FileMaker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| FileMaker Pro | |
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| Developer: | FileMaker Inc. |
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| Latest release: | 8.5v1 / July 10, 2006 |
| OS: | Mac, Windows |
| Use: | Database management system |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Website: | FileMaker Inc. |
FileMaker Pro is a cross-platform database application from FileMaker Inc. (a subsidiary of Apple Computer), known for its combination of power and ease of use. It is also noted for the integration of the database engine with its GUI-based interface, which allows users to modify the database by dragging new elements into the layouts/screens/forms that provide the user interface. This results in a "quasi-object" development environment of a kind that is still largely unique in the "industrial strength" database world.
FileMaker was one of a handful of database applications released on the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s.
FileMaker is now available for the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems, and can be networked simultaneously to a mixed Windows and Macintosh user base. FileMaker is also scalable, being offered in desktop, server, web-delivery and mobile configurations.
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[edit] History
FileMaker began as a DOS-based product known as "Nutshell", developed by Nashoba Systems of Concord, Massachusetts around 1982 or 1983. Nutshell was distributed by Leading Edge, an electronics marketer that had recently started selling PC-compatible computers and software.
With the introduction of the Macintosh, Nashoba combined the basic data engine with a new forms-based GUI, creating a program that was dramatically easier to use. Leading Edge was not interested in the product, preferring to remain a DOS-only vendor, and kept the Nutshell name. Nashoba found another distributor, Forethought, and introduced it to the Mac market as "FileMaker". When the Macintosh Plus was introduced, the next version of FileMaker was named "FileMaker Plus" to reflect the computer's name.
Forethought was purchased by Microsoft, who were then introducing a series of products that are today the core of Microsoft Office. Microsoft had their own database product, Microsoft File, so the rights to FileMaker were reverted to Nashoba. In 1988 Nashoba introduced "FileMaker 4" under its own name.
Shortly thereafter, Apple Computer formed Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary, to market software. Within months they had purchased Nashoba to round out their software suite. By that time, Leading Edge and Nutshell had faded from the marketplace because of competition from other DOS and later Windows platform database products, whereas, in spite of competition from Microsoft File, FileMaker continued to succeed on the Macintosh platform.
Claris changed the name to "FileMaker II" in order to be compatible with the naming of their other products, such as MacWrite II, but the product was changed little from the last Nashoba version. A slew of seemingly randomly-numbered minor versions followed, when things finally settled down with the release of "FileMaker Pro" 1.0 in 1990. At this point, FileMaker was still a Mac OS-only application.
A significant milestone in FileMaker's history came with the release in September 1992 of a seamlessly cross-platform version (except for certain few platform-specific functionalities, a "solution," as FileMaker Pro databases are called, looks and feels the same in Windows as on a Mac). This gave it a very strong position in the marketplace and continues to be one of its key advantages. Version 3.0, which followed, was a significant upgrade with new relational and scripting features.
By 1995 FileMaker was the only product in Claris' line-up that had continued strong sales; other classics like "MacWrite" and "Resolve" (a re-labelled Informix Wingz) had been milked for many years before being updated far too late to have any impact in the market. In 1998, Apple dissolved Claris, abandoned many products, moved a few under the Apple brand (AppleWorks) and created the wholly owned subsidiary "FileMaker, Inc." to further develop and market FileMaker and clarify its position in the market. (Actually, the company changed its name; it wasn't a matter of dissolving and creating. Almost all employees who weren't on the FileMaker teams were laid off, and the few who remained were transferred to FileMaker.)
Version 4.0, introduced in 1997, added a plug-in architecture much like Photoshop, which provided for third-party developers to add various non-native functionalities to FileMaker. A bundled plug-in was the Web Companion, which allowed the database to act as a web server; other "plugs" add new features to the interface or allow FileMaker to act as an FTP client, perform external file operations, and send messages to remote FileMaker files over inter- or intra-net.
Since its emergence from the Apple fold, FileMaker Inc. has invested substantially in software development. Version 7 of FileMaker Pro, released in March 2004, supported file sizes of up to 8 terabytes (up from 2 gigabytes in previous versions). Individual fields could hold up to 2 gigabytes (up from 64 kilobytes in previous versions) and FileMaker's relational model was enriched, offering multiple tables per file and a graphical relationship editor which displayed (and allowed manipulation of) related tables in a form which in some respects resembled the familiar "entity-relationship diagram" format. With this change, FileMaker Inc. also introduced a worldwide developer certification program in recognition of the growing numbers of professional developers working with FileMaker.
On August 29, 2005, FileMaker Inc. announced the FileMaker 8 product family.
FileMaker 8 offered the developer an expanded feature set. One feature is the tabbed-interface, which allows the user to easily create a multi-tabbed layout. Script variables, tooltips, enhanced debug features, custom menus and the ability to copy and paste entire tables and field definitions, scripts and script steps within and between files all increase FileMaker's reputation as a rapid development environment.
Version 8.5, released Jul 10, 2006, added an integrated web viewer (the ability to directly view such things as shipment tracking information from Federal Express and Wikipedia entries) and Named Layout Objects.
