MightyData

FileMaker and WordPress Consultants

  • Company
    • About
    • Contact
    • Team
    • Artists
  • Services
    • Consulting
    • Development
    • Our Process
    • Coaching
    • Training
  • Results
    • Customers
    • Success Stories
    • Testimonials
  • Blog

FileMaker Go in the Wild

October 28, 2013 by Darren Burgess 1 Comment

iPads in a charging station

This just in: Our intrepid team of MightyData mobile iPad solution hunters has successfully observed a FileMaker Go mobile database grazing among the sports apparel production machines of long-time MightyData customer and unparalleled sports apparel manufacturer, Lettermen Sports. Our camera traps were ideally placed to observe a spectacular herd of no less than 18 iPads roaming the shop floor, stationed at embroidering machines, screen printing presses and collecting data at multiple work stations.

iPads in a charging station

The behavior of this mobile solution is simply astounding. The native indigenous employees were observed interacting with the beasts, using them to clock in and out of dozens of individual garments of sports apparel orders.  Data was observed streaming to the FileMaker Server, where tribal leader Amy Schumacher was observed running a report summarizing the profitability of individual orders, machines, departments and employees. Rumor has it that this comprehensive and dynamic report is run from a single FileMaker layout and will provide Lettermen with comprehensive productivity and profitability metrics heretofore impossible to obtain.

Embroidery machine with iPad terminal

Customer Feedback

Despite the risks associated with close proximity to the wildly thrashing embroidery machines, we were able to get a brief interview with Schumacher and her chief Production Floor Game Reserve Guide, Eric Milner.  According to Schumacher:

Wow. We are all just so excited to start using this. Well, except for the folks that are afraid of the iPads – they’re not so excited. But everyone else can’t wait to begin working and interacting with this spectacular population of mobile devices and its accompanying FileMaker Go application!

Mr Milner added:

Hey Man. This new mobile beast thing is awesome. But there seems to be a small infestation of software bugs inhabiting the FileMaker Go app-beast. Like it seems that the first contact login procedure for accessing the database is all goofy. The indigenous employees can’t see their orders on the iPad.

Hard Work Pays Off

Emboldened by the excitement of the safari guides at Lettermen, seasoned programmer and MightyData’s Maestro of Metamorphosis, Darren Burgess, was seen in the early dawn hours rapidly eliminating over 10 of these bugs. Preliminary reports from the production reserve have shown that the natives have embraced their new relationship with the wild iPads, helping them to create nearly 300 time clock records in just 2 days.

The MightyData team, in partnership with the Lettermen safari leaders, is excited to see the results of this spectacular FileMaker Go Mobile Application ecosystem. The result of months of planning, preparation and development, this new mobile application promises to deliver high-value results in a dynamic and busy manufacturing environment. Lettermen is looking forward to coming to a dramatically new understanding of its production costs and profits.

Thank you Eric, Amy and Lettermen Sports for embracing new technology in such a creative way, and trusting MightyData to deliver.  Great database software comes from partnership with customers committed to the challenging process of planning, designing and developing solutions. Now, that is what is really spectacular.

Filed Under: MightyData Culture Tagged With: Case study, FileMaker Go, Productivity

What Does a Developer Do All Day?

January 24, 2013 by Darren Burgess Leave a Comment

Like any fine wine/cheese combination, I found that there are certain kinds of music (or silence) that go well with the various kinds of things that I do as a developer all day. We are a “virtual” company (we all work from home) and so I get complete control of my sonic environment to enhance my productivity. Since I am MightyData’s “Maestro of Metamorphsis” I thought a brief tour of some of the items in my @work iTunes playlist might serve as a vehicle for elaborating on what a FileMaker developer does all day. Here goes:

Discovery = Silence

Discovery is the process of gathering information from our customer about the current system and the system he hopes to build. During this process, we gather documents and information and meet with our customer. In this phase of development (which can occur at any point in the process of working on project), I am working to discover how he manages information currently, what the fundamental problem is that he is trying to solve, and what the value is to the customer if that problem were successfully solved.

Naturally, this is a process that involves a lot of communication, and so silence is the best choice for enhancing the process.

Analysis = Silence

When a project enters an analysis phase, I gather the information collected in discovery and work to determine the best development solution. This may involve drawing sketches showing data relationships, building spreadsheets to model reports, brainstorming solution ideas, researching prior work, and consultation with the customer and other members of the MightyData development team. More than anything, though, analysis requires deep thinking, and integrating many pieces of information toward the goal of finding the most efficient and highest value solution for your company.

The concentrated thought of the analysis phase dictates that the best musical accompaniment is again simple silence.

Planning = Philip Glass – The Hours

Before a single line of code is written, before I even consider developing a database solution, I will spend some time planning.  For this phase, I open Basecamp (our web-based project management solution) and create to-do lists for each discreet bit of functionality or database structure that needs to be created. For example, if your solution requires 2 new user screens and 3 scripts, I will create a list for each of these items. I then load up the lists with all the tasks that need to be completed for each item. These tasks might be “Create New Table: Interactions”, “Add field to Interactions::Type” or “Design Interactions report layout.” The goal of this planning phase is not to capture every action that will be completed for a particular bit of functionality. Rather, I strive to capture enough information so that I have a detailed-enough map of the direction I am heading. It serves as a check against my work in the analysis phase, helping to confirm that the analysis was accurate.

