FM-PHP-API The only API/Plug in available?

[Dale Bengston]

Hi Beverly,

I think a lot of use started using CDML and Home Page because it was  
right there in front of us, and there weren't a lot of alternatives -  
certainly none that came free on our FMP installer discs! Lasso (and  
Tango, back then) cost money. This was FileMaker 4.1, when one could  
still run an entire web solution off a plain-old client. As soon as I  
got wind of FX.php, I switched.

I'm sure a lot of people will follow Site Assistant and the PHP API  
for similar reasons of convenience, and for its tight integration with  
FileMaker. Kudos to FMI for making it easy to get FileMaker stuff to  
the web! After the XSLT false start, this is a welcome addition with  
FM9.

Sometimes good FileMaker design does not map well to the web. My rule  
of thumb: when developing for FileMaker, think like a FileMaker  
developer; when developing for the web, think like a web developer.

Dale



On May 27, 2008, at 11:12 AM, Beverly Voth wrote:

> On 05/27/08 11:54 AM, "Bob Patin" <[hidden email]> wrote in whole or  
> in part:
>
>> As Chris pointed out, the techniques are essentially the same; with a
>> web app, you're creating, finding, editing or deleting records, and
>> then manipulating the data for display on the web. The manipulation  
>> of
>> the data is where the real skills come into play; write a bad web app
>> and the data looks awful and is difficult to use; write an elegant  
>> web
>> app and you can present a really clean interface for users. This is
>> where a good knowledge of PHP comes in to play, rather than the  
>> choice
>> of the interface.
>
> Yes, and I wonder if the "easy-of-use" is the reason people use one
> interface or another. Look at the people that jumped on the CDML  
> bandwagon!
> You have to admit that the Site Assistant is an attractive lure,  
> just as
> Home Page was.
>
> I praise this as well-and-good. I just know that there was/is a lot  
> of great
> stuff that is NOT being done with web sites (and the databases  
> behind them)
> that result from going the easy route. And as a result these sites  
> really
> are slow old dogs.
>
> It might be difficult to discern if the "problem" is the api or the
> design...
>
> :)
> --
> Beverly Voth                       Tier3 Data & Web Services Group,  
> LLC
> 606-864-0041                            http://www.tier3web.com/ 
> xml.htm
>
>               Web Design & Hosting * Apple: ACN & ADC
>   Certified FileMaker 7 & 9 Developer * FileMaker Business Alliance
>    Coldfusion, Witango, PHP, MS SQL, MySQL, FMP, XML/XSLT, CSS
>   Over 14 years experience integrating databases and the internet!
>
>
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[Beverly Voth-2]

On 05/27/08 1:05 PM, "Dale Bengston" <[hidden email]> wrote in whole or
in part:

> Sometimes good FileMaker design does not map well to the web. My rule
> of thumb: when developing for FileMaker, think like a FileMaker
> developer; when developing for the web, think like a web developer.

Bingo, but sometimes you have to both and then design can be done to make
that happen; and one's thinking may have to be slightly altered. <smile>

--
Beverly Voth                       Tier3 Data & Web Services Group, LLC
606-864-0041                            http://www.tier3web.com/xml.htm

               Web Design & Hosting * Apple: ACN & ADC
   Certified FileMaker 7 & 9 Developer * FileMaker Business Alliance
    Coldfusion, Witango, PHP, MS SQL, MySQL, FMP, XML/XSLT, CSS
   Over 14 years experience integrating databases and the internet!


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[todd_geist]

Let me throw in that using any of the ODBC libraries for PHP works
great on Windows.  You will find that it is much much faster.

Unfortunately there are some problems with getting ODBC - PHP to work
on a Mac Server.  But if you are using a windows server it works very
well.

Todd
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[Mike Duncan-2]

I'd be interested in seeing some sample code for this. Does it allow you
to use SQL to connect to the database, and, say, page through found sets
like you can do with mysql?

Also, does this technically eliminate the need for a "web publishing
engine" component since you're not involving the xml interface?

I'd like to hear more...

thanks

Todd Geist wrote:
> Let me throw in that using any of the ODBC libraries for PHP works
> great on Windows.  You will find that it is much much faster.
>
> Unfortunately there are some problems with getting ODBC - PHP to work
> on a Mac Server.  But if you are using a windows server it works very
> well.
>
> Todd

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[todd_geist]

Hello,

You can use standard SQL just like you can with MySQL or any other
ODBC compliant datasource

given the appropriate variables this will connect to the database...

$conn = odbc_pconnect ($dsn, $dbuser, $dbpasswd, SQL_CUR_USE_ODBC);

and this will execute sql

$resullt=odbc_exec($conn , $sql);

The cool thing is that you can use any of the Database Abstraction
libraries that exist for PHP that have generic ODBC support.

As for your question about Web Publishing Engine. I don't know if it
gets rid of the need for the engine or not. Maybe some of the XDBC
stuff uses the web publishing engine. I don't know.

But yes it definitely does not use the XML gateway.

Todd
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