[edit] Description
A defining characteristic of FileMaker is that the database engine is integrated with the forms (screen, layouts, reports etc) used to access it. Most database systems separate these tasks, concerning themselves primarily with organization and storage of the data.
Until recently, each table of a FileMaker database system was stored as a separate file (with relational links to other files) and each file had its own in-built interface capabilities. Version 7 introduced the capability to build multiple tables into one document. Compared to other RDBMS products, it is fairly easy to develop quickly and to make changes on the fly as the data structure is altered. More complex systems may introduce some separation between interface and data files and FileMaker provides the flexibility to accommodate this.
A substantial body of professional FileMaker developers has grown up around the product and provides the expertise required for complex systems and implementations. A certification program was introduced by FileMaker Inc in 2004 to provide differentiation of professionals in the field. FileMaker also provides an interface (API) for integration of third-party tools, making it highly extensible. In addition there are a variety of web publishing options suited to both low-end and larger scale project requirements.
[edit] Version history
| Date | Version | Published by | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr. 1985 | FileMaker, v1.0 | Forethought Inc. | |
| Oct. 1986 | FileMaker Plus, v2.1 | ||
| June 1988 | FileMaker 4, v4 | Nashoba Systems | |
| Aug. 1988 | FileMaker II, v 1.0 | ||
| July 1989 | FileMaker II, version 1.1v2 | ||
| Oct. 1990 | FileMaker Pro 1.0v1 | Claris Corporation | |
| Mar. 1991 | FileMaker Pro 1.0v2 | ||
| Mar. 1992 | FileMaker Pro 1.0v3 | ||
| Sep. 1992 | FileMaker Pro 2.0v1 | First cross-platform (Macintosh and Windows) version | |
| Oct. 1992 | FileMaker Pro 2.0v2 | ||
| Mar. 1993 | FileMaker Pro 2.0v3 | ||
| Apr. 1993 | FileMaker Pro 2.0v4 | ||
| Aug. 1993 | FileMaker Pro 2.1v1 | ||
| Feb. 1994 | FileMaker Pro 2.1v2 | ||
| July 1994 | FileMaker Pro 2.1v3/SDK 2.1 | ||
| July 1994 | FileMaker Pro Server 2.0v | ||
| July 1994 | FileMaker Pro SDK 2.1v1 | ||
| Mar. 1995 | FileMaker Pro Server 2.1v1 | ||
| Dec. 1995 | FileMaker Pro 3.0v1 | Relational architecture, TCP/IP networking introduced | |
| Jan. 1996 | FileMaker Pro Server 3.0v1 | ||
| Jan. 1996 | FileMaker Pro 3.0v2 | ||
| June 1996 | FileMaker Pro 3.0v3 | ||
| June 1996 | FileMaker Pro 3.0v4 | ||
| June 1996 | FileMaker Pro SDK 3.0v1 | ||
| Sep. 1997 | FileMaker Pro 4.0v1 | Plug-in architecture introduced | |
| June 1999 | FileMaker Pro 4.1v2 | FileMaker, Inc. | |
| Sep. 1999 | FileMaker Pro 5.0v1 | ||
| Nov. 1999 | FileMaker Server 5.0v1 | ||
| May 2001 | FileMaker Pro 5.5v1 | Built-in support for Mac OS X | |
| July 2001 | FileMaker Server 5.5v1 | ||
| Sep. 2002 | FileMaker Pro 6.0v1 | ||
| Mar. 2004 | FileMaker Pro 7.0v1 | Multiple tables/file architecture introduced; multiple windows; entity relationship diagrams; calc variables | |
| May 2004 | FileMaker Server 7.0v1 | ||
| May 2004 | FileMaker Pro 7.0v2 | ||
| Sep. 2004 | FileMaker Server 7.0v2 | ||
| Oct. 2004 | FileMaker Pro 7.0v3 | ||
| Aug. 2005 | FileMaker Pro 8.0v1 | Scriptable creation of PDF reports; script variables | |
| Aug. 2005 | FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.0v1 | ||
| Sep. 2005 | FileMaker Server 8.0v1 | ||
| Dec. 2005 | FileMaker Pro 8.0v2 | ||
| Dec. 2005 | FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.0v2 | ||
| Jan. 2006 | FileMaker Server Advanced 8.0v1 | ||
| Jan. 2006 | FileMaker Mobile 8 | ||
| Apr. 2006 | FileMaker Pro 8.0v3 | ||
| Apr. 2006 | FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.0v3 | ||
| Apr. 2006 | FileMaker Server 8.0v3 | ||
| Apr. 2006 | FileMaker Server Advanced 8.0v3 | ||
| July 2006 | FileMaker Pro 8.5v1 | Mac OS X Universal Binary Support | |
| July 2006 | FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.5v1 | Mac OS X Universal Binary Support | |
| July 2006 | FileMaker Server 8.0v4 | Mac OS X Universal Binary Support |
[edit] References
- Dancing-Data, detailed history from 1980 to 1989
[edit] External links
- FileMaker Inc. website, including Technical Knowledge Base
