If you’re not familiar with it, Pause On Error is a (mostly) self-organized series of free gatherings held in a hotel with the purpose of bringing together FileMaker developers to share ideas about creating and deploying software with the various FileMaker products and related technologies. Why “mostly”? Because the steering committee (Molly Connolly,Thorsen Consulting, Andy Gaunt, FMPug, John Sindelar, SeedCode, and Ernest Koe,ProofGroup) spend a considerable amount of time and effort getting these events off the ground, such as researching and choosing locations, setting up the online portals for scheduling sessions, and fielding questions and managing expectations. The committee has done a remarkable job with POE!

To attend a POE gathering you simply register online, but you have to be quick about it because space is limited. The only expense is travel and accommodations, so if you’re local, you can simply show up. Attendees create the content and several “sponsors” rent suites in the host hotel where the main sessions are held, but sessions can spin up anywhere.

How popular is it?

The popularity of POE has grown with each gathering, and while the steering committee has never intended to limit the attendance, there is a capacity. POE3 reached its capacity of 120 attendees in about 48 hours after the initial announcement. Since the event is free and consists of people gathering in hotel rooms, it can’t technically sell out. Certain events, though, such as the kick-off breakfast need to be limited to registered attendees, and based on the physical constraints of the hotel, the experience will certainly suffer if too many people showed up. This speaks volumes about the popularity of POE, but leads to several very important questions about the future of these gatherings. If new locations are found where the capacity doubles or triples, how does that change the spirit of POE? Can the current model be sustained, or does POE just become another conference that requires a full event planning staff, and therefore, real sponsors and an admission fee, etc.? Time will tell.

What’s the draw?

It’s all about access — access to a forum to present your thoughts on a topic, regardless of how niche it is, and access to some of the best minds in the business. Most of the sessions that I attended at POE3 were 20% slides and 80% discussion while sitting around hotel rooms with very smart people. There were no stages or microphones, just open dialogue in a small group setting, like a super-duper developer group meeting that lasts for two days and includes two years’ worth of guest speakers. The range of topics was 50% business and 50% technical so there was something for everyone.

What did I take away from POE3?

While I found value in all of the conversations I had with other FileMaker developers at POE3, there were a few things that stood out for me. First, I facilitated a session on best practices for testing FileMaker solutions. While our current practices have served us well over the years, I had some ideas for improvement that I wanted to bounce off the group and the feedback was excellent. Some ideas were affirmed, others were dismissed, and new ones were introduced through the discussion.

I also attended a demonstration of Zulu, the new iCal server for FileMaker from SeedCode and 360Works. Zulu is one of the most impressive 3rd party tools I have ever seen in the FileMaker world. John Sindelar, SeedCode, and Jesse Barnum, 360Works, will be visiting our PhillyFileMaker meeting on April 26, 2011 to present Zulu to our community.

Among a few other sessions and great discussions, I also sat in on a very rich discussion with Marshall Micheals, Anvil Dataworks, and Heather Winkle, FileMaker, Inc. exploring ways to introduce FileMaker to a new audience. I came away from that discussion energized about new possibilities for FileMaker in the marketplace and filled with ideas about how IT Solutions can contribute.

If nothing else, POE3 proved once again that the FileMaker development community is active and committed to the future. It recognizes that a strong community where innovative ideas are cultivated and shared benefits everyone from independent consultants to in-house development teams. There has been no talk yet of POE4, but be sure keep your eyes and ears open so you don’t miss the next one!

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to contact Jason Mundok at jason.mundok@itsolutions-inc.com.

 

In this first installment I would like to simply lay out some simple terms, so we can all speak the same language.  A rosetta stone if you will.

First, let’s talk about what Drupal is.

What exactly is Drupal?

Drupal is a framework that lets you build a web site with dynamic content.  The web site happens to be built using PHP and the database is MySQL.  But you don’t really need to know that to get off the ground.  Drupal, like its cousin WordPress, is a tool to build websites.

I’m not a PHP or SQL expert how can I understand how to use this tool?

As a FileMaker developer, I typically think in terms of Tables, Fields, Relationships and Layouts.  Drupal has some of these things but they are not named the same.  Let’s mark out some places where these FileMaker terms have analogues in Drupal.

Drupal is a essentially a content management platform.  Content comes in different types.  A content type is similar to a FileMaker table.  On the default Drupal installation there are two content types: Pages and Stories.

