Customer Reviews

Database Publishing with Filemaker Pro on the Web

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I disagree with many of the comments made by others on this book. True, there isn't much competition available on CDML, however, I found this to be an excellent way to get to grips with publishing FileMaker to the web. I didn't find any typos that prevented me getting the examples up and running immediately plus all the html code and databases can be downloaded from Peachpits web site anyway.

Similarly, the fact that it assumes that all databases include images wasn't a problem as all examples are gone through step by step with comments on points of interest. With even the most basic understanding of html it is easy to see where the image code is located. Likewise I'm not sure why the CDML section being smaller than the Filemaker Pro manual is a problem as if you buy this book you'll already have the manual anyway.

I used this book in getting a Lasso served database on the web and found enough commonality between Lasso and FileMaker to get lots of useful info. There were many things that I simply couldn't have figured out without it otherwise.

My only complaints would be that it's a bit short and there is too much emphasis on the Instant web publishing - this space would be better served for more detail on custom web publishing which is what most people would do. Also, it should be updated using Dreamweaver as an example instead of Claris HomePage (a sample software CD would be nice to)

If you want a good easy to understand book that takes you through the set-up step-by-step there is nothing better that I've seen. Even if you only get a few tips out of it, it will have paid for itself.

Unfortunatly, If you want to publish filemaker databases on the web you almost have to buy this book. There is not much competition.

The CDML reference in the apendix is less detailed than the CDML reference that comes with Filemaker.

The examples are not bad, as far as they go. An example of what I dislike about in this book: "This example assumes that all the records have images", but nothing on what to do if they don't.

The troubleshooting sections are useless, and there is far too much space devoted to "instant web publishing" in the example chapers. Instant web publishing is easy and doesn't need the space devoted to it.

If you are looking for a way to get your database online and looking professional this book will do nothing for you. It is too old to be of any use, the techniques are aimed at people who would think that animated gifs are pretty groovy, and I wonder if the author actually knows anything about Lasso at all. (excuse me if I am wrong there) To have a whole chapter on what is the top Filemaker publishing tool (Lasso) on the market and to give less info than what is already in the manual is just terrible. What would be nice is the list of tags and then explanations of what each tag does and where it could be used, and examples that did something more complex than adding a file would be nice. But then I believe it shows the age of this book, anybody in the year 2000 who is making web pages using Homepage, Pagemill or Frontpage should have their computer taken off them. Maybe this book rocked in 1998, though I doubt that too. If you need to get a database online and need to do it with minimum fuss buy Dreamweaver and Lasso Studio, the manual with Lasso Studio will have you running in very little time. If you want to waste money on something that can be found off Blueworld's website for free then buy this book.

There is very little out there for CDML. I thought this book would answer many of my questions, but it does little more than run through a few basic examples. The information is sporadic at best, with many CDML basics missing. I get more help for free from FMP listservs.

I knew FileMaker, but had no clue about how it, CDML and HTML worked together. Now I do. Her examples were usually succinct and easy to understand. I had several databases up and running by the next day (and would have spent a lot of time meandering otherwise). Being a PC guy, the four-or-so chapters spent on Mac-oriented add-ons such as Lasso really didn't help that much. In all, I used about two-thirds of the book. The rest of it got me to the point where I could take off on my own, which I believe is what the author intended. While I didn't find any "juicy" nuggets here, I did find that much like while I was learning FMP, those "nuggets" just sort of dawn on you as you work. I give this book a strong recommendation for beginners and intermediates, and even expert-level FMP users who are unfamiliar with CDML.

This book is not as advertised. It is really a printed versionof the CDML reference (that comes with FMPro 4.0) and a listing of allof the different ways to serve FMPro databases such as Lasso, WebFM, CDML... I said a listing because that's what it is. I already knew CDML and FMPro and needed a book that actually had "juicy" hints and tricks using CDML. This is not that book. This is for beginners only. For people who need to get on the web and don't have time to learn CDML from the reference guide.

The editorial reviews and table of contents fail to mention this book does NOT apply to web hosts on UNIX. Oops.

although there are some nice, simple examples of basic data publishing on the web, and how to do a simple transactions page, the explanations for her code are somewhat lacking and seem to be riddled with typos.

one i would like to mention is the use of the "/" character before the word "fmpro" used in a link. sometimes she uses the backslash character, other times she does not. nowhere in the book could i find an explanation and i have been steadily reading it for a month. used either way, my database still did not publish correctly.

This book wasn't great when it was first written. Hard to understand and badly organized for beginners and hopelessly chatty for people who already knew something about web development. But it was all there was to get started. Now it is completely out of date. The CDML language that that was current with FileMaker Pro 3 has been superseded in versions 5 and 6. You can do better with a good all around book on FileMaker Pro.

I needed a CDML reference in a hurry. This book has that and much more! Clear and easy to understand with important references. If you are using FileMaker on the Web, you need this book!