  But it is not multi-user. Each copy will hold its own data but that data can not be shared across multiple instances.

 

 

 

2. My current apps have several complex programs - are these able to be replicated in FM? I looked at the scripting functions and was curious as to how flexible and elaborate these can become.

 

 

That's asking for a pretty broad endorsement since we don't know what your applications do.  I come from an Access / VB background and I've been able to do what I wanted and never looked back.

 

Will there be frustration?  You bet.  In the beginning I was reeling at the seemingly lack of power that I had with FM scripting vs VB-level access to other apps and the OS.  But the true power is not in what the developer can do but in how the solution can scale and grow to hundreds of users.

 

Post back with more specifics and we can help you out.

[Mark Scott]

Hi P,

 

Welcome to the forum!  A couple quick answers here, but for more detailed answers to question 2 (and 3, about which I can't comment), you may wish to post your questions in more specific sub-forums.  (The "FileMaker XX Platform" sub-forums, such as this one, appear here for a while whenever there is a new release, to provide a place for people to discuss the newest and greatest [or not so] features of the brand-new release, then eventually get incorporated into the regular sub-forums, or relegated to the bottom of the page.)

 

Anyway, on to the specifics:

 

1.  No, runtimes are not networkable.  If you're looking to develop a multi-user application, you should look into the whole "FileMaker ecosystem," including FileMaker Server.  Using FM Server will provide the most secure and robust means to share the database among users.  It also opens the door to things like iPhone/iPad clients (through FileMaker Go) and web browser clients.

 

2.  [i see Wim replied while I was responding, so I'll only add a brief comment to his excellent advice…]  

 

I agree with Wim that it's a hard question to answer without knowing your current apps and needs fairly intimately, but we can point out that FileMaker's scripting environment does allow a broad range of programmatic control, including subscripts, looping, branching execution, variables with several different scope levels, etc.  Also, custom functions will provide another area where you can add a lot of custom functionality (sorry, really didn't intend any pun there!).

 

hth,

 

Mark

[pspar917]

Thanks so much for the replies.

 

Probably the most complex process the application I currently have (and wish to re-create in FM) assembles patient information from several tables with the end result becoming an electronic claim file (format 837P) for Medicaid and other insurance payors. I also have a process that imports the resulting remittance file (format 835) and posts the payments to the clients accounts.

 

The rest of the application consists of data entry, reports and queries. These look fairly easy to replicate in Filemaker. In fact, a lot of the validation functions and other features I needed to custom create for my VFP app look much easier to duplicate in FM.

 

So if my goal is to create standalone apps that can be multi-user, I should consider purchasing the FM Server vs FM Pro Advanced?

[Wim Decorte]

FM Server is there to share the the same data to different users (FM Pro, FM Go, XML, ODBC/JDBC,...).  To use that data you need a live connection to the server at all times.

 

So I'm not entirely clear on the "standalone" part.  Are you thinking individual users that want to use the data on their own but later synchronize their data with other users?

[pspar917]

A standalone application would be able to be installed and run on a client's desktop or network without the client needing to own FM themselves. That was the beauty of VFP - I could create and sell these custom applications and distribute to clients. It is my understanding that I can create and distribute applications with FM Pro Advanced but was curious as to whether these apps could be shared if installed on a client's network.

[Wim Decorte]

They can't.  If you need to share data then the client has to install FM Pro.  And the files themselves need to be hosted on FileMaker Server.

There is some peer-to-peer sharing that can be done FM Pro but it is very limited, mainly because it has no live-backup functionality.