Monthly Archive for May, 2011

FMPHP: The difference between createRecord() and newAddCommand()

If you’ve been looking at building custom PHP scripts to add records to your FileMaker database, you might have come across the following snippet from the Custom Web Publishing with PHP document:

There are two ways to create a record:

  • Use the createRecord() method, specifying a layout name, and optionally specifying an array of field values. You can also set values individually in the new record object.The createRecord() method does not save the new record to the database. To save the record to the database, call the commit() method.
    For example:
    $rec =& $fm->createRecord('Form View', $values);
    $result = $rec->commit();
  • Use the Add command. Use the newAddCommand() method to create a FileMaker_Command_Add object, specifying the layout name and an array with the record data. To save the record to the database, call the execute() method.
    For example:
    $newAdd =& $fm->newAddCommand('Respondent', $respondent_data);
    $result = $newAdd->execute();

Which is somewhat helpful, but many people wonder what the substantive difference is between these two statements. Continue reading ‘FMPHP: The difference between createRecord() and newAddCommand()’

 

Please Join us May 24: SIMPLICITY: Concepts and Case Studies

Greetings FileMaker Enthusiasts,

Our next Philadelphia FileMaker Developer Group meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 24th 2011 at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the IT Solutions Fort Washington Office.

414 Commerce Dr., Suite 150, Fort Washington, PA 19034
Google Map

Please RSVP here if you are planning to attend this meeting:
http://www.fmpug.com/rsvp.php?eventID=1200

SIMPLICITY: Concepts and Case Studies

Chad Sager will present concepts from a recent series of blog posts on phillyfilemaker.org: “Don’t confuse me, I’m just a stupid developer. How treating yourself like an idiot can make your FileMaker application easy to understand and maintain”. Chad will discuss a few development principles that can simplify your software architecture, while maintaining flexibility and power.

Colin Keefe will give a short example of a modular data entry workflow that manages multiple entities: To Dos, Activities, Chat Logs, Milestones – through one script, one table and (potentially) one layout.

Both of these presentations should be pretty short, so we’re planning on spending the remainder of the time in a roundtable discussion on simplifying code. Continue reading ‘Please Join us May 24: SIMPLICITY: Concepts and Case Studies’

 

4/26/11 Meeting Video: John Sindelar and Jesse Barnum – Zulu iCal Server and Docubin

Thanks to Andy at fmpug.com for hosting this stream!

This was a great meeting – and at 2 hours and change, packed with stuff. Enjoy.

 

Pause On Error: In Review

PauseOnErrorPause On Error III (POE3) came and went this past February. This version of the increasingly popular FileMaker unconference was held at the Ace Hotel in New York City, where well over a 100 FileMaker developers gathered to share and discuss ideas about software development, mostly, but not necessarily, of the FileMaker kind. Colin Keefe and I represented IT Solutions. Here are my thoughts about POE3 and the energy and commitment surrounding the global FileMaker development community.

Continue reading ‘Pause On Error: In Review’

 

Choose the Right Layout

Ah the good old days!  Back when the status area was vertical, if you wanted to display a particular layout depending on some conditions, then you needed to create your own navigation buttons.  But face it, those buttons were never as good as the native navigation provided by FileMaker.  Thanks to script triggers we can use the built-in navigation buttons and also conditionally display a particular layout.

Continue reading ‘Choose the Right Layout’