I am using Filemaker pro 12 to manage a small database. What I need is to generate some stats based on the data in the database and update an HTML page so at any point I get updated stats. How would I do this ? I am a newbie when it comes to databases.
I am not necessarily sold on filemaker and if there is a better database option that has easier options available for autoupdating a website from the database, generate real time data etc. I am open to hearing about them. Thanks in advance for helping out.
If the FileMaker database is hosted using FileMaker server, you can output information from a FileMaker database to a web page using the FileMaker API for PHP. You just need to enable access via PHP in FileMaker server, and write the appropriate PHP code to pull out the data you want. You probably want the FileMaker server and the web server to be at the same location as there can be a bit of overhead going between them.
Advantage of the above is that it is real-time. However, if your web site is high traffic, it could bog down your FileMaker system.
Another way would be to build the web page using MySQL. FileMaker can access MySQL tables and then manipulate them almost as if they are local tables. You could have a script that periodically imports data into the MySQL table from the local tables. You could run the script as often as you want to keep the data up-to-date, but it wouldn't be as up-to-date as a live system. On the other hand, there wouldn't need to be a connection to the FileMaker database every time someone viewed your web page.
If you need something simpler and less current, you could write the entire page using FileMaker calculations, then manually export the field to an html file as required and manually upload it to the web server.
There are probably many other ways. You haven't been very specific in your requirements.
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I need to develop a very simple database (probably no more than 4-5 tables, with up to 50 records per table) for my company, with the following requirements:
The database itself (most likely an Access file) must be stored on a server and accessed through http://www.something.com/my_db.mdb
Users from 6 different countries (with generally low Internet bandwidth) must be able to access this database and to view / edit it through a few masks, as well as produce automatic reports / extracts
The whole solution must be as robust and as low-tech as possible, to reduce maintenance issues (ideally, no development at all)
I cannot pay an Access license for each user, and using OpenOffie or LibreOffice is not an option (because I cannot go and install it on the computers of all the users)
My first (and naive?) idea was to:
1) Create the mdb file containing only the data and store it on a webserver
2) Create the edition masks and the automatic reports in another file that would define the online file as data source
3) Deploy the file containing the edition masks to the computers of all users
4) The users only have to open their local file to edit the distant DB through ther edition masks
Is my approach somehow realistic? Do you see another approach that would make more sense? Can I implement my solution with 1 single Access license?
Thanks a lot in advance for your inputs and insights!
If you provide just the mdb file as file source, accessible via HTTP, the users won't be able to connect to the database, because in a HTTP GET file download they just get the .mdb file downloaded to their local computer. When they edit something within the database (e.g. add a record), it will be done just locally on their local copy of the file.
If you want to use a access database, the simplest approach I have is that you implement a very small web application (e.g. ASP.NET) which connects to the .mdb file (and the .mdb file then can be in a private directory on the server). Your web application then is deployed to Internet Information Server (Microsoft IIS as a webserver).
You can provide data forms as web application, which you implement using ASP.NET, or develop separate clients which access web services you develop with .NET.
You could try cloud based solutions like; Google Firebase
For a requirement of this type; one should not use Access tables which are static because Access is a front end database but instead use a back end database such as SQL Server Express. SSE is free and one is better positioned to provide real web based features if needed in the long run.
Further I would say, in terms of cost/management - one should really consider using one of the online db services such as soho, knack, airtable, etc. One of these could well be faster and less expensive than creating a web app from scratch for such a small requirement.
I just finished developing a Microsoft Access database application for a friend and he started entering data already.
He just contacted me that he would like to add additional features to the application (Nothing Major).
He is using his computer (to enter data) at one location and i use a different computer at a different location (to build the application). My Question is, is there a way when i finish updating my (empty) copy of the application to replace it with his copy of the application without effecting the data he entered into the database?
The real answer is to split the database into two: A backend with tables only, and a frontend with all forms, reports, etc.
There is a wizard that will do 99% of this for you.
When done, you can update the frontend at any time and relink the tables from the backend.
