January, 2002

Analyze This: FileMaker Database Documenters, by Curtis Michelson

We compare FileMaker Developer 5.5, Waves in Motion Analyzer 3.0, and Chaparral Software Brushfire 1.0.4.

“Sometimes FileMaker Pro projects get out of control, and we have to see the forest for the trees (or the bytes for the bits). That's where a handy category of tool called Database Documenters comes in. This article discusses the value of these documenters and gives you a glimpse into a new crop of tools. FileMaker, Inc. offers Developer 5.5 and its new Database Design Report. I'll also look at an older tool making waves: Waves in Motion Analyzer. And I'll examine an up-and-coming product from Chaparral Software called Brushfire. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but all give useful ways to make sense of file structures. And they provide new ways to report to clients just what we're handing over to them.”

You can read the complete article in this publication's printed edition.

January 2002

Analyze with speed, repair with confidence
by Chuck Ross [email protected]

RATING: Intermediate
VERSION: FileMaker Pro 5.0 required, Mac OS 8.6 required
PLATFORM: Macintosh & Windows
TECHNIQUE FILES: None

The right tool for the right job

Remember when you first started using FileMaker? There was really only one tool available to help with database development: FileMaker itself. Now there are dozens of tools available to help create and manage large collections of files. This is both powerful and daunting. It's wonderful because files are now much more complex than they were years ago, and unfortunately, FileMaker doesn't yet provide many of the tools that could make our lives a bit easier. However, it's daunting because of this reason, how do we know which tools are the best to use? Is FileMaker Developer enough for our needs, or should we take a closer look at other third party tools that can help us out? What tools are available? What do they accomplish? Which are worth purchasing?

Obviously, the answers to these questions will differ for each developer. What this article will begin is a series of articles that can help you answer these questions. If you know of a product you've found especially useful in your development, or you've created a developer tool for use with FileMaker, let me know so we can let the rest of the FileMaker community reap the benefits.

Read the full review here.