[RESOLVED] FileMaker Pro - Do people still use it?

[Nightwalker83]

Hi,

Five years ago I made a couple of databases using FileMaker pro and it had so many really useful features to display information on different tables such as portal referencing and a couple of other neat tricks. Now that I have used php and mysql Filemaker seems redundant. However, can it do things that you can't achieve using php and mysql?

Thanks,


Nightwalker

[Nightwalker83]

Well it looks like FileMaker Pro is still being created! The new version on their website here appears to be version 10.

I think I found the answer I was looking for here.

Like many end-user tools, FileMaker Pro is great for doing mock-ups but performs very poorly when put under a transactional load. I'd have no problem using (or allowing a Business Analyst to use) FileMaker Pro to create a prototype. This is quick, easy,and non-technical but it provides a working prototype to try basic use cases in the design phase.

This prototype provides the developer/project manager with a clear design image including the functional specifications that are often hard or impossible to pin down. In extremely low transaction volume cases (say one or two simultaneous users and up to fifty transactions an hour) this prototype might even be usable for an alpha system.

Once you need to move to production where there can be security issues, multiple users, and higher transaction rates then I think you need to look at a more robust platform than FileMaker Pro can provide. This is where LAMP/WAMP or a similar environment comes into play.