Since the deep thinking is already complete when I enter a planning phase for a project, I can then crank up iTunes and dig in. I find the best accompaniment for the planning process is a musical selection that is not too intrusive, but inspiring and moving nonetheless. For this purpose, I usually select The Hours by Philip Glass. Glass is a 20th century minimalist composer and this particular recording is the soundtrack for a movie by the same name. The compositions on this recording are deceptively simple and hauntingly beautiful and are a perfect background for enhancing the development planning process.

Layout Design = Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Our Secret World

A layout, in FileMaker terms, is what you would consider a screen where database users find, view and change their data. Designing layouts is a lot like working in Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher. FileMaker provides an interface for the developer to add, move and resize the various elements on the layout. Colors, gradients and graphics can be added to make the user screen pleasant to look at. I know that since a you will be spending a lot of your day looking at the layouts I create, I want them to look as clean as possible, while simultaneously delivering all of the functionality that is required.

I am an old hand with InDesign, having completed many graphic design projects in my pre-MightyData career. So designing great FileMaker layouts are dead simple for me. If I have done a thorough job with analysis and planning, then I really get to enjoy my work designing layouts by cranking up Kurt Rosewinkel’s Our Secret World. Kurt is one of the finest jazz guitar players of his generation and for this recording he teamed up with a Portuguese big band – OJM (Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos) to play some of Kurt’s most difficult original compositions.  The result is a highly kinetic and richly textured jazz big-band album featuring dynamic arrangements and some of the most inspired guitar improvisations I have heard in a while. Great stuff, and a perfect complement to designing layouts in FileMaker.

Script Writing = Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion

Scripts are the work-horse of a well-designed FileMaker database. To click a button to run a report, navigate the solution or really do anything at all with data, there is likely a script (or many) running invisibly in the background to help  accomplish the task. Writing scripts also requires analysis and planning. If I have done my homework in these areas, then the next step is to plan the script itself. I create a basic outline of steps of the script and what result it will create with the data or for the user. If I do this well, then the actual process of coding a script is fairly straight forward.

Well-planned scripts often require some concentrated thought, so my musical selection for script writing requires a more subdued work that does not intrude. For this purpose, Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion is the perfect choice. Pat is a multi-Grammy award-winning jazz guitar player of the generation preceding the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel.  I grew up listening to Pat in many musical configurations and most recently experienced his Orchestrion project live here in Gainesville, FL. For this project, Pat created a huge orchestra of mechanical musical instruments that included marimbas, percussion, guitars, basses guitars, pianos, and glass bottles. Pat could control this giant one-man band entirely from a computer and his guitar.  He created a suite of compositions for the project and, of course, released an album to document the music. The pieces are dynamic enough to be energizing, however they have a subdued quality that allows space for the thought process of script writing to unfold.

Testing and Perfecting = Silence

Even the best laid software development plans can result in unexpected results in a database solution – otherwise known as bugs. When bugs are encountered in a solution (often by the customer), it is my job to analyze and fix the issue. Depending on solution complexity, this can often require some deep thinking and testing of the solution. Fortunately, FileMaker provides developers with some great tools for analyzing the state of state of a database step-by-step as scripts execute, making the debugging and perfecting process as simple as possible. Regardless, though, sometimes the problem is “between the keyboard and chair,” and it can take some supremely concentrated thought to determine the root cause of unexpected or undesired behavior in a database.

Silence, again, is the best musical prescription for solution testing and debugging.

Documentation = David Grisman’s Hot Dawg

Documentation is the critical process of developing a record of how I created a solution and how it is used. Generally, database solutions are documented internally as they are created. I create copious comments throughout with the mindset that if I get hit by a beer truck tomorrow, that another developer could easily jump in and understand where to pick up from where I so unfortunately left off. Even more important though, I need to document the solution for the customer’s benefit. For this purpose I will dive back into Basecamp and create to-do lists of Test Cases with instructions on how to use your system, complete with annotated screen shots and even videos when needed.

At this point, the project is mainly done, and the process of documenting the solution for the user is simple and fun. For this activity, I prefer a musical selection that matches the joy of delivering a well-hewn database solution to my customer. David Grisman’s Hot Dawg is perfect choice. David is one of the top bluegrass/new grass mandolin players with decades of creative output. Hot Dawg features a variety of joyous renditions of blue grass and jazz swing tunes in a configuration featuring mandolin, guitar, bass, and the violin of the great jazz swing master Stephane Grappelli.

Final Notes

Thank you for accompanying me on my brief tour of the development process and of some of the finest selections from my iTunes library. I hope this process has improved your understanding about what the development process is like and what it takes to create quality database solutions that can solve your real-world business problems. And, I hope now, you have more of a picture of the tremendous pleasure it is to help you and your company get out from working “in your business” to working “on your business.” It is an honor to serve in this way – and I get to enjoy listening to some really excellent music. What could be better?!