Let’s take the default installation as an example.  You can think of this set of two content types as a two table file, in which each table contains two fields: title and body.  It’s possible to add more fields through the CCK (Core Construction Kit) module, but you always have the two ‘default’ fields to start with.  You can also add more Content Types.  Need to track Authors?  Make it a Content Type.  You can also enable a number of basic definedContent Types (Forum, Poll, Book Page, Comment, Blog Entry) that are disabled with the default install.. Just like using FileMaker, the purpose of the database will dictate the form that the database takes.  A Drupal site will be dependent on the purpose.  For a company that sells books, you might see the following content types:

• Books
• Authors
• Salespersons Blogs

For a community group you might see these content types:

• Members
• Committees
• Teams
• Group Blog (i.e. What’s New)
• Committee Minutes

The big message here is “Content Type” is like a FileMaker Table – at least conceptually. Put in more generic ERD terms, Content Types are Entities. Don’t be misled by this, however; if you look at the back end database a Drupal site creates, you will not find a Books table or a Members table.  All of this is abstracted away.  It is important to use the Drupal Tools provided, until you know what you are doing.

Next Steps

Over the next couple of entries I am going to demonstrate the power of this platform by building a simple web site for a fictitious store.  Our web site will have products listed and a Blog section.  The features include:

• Users of the site will be able to browse and search a product catalog.
• Users of the site will be able to read a blog where specific products are highlighted.

Once this is built I will show how to make simple links from the ‘public facing’ web site to a ‘back end’ FileMaker database.  The database will pull in product info from the FileMaker database.

Continue reading the next installment of this series.

 

Download Lee’s demo from the keynote at savvydata.com.

 

Chad Sager and Colin Keefe are also representing IT Solutions at DevCon. If you’re at the conference, be sure to say hi!

 

If you’re from eastern PA, please email me at colin.keefe@itsolutions-inc.com – we’re planning a get together for Philly FileMaker folks on Monday.  I’ll reply with the details.

Some tools to keep you connected to what’s going on:

The DevCon Scheduler (from FMPug)

http://devconscheduler.com/

This is a great planning tool that you can access on the web, on your iPhone/iPad or whatnot.  And remember that if you become a FMPug member BEFORE DevCon, you can win an iPad to view this thing on.

Twitter

If you twitter, you’ll find keeping tabs on a twitter feed during the convention is a great way to follow what presentations are worth switching to, and so on.

#FileMakerDevCon

We’re @phillyfilemaker, if you didn’t know.

See you all soon!

- Colin Keefe

 

It got me to thinking about some of the monster databases that I have had to take over for clients.  When I take over a project, often I am spending a great deal of time just trying to figure out what the developer was trying to do.

Our earlier posts on this blog are generally concerned with improving the user experience(better printing workflow) or getting more out of your data (One Report two sets of summarized data).  Today I would like to return to that lowly person, the developer.  Anything that I can do that can make my job easier will make be a better developer and ultimately make my customers happier.  Or as my grandfather would say to my grandmother, “What would you do if I got hit by a bus?”

When I create a new script, I always try to write the outline in the comments before I add any code.  By writing the comments FIRST, I am sure that they are there when I am done the script, saving me from having to go back and add it to the code.

The hardest part is knowing what to comment and what not to.  I have seen developers that comment almost every line, and some who don’t use comments at all.  The trick is to comment the broad strokes, I like to think of them as the ‘Turns in the Story’.  You want to comment those things that you think you are most likely to forget.  Also those things that are not obvious.

My rule of thumb is to try to always start with the basic pattern.  Each script is written in the following pattern

1. Permission. Can this script be performed at all.  Check for User status, appropriate setting, appropriate record.  Examples, only Super Users can perform this script.  This script can only be run on a particular layout, or this script can only be done on a record with certain fields filled in.
2. The body.  This is the heart of the script.  Make the report, make the changes etc.
3. Cleanup.  Be a good Boy Scout.  Leave only footprints and take only pictures.  Make sure you are on the right layout, the right found set, the curser is the right place.  And any globals used are reset.

With this in mind, almost every script I write starts with 4 lines.

With this as a starting point I can begin to fill in either write the script from here or start putting in some comments.

Here is an example of a complete script.

Note that by just focusing in on the comments, in bold, you get the idea of what the script is doing.

Obviously not all scripts can fall neatly into this structure, but you will be surprised at the number of scripts that can.  Using this as a starting point will also help you to keep your scripts understandable.  Another example.  Right after the Permission section, just after the ‘Done Error Trapping’ comment in my scripts.  I will almost always set all the globals and variables I will need for the script.  Doing this task at this point assures I will always know where to look the next time I visit the script.  If I am feeling partially generous, I will even put in a comment for the exceptions.  That is any variables that can’t be set at the beginning.  For example a variable that can’t be defined until the user answers a dialog box.

