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
Using Java and JDBC to deliver your data 9-17
Using the FileMaker Java classes
The FileMaker Pro 4.0 Java classes are designed to retrieve
FileMaker data from your database via the FileMaker Java API.
They do not support SQL and they’re not supported by any RAD
tool. However, if you used these proprietary FileMaker Java classes
from the previous versions of FileMaker Developer 5 or the
FileMaker Pro Developer Edition to create your Java front-ends to
your database, you may wish to continue using them for updating
your Java applications or applets.
Important The Web Companion does not support non-number
characters in number fields when it converts FileMaker Pro data into
the Java class format. Any Java applications or applets that you
created using the FileMaker Pro 4.0 Java classes will lose all
characters other than numbers (such as the dollar sign $) in number
fields when they access a FileMaker Pro database.
The FileMaker Java Class Library is included on the FileMaker
Developer 5.5 CD.
About the FileMaker Java Class Library
The FileMaker Java Class Library is a set of Java classes that sends
requests to the FileMaker Pro Web Companion and gives you access
to the results.
FileMaker Java classes communicate with the Web Companion
using standard HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The classes
formulate a request string based on the parameters you specify. Then
the classes send the request to the Web Companion. The response is
generated and sent back in the CDML proprietary format and
processed by the FMProResponse class. The Java application or
applet then determines how to display the data.
There are three main Java classes in the library:
1 FMProRequest
1 FMProProxy
1 FMProResponse
Use the FMProRequest class to create objects that submit queries to
the database. You specify the name of the database, layout, and fields
in a FMProRequest object.
Use the FMProProxy class to create objects that execute the queries.
The FMProProxy object is used to send a query from an
FMProRequest object to the computer where FileMaker Pro is
hosting the database, and to receive the result of the query from the
Web Companion. The FMProProxy object then converts the
resulting data into an FMProResponse object.
You can use a FMProProxy object to retrieve the following:
1 the names of all open databases shared via the Web Companion
1 the names of layouts, fields in a layout, and scripts defined for a
database
Text Location Value List/Location List (Pop-up menu)
Fred’s Office
Dirk’s Office
Pedro’s Office
Anne’s Office
Julie’s Office
Ruth’s Office
Joanna’s Office
Business Center
Number Cost User defined entry field
Date Date Purchased User defined entry field
Container Picture Graphic import
Text Serial Number User defined entry field
Text Information User defined entry field
Field type Field name Field attribute