alohse
07-12-2002, 05:54 AM
Hi,
I do not want to start a war about opinions here, but a need a little help or different views to decide where to go.
I have a nice inhouse Adress/Billing/Contact-System here inhouse which we developed using FileMaker a couple of years ago. (About 25-30 Tables, currently about 20.000 Records)
Now, the system going to next step, gaining some complexity and new features.
I am struggling to decide, wether to stick with FM or switch to .... ???
One thing I need and like are the word-proccessing features in FM, because almost all our companies contacts/letters/faxes are managed in the DB.
I tested 4D. But somehow I never got warm with it.
FM is not very much evoling since Version 4.
I assume that FM might be able to manage the new needs, if I stick to the very basics and try to avoid any many-to-many relations. I think I might appreciate the new XML-Features when connecting InDesign to FM, but I have a weird feeling to invest time and money in a system that can hardly manage the current needs.
But I like the intuitive way FM goes.
Now what are the competitors:
4D
Omnis
Java + ... eg. PostgreSQL (maybe JBuilder)
4D and Omnis seem both not very intuitive to me.
I tried both, even purchased a basic version of 4D.
But, there is still some disharmony here ... What do you think?
Java is a whole new thing, which I feel might be good, but I guess starting to write Java will have a deep impact on our current Internet PHP-Development.
We write very (As much as possible) Object-Oriented in PHP. So this is no new thing to me. The main thing will me to write the Interface by Hand.
I tried JBuilder Personal. Can anyone tell me if the DB-Features in the Enterprise Edition come close to what 4D offers? Is it really worth the 4000 bucks? Or do you end up doing every thing by hand anyways as soon as you have a little special requirement?
And how about the word-proccessing (and printable Image Placement (Logos ...)). In Java I will have to do all this on my own?!
So, the decision here is going to affect the type of work I do in the next couple years.
Sometimes I think Java is good, sometimes I think PHP is way more straight and a better way to solve problems from small ones to very big ones. In this way PHP fits better to FM in the approach they have.
If just FM would not be so limited ...
Anyone knows what FM is planning to do with their product in the future?
I very much appreciate all opinions or hints here, because I feel a bit stuck.
Regards,
Alex
I do not want to start a war about opinions here, but a need a little help or different views to decide where to go.
I have a nice inhouse Adress/Billing/Contact-System here inhouse which we developed using FileMaker a couple of years ago. (About 25-30 Tables, currently about 20.000 Records)
Now, the system going to next step, gaining some complexity and new features.
I am struggling to decide, wether to stick with FM or switch to .... ???
One thing I need and like are the word-proccessing features in FM, because almost all our companies contacts/letters/faxes are managed in the DB.
I tested 4D. But somehow I never got warm with it.
FM is not very much evoling since Version 4.
I assume that FM might be able to manage the new needs, if I stick to the very basics and try to avoid any many-to-many relations. I think I might appreciate the new XML-Features when connecting InDesign to FM, but I have a weird feeling to invest time and money in a system that can hardly manage the current needs.
But I like the intuitive way FM goes.
Now what are the competitors:
4D
Omnis
Java + ... eg. PostgreSQL (maybe JBuilder)
4D and Omnis seem both not very intuitive to me.
I tried both, even purchased a basic version of 4D.
But, there is still some disharmony here ... What do you think?
Java is a whole new thing, which I feel might be good, but I guess starting to write Java will have a deep impact on our current Internet PHP-Development.
We write very (As much as possible) Object-Oriented in PHP. So this is no new thing to me. The main thing will me to write the Interface by Hand.
I tried JBuilder Personal. Can anyone tell me if the DB-Features in the Enterprise Edition come close to what 4D offers? Is it really worth the 4000 bucks? Or do you end up doing every thing by hand anyways as soon as you have a little special requirement?
And how about the word-proccessing (and printable Image Placement (Logos ...)). In Java I will have to do all this on my own?!
So, the decision here is going to affect the type of work I do in the next couple years.
Sometimes I think Java is good, sometimes I think PHP is way more straight and a better way to solve problems from small ones to very big ones. In this way PHP fits better to FM in the approach they have.
If just FM would not be so limited ...
Anyone knows what FM is planning to do with their product in the future?
I very much appreciate all opinions or hints here, because I feel a bit stuck.
Regards,
Alex