The idea is to make sure you always know where to go to find out what a script is doing.  This will make it easier for you to trouble shoot any problems months after you have forgotten why you wrote the script in that particular way.  Using this framework will also help you identify things that are out of the ordinary.  These are the things that will most likely need a comment.

- Jerry Salem

 

Other News:
- October 29th: FREE FileMaker Seminar; iPod Shuffle giveaway (details below)
- New Training Classes

- About the Philadelphia FileMaker User Group
____________________________________________________________________

Greetings FileMaker Enthusiasts,

Our next Philadelphia FileMaker User Group meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday evening, September 22nd 2009 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: http://tinyurl.com/37mhhh

As always, pizza and soft drinks will be provided.

Please RSVP here if you are planning to attend this meeting:
http://www.fmpug.com/rsvp.php?eventID=940

____________________________________________________________________

Tim Neudecker – Supporting Users with System Design
____________________________________________________________________

Tim Neudecker of Kyologic will discuss supporting users with system design: a three legged stool. He’ll discuss hardware, application and data as the three supporting elements in any system, and also talk about Champions, Sponsors, IT buy in and UI Design.

As we did with the August recap meeting, we’ll be streaming this meeting to the web using uStream. We’ll announce the uStream link the day of the meeting.

About the presenter:

Tim is the co-founder of Kyo Logic (http://www.kyologic.com/), a FileMaker Business Alliance company focusing on integrating work flow and information systems and shortening the communication lines to customers through extranets.

Tim is a leading software engineer who has worked for large companies such as Federated Department Stores and AGA to small offices such as The Mertz Gilmore Foundation and Chess in the Schools. At AGA, Tim led the design team that developed high-speed workflow and digital asset software, an advanced human resources intranet and a customer extranet that greatly enhanced customer access to the creative process. These and other innovations helped bring the agency to the top of its industry segment.

Tim attended the University of Arkansas School of Engineering and is a published author on topics from network engineering to database design. He is the founder and president of the New York FileMaker Developers’ Group where he leads fellow developers in continuing education around database development.

____________________________________________________________________

Stump the Chump – Sit down with an expert for advice/troubleshooting
____________________________________________________________________

After the main presentation, during the meet, greet and eat portion of the evening, two seasoned developers will make themselves – and their laptops – available to answer any questions members might have, technical and otherwise. This is an excellent opportunity to pick the brains of FileMaker talent and help you move forward with your own projects!

This month our experts-at-your-disposal are:
John Shields (IT Solutions Consulting: http://www.itsolutions-inc.com/)
Colin Keefe (IT Solutions Consulting: http://www.itsolutions-inc.com/)

We’re anticipating this feature of the evening to span about 15 minutes; longer if the developers agree. As usual we rotate talent from meeting to meeting, and feel free to put in your two cents here – this is meant to be fun and collaborative.

____________________________________________________________________

October 29th: FREE FileMaker Seminar hosted by IT Solutions:
“Streamline Work Flow & Increase Productivity with FileMaker”
FREE iPod shuffle; eligibility details below
____________________________________________________________________

Integrating fragmented data systems in an organization is one of the first steps in streamlining work flow for any organization. When the same data are entered in multiple systems, errors are inevitable. On the other hand, if all of your data reside in a single system ,but users don’t have access to it when they need it, bottlenecks can occur and work flow suffers. At IT Solutions, we’ve been working with our clients for years to increase productivity by removing road blocks in work flow. We have collected a number of different features that we’ve recently implemented in FileMaker systems and would like to share these features with you at an October 29th client seminar.

Streamline Work Flow & Increase Productivity with FileMaker will be an information-packed ½ day seminar at the Hub Cira Centre, conveniently located right next to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. The keynote speaker for the October 29th session will be IT Solutions’ Certified FileMaker Developer/Trainer Jason Mundok and topics will include:

System Integration: connecting FileMaker to other applications in your organization

Direct Communication: messaging and alerts from within FileMaker

Indirect Communication: dynamic onscreen alerts for “at-a-glance” status reporting

Transparency: queues and filtered lists for prioritizing next action

Streamline Work Flow & Increase Productivity with FileMaker will be held from 9:30 am to noon, with registration starting at 9:00 am, followed immediately by a Starr Events-catered buffet lunch at the Hub. IT Solutions staff will be available during lunch to answer additional questions and provide more details on any and all FileMaker topics.

The first 10 people to register themselves and a colleague from another business will get a FREE iPod shuffle. Space for the complimentary seminar is very limited so sign up as soon as possible to reserve your seat. To register quickly and easily online visit:

http://www.itsolutions-inc.com/who_we_are/events2.html.

