If you plan to run FileMaker Pro on the same server as your primary Web server, then you should run it on a different port. You can shoose which TCP port FileMaker will use- the standard HTTP port is 80. and select Web Companion to enable Instant Web Publishing.

Publishing your database is so easy that at first I thought I had missed something. And since FileMaker is a relational database, you can have a Java database that is related to an Images database that is related to a database that contains the actual site. So long to the Images directory and the JavaClass folder- they all now can hang out in the database. This means that it is now possible for Webmasters to have a 100% database based Web site. You can now have fields that contain GIF and JPEG images (which can be rotated in 90 degree increments), animated GIFs, QuickTime and QuickTimeVR movies, AIFF sound clips, and Java applets. Integrating the HTTP server into the database also increased its speed.įileMaker Pro 4 also understands more data types than previous versions, and you can put them into your database just as you would text. By making FileMaker Pro its own HTTP server, Claris has overcome these obstacles. It is possible to have a database field that has a record too big to be passed as an AppleEvent to the Web server and to the browser. AppleEvents are slower than intra-application messages (they're inter-application messages) and they have a size limit. CGIs, however, are plagued by the many shortcomings of AppleEvents (the way CGIs communicate with the server and FileMaker Pro). Then, the 'next generation' of CGIs appeared only a short time ago and they made publishing your FileMaker Pro database a lot easier. If you ever tried it yourself, then you know why so few people did it. It used to be that the only way to get your database on the Web (other than to use a different platform) was to write your own CGI in AppleScript. Well, if you have ever tried to put a FileMaker Pro database on the Web, you will know that Claris' decision to integrate Web publishing into version 4 is a not a good idea, its a great idea. It seems that everything is going to the Web, even some things that don't really need to. You have to learn CDML to take full advantage of FileMaker Pro 4's best Web features. The Web Companion makes putting databases on the Web easy and the version also includes better relational control. The Web Companion makes CGI programming unnecessary and CDML makes putting a database on the Web easy enough that anyone can do it.

The Mac Observer Express Daily NewsletterįileMaker Pro 4 is an excellent upgrade from an already solid version.

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