Chapter 2. Putting FileMaker Pro in Perspective
FileMaker Pro is a widely used database application and development environment, and it's well established as the best-selling database on Mac OS and among the most prevalent in Windows. However, several things set FileMaker Pro apart from most other Database Management Systems.
The first version of FileMaker made its appearance as a Macintosh-only application in 1985 (as a graphical interface version of an established DOS-based database program called Nutshell, which had been developed and marketed by Nashoba Systems). Early versions of FileMaker were relatively simple by current standards (and were essentially nonrelational), but the program offered a number of innovative features that made a significant impression on the software market of the time.
After establishing a solid user base and undergoing successive enhancements during the latter half of the 1980s, FileMaker was renamed FileMaker Pro in 1990, went cross-platform in 1992, and became relational in 1995. As a cross-platform database, FileMaker Pro shares a common file format between Mac OS and Windows, enabling users to access the same data simultaneously (including over a network). With the advent of relational capabilities, FileMaker ...
Get FileMaker® Pro 10 Bible now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
