Learning Claris FileMaker

We use our own app called Collector to manage our software development projects.

A few years ago my colleague Milan started feeling the need to schedule our development capacity more precisely.

So we created a detailed plan layout.

In the following video you can see what the layout looked like and how we later optimized it using Web Viewer and JavaScript.

In the detailed plan we display all the projects a selected team is supposed to work on in a selected month.

Allocated capacities are organized by hours per developer per project per day and visualized as color bars, where each team member has a different color.

The FileMaker 17 Data API is one of the least understood new features of FileMaker 17. 

Essentially, the Data API allows a FileMaker 17 server to interact with web services directly using the REST protocol.

OK, let's unpack that a bit.

REST stands for Representational State Transfer, which doesn't shed much light on the subject.

Let's try again. 

Essentially, REST lets the World Wide Web (WWW) communicate with a FileMaker database.  Easily, because the REST set of tools exist in just about any programming language and are easy to use.

Let's try a real world example:  Assume you have a WordPress website with form generator – something simple, like a 'Contact Us' form. 

Simply put, that form can add records directly to a FileMaker Database using the Data API.

Une nouvelle API va permettre d'interroger les base de données hébergées par FileMaker en RESTful.

FileMaker has added a new and exciting way to access all your FileMaker data with an easy-to-use data format that is the industry standard REST API.

By going with a standardized format developers are able to integrate any platform they choose with FileMaker solutions on FileMaker Server.

One of the biggest benefits from this are that front end developers are able to integrate popular Javascript Frameworks, such as Google’s Angular Framework or FaceBook’s React library, with FileMaker Server.

Sending and receiving data through an API (Application Programming Interface) has recently exploded in popularity. Though APIs were once just an alternative method to access or transfer data between two sources, it is becoming the standard way to integrate thousands of platforms and apps to increase efficiency and productivity.

While all APIs are very similar, they are also very different. Understanding the general concepts will be extremely helpful for any API process.

Seeing a step by step process that points out the common pitfalls with specific examples will open a whole new world of possibility in solutions for you and your clients.

This course focuses on the general API process and specifically connecting to a hosted FileMaker database through the Data API.

Even if you have worked with other APIs, this course will save you hours of time by visually seeing the exact process from start to finish instead of scouring through vague, confusing, or incomplete documentation.

Connecting Your WordPress Website and FileMaker Solution

In this post, we demonstrate how you can submit a form built with a freely available WordPress plugin, Ninja Forms.

This makes building web forms easy while staying compliant with a WordPress theme.

This process also supports responsiveness of your WordPress deployment.

If you are FileMaker developer, but new to the notion of web APIs and web development in general, then you might take on a kind of deer-in-the-headlights look when confronted with FileMaker Server 16’s new Data API, aka “REST API”.

Fear Not! It really is simpler and more straightforward than you might expect.

I like to take the attitude that no skill is difficult, only unfamiliar.

With study and repetitive exposure and practice, any skill can be mastered.

Read more on Beeswax blog post ...

Authenticating to the FileMaker Data API with OAuth

You can log into the FileMaker 16 Data API with OAuth.

At the time of this writing, there isn’t much in the way of documentation on how to do that.  

In this article, we’ll show how it works and provide some sample code that you can use to get up and running fast.