For my Windows phone project (it's a Universal app), I have a set up that has a country and a phone number in one of the page. There are about 7 other pages that requests the user for additional information. But for starters, let's just stick with the first one, that asks for the country and the phone number.
I read through a million posts in Stackoverflow and other websites alike, to know what database system is best to implement with the sort of app I am going to be developing, or hoping to develop.
Here're my findings:
Azure SQL: I have an Azure account and I can use the Azure SQL service to store the user-input data directly to the database (when the app goes live), or while in the testing phase. But I got to know that feature isn't really working well as windows phone cannot readily update the data to Azure SQL, on realtime basis. Is it so?
MySQL: I thought I'd create a local MySQL database, for testing purposes, so as I input the data (in the emulator perhaps), the database saves it. I am unsure how I can implement this. I can't find any article I can read that can help me with this. There are with ASP.net, but it isn't what I am going to be using.
SQLite: I know for a fact the data can be stored locally, by using SQLite, but I could like to know if the locally stored data can be later updated on a server-side machine (i'd prefer Azure SQL, but MySQL is also OK with me). If it can be, i wouldn't mind settling with it. If it can't, what can I do?
It all boils down to this: What's the easiest way to store data entered in a textbox (lol, yeah!) to a database (locally or server-side)?
Your efforts to help me will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
You can stay on Azure SQL if you have an account.
It works fine and it updates database on the go (sends json as far as I remember), so you shouldn't worry about data being stored in a cloud. Moreover, it is super-easy to use it for your needs (store data from textbox).
Azure SQL will get your bootstrap the fastest for your application. There is no need to deploy MySQL or SQLite and managing your DB. There should not be any concern about updating the DB live from the app.
My web app uses mysql to store contact data. I'd like to sync this data via carddav with mobile devices. I understand carddav is based on a file system, not a database. What software is available to act as an interface or wrapper to make the carddav server work with mysql? or other relational database?
You might want to take a look at Bedework.
Baikal just added this feature!!!
Most dav servers are file system based. If you use SabreDav you can build a virtual filesystem based on your own backend. Baikal is a project that uses sabredav, and a virtual file system. Until recently it stored its data in sqllite. Now it supports both mysql and sqlite.
Its still not 100% mature, but its a great starting point. Playing around with it, I have been able to create contacts directly in the DB (by uploading vcard blobs to a table) and then having them show on my ipad addressbook.
After evaluating many systems, ones built on sabredav like baikal tend to be the simplest to build on. Fruxx is something else you may also check out. Its a hosted system, but will soon have an api.
Last if you are looking for a very elaborate system, then take a look at tine20. It supports activesync (illegally in the usa), carddav, caldav, and has a decent extjs web ui. It natively stores contact information in its mysql store, which is nice since you can update a contact through a sql statement without having to build a vcf file. Where tine doesnt make sense is that it uses a bit more resources because of all the features it offers, and the complexity has ensured that it has a VERY complicated database schema. In other words, you are probably better off creating a rest api on the tine source code rather than doing bare sql inserts.
http://baikal-server.com/
I would like to make some AIR application which would be used for tracking jobs inside a company.
The idea is to create some database which will handle all the data and, when other users form other computers modify data, it is always saved on that same 'server'.
So, more than one user can edit same database, and it would be great if all the data is constantly 'refreshed' (if one user edits and saves data, on other users' computer data is instantly updated). Application would be used only in local network.
I have some data in Excel, so I also wonder if AIR can handle it somehow? Or is it better to re-structure the whole db?
So, which kind of db should I use? I've read that AIR likes SQLite very much, which would be good because I work with MySQL...
Is AIR (in combination with SQLite) able to handle ALL my needs (working over network, sharing same db, refreshing data, creating server/client applications or something, etc.)?
Thank you very much for any thoughts!
m.
There's no restrictions on what database you can use. My advice would be to create an interface in PHP or ASP or whatever language you prefer (since the Database is on a server elsewhere, you'll need some sort of network connectivity anyway), and send all requests and modifications through that.