Breaking Windows

by William Porter wp@polytrope.com I wouldn't describe the last several versions of FileMaker Pro as ho-hum, but I wouldn't exactly call them exciting. The addition of XML support in FileMaker Pro 6 was so revolutionary an enhancement that most developers still don't know what to make of it two years later. Otherwise, version 6 felt like a maintenance release, with a few new status functions, the capability to import photos directly from a digital camera, a Find and Replace command, etc. As a result, many people who aren't already in the know will be surprised - no, scratch that - shocked to discover that the just-released FileMaker Pro 7 is dramatically, profoundly and comprehensively different from its predecessors. Different and, I hasten to say, better. What's New (FMI) Now, the difference is not primarily a matter of new or changed features, although there are more of those than I can mention here. It's more a matter of a new way of thinking. Experienced FileMaker developers learning to work in FileMaker Pro 7 may feel like Texans accustomed to attacking their food with steak knives, now forced to eat noodles with chopsticks. Chopsticks are not just a different tool for picking up food: they're designed for a different cuisine, behind which there is a different conception of what constitutes a meal. The same applies to FileMaker Pro 7. We're not just going to be building databases differently, we're going to be building fundamentally different kinds of databases. Source: TidBITS What a great analogy! This is a great review from start to conclusion. If you want to see the good and the bad of FMP 7, be sure to check this out.