Connecting website to FileMaker database

[sal88]

Hi all

 

I'm new to PHP in general, as well as the FM PHP API. So please be patient as the question might not actually make any sense.

 

We need our clients to be able to access some records in our database (hosted on Filemaker Server 13). We would like them to do this through a website, which is being developed by a 3rd party. The website would use PHP to pull data from our database.

 

As I understand it, if the database were SQL, then you can have your web server completely separate from the database server. PHP would just connect using credentials and manipulate data as per user requests.

 

Is this same route possible with FileMaker? Can you have PHP pages connect to FMS, which resides on a different server? Or do the website/PHP files have to reside on either the primary FM server or the web FM server (which would be linked to the primary FM Server)?

 

If the last scenario is the case, can the to FM servers link over the web or would they have to be on the same internal network/domain?

 

 

It's quite a straight forward question I think, but I can't find a specific answer anywhere.

 

Any help appreciated.

[doughemi]

PHP server and FMS do not need to be on the same box, or in the same domain, or even in the same state. They work together exactly as you described for SQL.

[sal88]

That's great to hear! OK so aside from enabling PHP CWP, what else would need to be set up on FMS?

Thanks

[doughemi]

Set up a web user  account in FileMaker's Manage Security with the appropriate privileges (view only, layout access, etc), and use that account in the API's login. Depending on your needs, you may want to create several different web user accounts with different privileges.

 

Create php layouts with only the fields needed by each PHP script (the API is layout-centric, and will download everything on a layout) to improve performance.

[sal88]

All connected! Nice and painless. 

 

Cheers