Developer’s Guide
Table Of Contents
- Preface Introducing FileMaker Developer 5.5
- Chapter 1 Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5
- What you need to install FileMakerDeveloper
- System requirements for FileMaker Developer 5.5
- Networking requirements
- Web publishing requirements
- Requirements for advanced features (Windows)
- Requirements for advanced features (MacOS)
- Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5 in Windows
- Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5 in the MacOS
- New features in FileMaker Pro
- FileMaker Pro 5.5 and Mac OS X
- Contents of the FileMaker Developer 5.5 folder
- Contents of the Developer Extras folder on the FileMaker Developer 5.5 CD
- Read Me file
- Electronic documentation
- Abiding by the license agreement
- Registration and customer support
- About the TechInfo database
- Chapter 2 Creating a database solution
- Overview of preparing your solutionfiles
- Considerations for a runtime databasesolution
- Considerations for Kiosk mode
- Using scripts to control your solution
- Protecting your database solution files
- Providing user documentation
- Design tips for cross-platform solutions
- Creating a consistent appearance
- Simulating outline and shadow text styles
- Using common character sets
- Designing text layouts for cross-platform solutions
- Using a common color palette
- Using graphics in cross-platform solutions
- Using QuickTime movies in cross-platform solutions
- Showing the status bar in Windows
- Using separate scripts for printing
- Using the Status (CurrentPlatform) function
- Creating platform-specific scripts
- Your responsibilities as a developer
- Testing before and after creating yoursolution
- Converting and upgrading solution files
- Chapter 3 Creating custom layout themes
- Chapter 4 Using the FileMaker Developer Tool
- About the solution examples
- Using the FileMaker Developer Tool
- Binding your databases into a runtime database solution
- Creating Kiosk-mode solutions
- Renaming your databases
- Removing design access to your databases
- Customizing the About, Help, and Scriptsmenus
- Adding the FileMakerPro extension to database filenames
- Saving your settings in the Developer Tool
- Chapter 5 Distributing FileMakerPro runtime database solutions
- Chapter 6 Publishing your database on the Web
- Types of web publishing
- Using the FileMakerPro Web Companion
- Creating a custom home page
- Creating a custom home page for Instant Web Publishing
- Creating a custom web site using a database layout
- Web Companion support for Internet mediatypes
- Monitoring your site
- Exporting data to a static HTML page
- Testing your site without a networkconnection
- Opening password-protected databasesremotely
- Chapter 7 Using FileMakerPro XML to deliver your data
- About the XML examples
- General process for custom web publishing using XML
- Generating an XML document
- Using the FMPDSORESULT grammar
- Using the FileMakerPro Extended XMLgrammars
- About UTF-8 encoded data
- Generating FileMakerPro CGI requests for an XML document
- Using style sheets with your XMLdocument
- Comparing CSS, XSLT, and JavaScript
- Looking at the XML Inventory example
- Chapter 8 Custom web publishing using CDML
- About the CDML examples
- General steps for custom web publishing using CDML
- About CDML format files
- Generating FileMakerPro CGI requests using CDML
- Using the CDML Tool and templates
- Modified CDML tags
- About the CDML Reference database
- Creating error messages
- Using an encoding parameter with a CDML replacement tag
- Planning your web site
- Chapter 9 Using Java and JDBC to deliver your data
- About the JDBC examples
- About JDBC
- Using the FileMaker JDBC Driver
- SQL supported by the FileMaker JDBCDriver
- FileMakerPro support for Unicodecharacters
- About the FileMaker JDBC Driver interfaces and extensions
- Example 1: Looking at the FileMakerPro Explorer application
- Example 2: Creating the JBuilder Inventoryapplication
- Example 3: Creating the Visual Cafe Inventory application
- Using the FileMaker Java classes
- Chapter 10 Understanding external function plug-ins
- About external functions
- About the plug-in example file
- Installing, enabling, and configuring the exampleplug-in
- Description of the FMExample plug-in’s externalfunctions
- Using the example plug-in
- Customizing the plug-in example
- Requirements for writing an external function plug-in
- FileMakerPro messages sent to theplugin
- Debugging your plug-in
- Avoiding potential MacOS resourceconflicts
- Providing documentation for your plug-in
- Registering your plug-ins
- Appendix A Feature comparison of the runtime application and FileMakerPro
- Appendix B Valid names used in CGI requests for FileMakerProXMLdata
- Generating a –find, –findall, or –findany request
- Generating a –view request
- Generating a –new request
- Generating an –edit request
- Generating a –delete request
- Generating a –dbnames request
- Generating a –layoutnames request
- Generating a –scriptnames request
- Generating a –dbopen request
- Generating a –dbclose request
- Generating a -dup request
- Generating an -img request
- Specifying parameters for the request
- –db (Database)
- –lay (Layout)
- –format (Format)
- –recid (Record ID)
- –modid (Modification ID)
- –lop (Logical operator)
- –op (Comparison operator)
- –max (Maximum records)
- –skip (Skip records)
- –sortfield (Sort field)
- –sortorder (Sort order)
- –script (Script)
- –script.prefind (Script before Find)
- –script.presort (Script before Sort)
- –styletype (Style type)
- –stylehref (Style href)
- –password (Database password)
- field name (Name of specific field)
- Appendix C FileMakerPro values for error codes
- Index
Chapter 9
Using Java and JDBC to deliver your data
If you’re a Java programmer, you can use the FileMaker JDBC
Driver with any Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool to
visually create your FileMaker Pro database-aware Java application
or applet.
The FileMaker JDBC Driver lets you directly access FileMaker Pro
data using a RAD tool as you’re building your code. Then, the Java
application or applet that uses the FileMaker JDBC Driver can
access FileMaker Pro data via the Web Companion.
About the JDBC examples
FileMaker Developer 5.5 provides three examples of Java
applications that use the FileMaker JDBC Driver to connect to a
database. One example is a development-tool-independent Java
application that was created using the basic Java classes and Sun
Microsystems’ Swing 1.1.1. The other two examples are Java front
ends created with JBuilder 3.0 Professional for Windows and Visual
Cafe 4.0 Expert Edition for Windows.
For step-by-step instructions, see:
1 “Example 1: Looking at the FileMaker Pro Explorer application”
on page 9-8
1 “Example 2: Creating the JBuilder Inventory application” on
page 9-11
1 “Example 3: Creating the Visual Cafe Inventory application” on
page 9-14
The FileMaker Developer 5.5 CD also includes the proprietary
FileMaker Java classes and examples of Java applets that use them.
For information, see “Using the FileMaker Java classes” on
page 9-17.
For additional information and examples that use Java and JDBC for
general data interchange or for publishing FileMaker Pro data on the
Web, see the product support pages on the FileMaker, Inc. web site
at www.filemaker.com.
About JDBC
JDBC is a Java API for executing Structured Query Language (SQL)
statements, the standard language for accessing relational databases.
JDBC is a trademarked name and not an acronym—although it is
thought of as standing for Java Database Connectivity because it is
the ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) equivalent for Java. JDBC
is a low-level interface, which means that it is used to call SQL
commands directly. It is also designed to be used as a base for higher
level interfaces and tools.
Your Java applet or application can talk directly to the database by
using the JDBC driver to communicate with FileMaker Pro. Your
SQL statements are delivered to the database and the results of those
statements are sent back to you. The database can be located on
another machine (the server machine) connected to the network,
while your Java applet or application is located on your machine (the
client machine). This is referred to as a client/server configuration.