For more information contact Andrea Leadbeater at andrea.leadbeater@itsolutions-inc.com or 866.PICK.ITS.

We look forward to seeing you in October!

____________________________________________________________________

New FileMaker Training opportunities at IT Solutions Consulting
____________________________________________________________________

IT Solutions has announced its fall Training Schedule, available here:

http://www.itsolutions-inc.com/who_we_are/events.html

In addition to our 101 and Intermediate Training offerings, we’ve added new, more focused courses so you can selectively train on particular features or technologies – all of them single day trainings, which makes them much easier to fit into a busy work schedule. If you haven’t given our course listings a look recently, it’s worth a visit. I’m especially excited about the FileMaker-In-Action Workshop!

10/5/2009 – 10/8/2009 – FileMaker Training Series (FTS) for FileMaker 10
11/2/2009 – FileMaker 101 for FileMaker 10
11/3/2009 – 11/4/2009 – FileMaker Intermediate for FileMaker 10
11/10/2009 – FileMaker Focus Series: Data Modeling (FTS curriculum)
11/17/2009 – FileMaker Focus Series: Working with Layouts (FTS curriculum)
11/19/2009 – FTS Extras: Advanced Techniques and ESS (FTS curriculum)
12/8/2009 – FileMaker Focus Series: Calculation Functions (FTS curriculum)
12/15/2009 – FileMaker Focus Series: Scripts (FTS curriculum)
12/17/2009 – FTS Extras: FileMaker Server and Web Publishing (FTS curriculum)

Dates to be announced – FileMaker-In-Action Workshop

____________________________________________________________________

About the Philadelphia FileMaker User Group:
____________________________________________________________________

The Philadelphia FileMaker User Group was founded in 2004 as an initiative by FileMaker Business Alliance Platinum member IT Solutions Consulting. The group’s goal is to provide an open forum for FileMaker developers and those interested in FileMaker to meet, brainstorm and network.

We hold meetings the 4th Tuesday of every month at 6PM, in the office of IT Solutions Consulting, Inc., at 414 Commerce Drive, Suite 150, Fort Washington PA.
Meetings are open to all, regardless of background and there’s no charge to attend.

Please subscribe to our Mailing List to get announcements on upcoming meetings. The list is set to Announce only, so the volume is typically between one and 2 emails a month.

http://fmpug.com/mailman/listinfo/philly_fmpug.com/

You can read our blog to get updates and meeting recaps:

http://www.phillyfilemaker.org/

We’re also an FMPug Chapter: http://www.fmpug.com/ Consider membership today, especially if you purchase training, plugins, 3rd party products, or web/filemaker hosting – FMPug membership affords considerable discounts across a range of offerings.

Finally, The Philadelphia FileMaker User Group is hosted by:

IT Solutions Consulting, Inc.
Employee ownership – fueling our innovation, strengthening your business.
http://www.itsolutions-inc.com/
- Learn about our new FileMaker support offerings: FMAssist and FMAssure!
- www.itsolutions-inc.com/our_solutions/application_development/fm_assist.html
____________________________________________________________________

 

Since the release of FileMaker 10 in January this year, best practices for a number of techniques, practices and design patterns have changed drastically due to script triggers, the toolbar, and myriad other new features, and many of the scheduled sessions reflect this change in the FileMaker programming landscape.

So the 2009 DevCon promises to be an exciting time…and the Philly FileMaker User Group will be there.  Jason Mundok of IT Solutions will be on the spot and posting to this blog whenever he can pry himself away from a session.  We have some ideas in mind that are still in the works, so watch this space on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Other resources for following what’s going on at DevCon this year:

NEW: Chris Kubica’s blogging the DevCon here

NEW: Rick Stringer’s blogging the DevCon here

#fmdevcon hashtag on Twitter

@phillyfilemaker on Twitter (will be tweeting links to blog entries)

Adatosol will be podcasting; you can subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or look for them here.

There’s no official word from FileMakerTalk (Matt Navarre & Matt Petrowsky) that I know of, but I’m expecting them to podcast as well.

If you’re lucky enough to be at DevCon, then FMPug’s DevCon Scheduler is indispensable and FREE; find it here.  You can not only view session schedules; you can see how many people plan to go to each session – know which ones are popular, and which ones you’re likely to find a good seat in.  As a bonus, it includes a Friend Locator and a Message Board!

Finally, FMPug is also offering sponsor discounts on a slew of products during DevCon, whether you’re at DevCon or not. All that’s required is that you be an FMPug member in good standing.  Go here.

- Colin