Developer’s Guide

Chapter 8
Using Java and JDBC to deliver your data
If you’re a Java programmer, you’ll find the new FileMaker JDBC
Driver a welcome addition to FileMaker Developer 5. You can use
this driver with any Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool to
visually create your FileMaker Pro database-aware Java application
or applet.
The previous version of the Developer Edition provided the
proprietary FileMaker Pro 4.0 Java classes (which aren’t supported
by any RAD tool) to use in your Java application’s front end for
retrieving FileMaker Pro data. Now you can use the FileMaker
JDBC Driver to directly access FileMaker Pro data using a RAD tool
as you’re building your code. 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 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 the development tools Corel’s (Borland/Inprise) JBuilder 3.0
Professional for Windows and Symantec’s 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 8-8
1 “Example 2: Creating the JBuilder Inventory application” on
page 8-11
1 “Example 3: Creating the Visual Cafe Inventory application” on
page 8-15
The FileMaker Developer 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 8-17.
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. As a shortcut to the site, double-click
FileMaker on the Web (installed in the FileMaker Developer 5 folder).
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.