Filed Under: MightyData Culture Tagged With: Productivity

Getting Faster: Installing Multiple Instances of FileMaker

August 15, 2012 by Darren Burgess 16 Comments

Multiple FileMaker installs on Mac OS

As you may have guessed by now, I love working in an optimized environment, designed for getting the crud out of the way so that I can focus on development. Just like a carpenter needs to not be thinking about the hammer, or the painter about the mechanics of the canvas, my computer and its operating system need to fade into the background, almost as if they were not really there at all.

Have you ever, in the course of working with a database, needed to do a long import, export or other time-intensive task?  For example, I have worked on a very large solution recently that required 4 hours to import the DDR into BaseElements. Not wanting to lose an entire 1/2 day to the task, I needed a solution where I could both perform the import and continue working on other projects.

More Than One Install

The best solution to this conundrum is to simply have more tools available. In this case, since I have two legal licenses of FileMaker 11 available to me, I have installed the application twice on my development machine.

Multiple FileMaker installs on Mac OS

Here are the steps to do so on Mac OS X:

  1. Rename the current installed version folder of FileMaker Advanced (or FileMaker). I used FMA11-A.
  2. Rename the installed FileMaker Pro Advanced application. Again I used FMA11-A.app.
  3. Install FileMaker/FileMaker Advanced again, using the second license key.
  4. Rename the folder and install application for this new installation. (FMA11-B in my case.)

That’s it! Now both versions can be run simultaneously. Note that when performing an update of the FileMaker software, the updater will ask you which installation you want to update. Select an installation, complete the first update, then run the updater again and it will update the other installation.

Two Tasks At Once

I can run that ginormous DDR import on one instance and be happily developing a solution on the other. It also means you can have two Manage Database windows, two data viewers or two script debuggers open at the same time. Or even two separate logins (Admin and User for example) into the same solution.

Here is a peek at what this all looks like in Finder.  Just for fun, I created new icons (download) for each of the installations. In OSX, use the finder info pane to change the assigned icon for an application:

Well, the icons are more than just for fun, as they provide a visual cue in the OSX dock and application switcher.  I hope you enjoyed this quick tip for setting up a more efficient FileMaker development environment.  I’d love to hear about your super-secret tips and tricks in the comments.

Filed Under: Rapid Development Tagged With: Demo file, FileMaker 11, Productivity, Software tools

Getting Faster: Multiple Monitor Setup

August 3, 2012 by Darren Burgess 11 Comments

Multiple monitors for productivity

As a FileMaker developer with a focus on delivery of high-value solutions as quickly as possible, I always look for ways to enhance my development environment to optimize speed and efficiency. As you can imagine, there are multiple tools that I need immediate and reliable access to throughout my development day.

Multiple monitors for productivity

Here are just a few of the resources (i.e. application windows) I need at my disposal:

  1. The FileMaker solution I am working on (potentially 1-6 windows at once)
  2. DataViewer and Script Debugger
  3. Manage layouts and manage scripts
  4. A text editor (usually TextMate)
  5. My development reference library
  6. Mail.app
  7. Safari
  8. BusyCal
  9. iChat
  10. OmniFocus
  11. Word/Excel

…and any number of other applications as needs dictate. Managing workflow with this many applications active requires a consistent environment. I need to be know where things are and be able to access them with as little friction as possible.

My Monitor Setup: 5 Screens

This is where a multiple monitor setup helps increase efficiency and allows me to focus my attention while simultaneously monitoring communication tools so that I can respond to immediate needs.

I current have 5 screens:

  1. 27″ Apple Thunderbolt Monitor
  2. 15″ Mac Book Pro
  3. 22″ LCD Monitor
  4. 24″ LCD Monitor
  5. iPad

In order to connect the LCD monitors, I use two Diamond BVU Display Adapters. These devices allow you to connect additional monitors to a system via USB. It requires one adapter for each additional monitor plus a software driver. The Windows driver is in the box, and Mac Drivers are available for download. They work well, although occasionally there can be screen flicker, graphic artifacts, or blackouts, and video performance is a bit laggy on the USB connected monitors. You will most definitely need a powered USB Hub in order to get all the USB cables hooked up.

With a multiple monitor setup, I can now position all of my application windows in a manner that allows quick access to resources. As a Mac user I make use of Spaces to organize my application windows.  For example, FileMaker and all of its required windows gets its own space spread out across all four monitors. iChat is present in every space on a secondary LCD. While I do move windows around, I try to maintain a set place for different windows so I know where they are. And, if my windows become disordered, I use the free application Display Maid to restore window positions and sizes in every space with a single keystroke.

My goal is to reduce and remove all friction in the environment so that I can focus on delivering high-value applications to our customers in the fastest manner possible.

Filed Under: Rapid Development Tagged With: Productivity, Software tools

Getting Faster: Create a Development Reference

June 21, 2012 by Darren Burgess 1 Comment

Calculation functions in Notation Velocity

As a developer looking to deliver projects to my customers with the highest value, I am constantly looking for ways to increase my development speed. To that end I have created a developers’ reference library using a handy (and free) little application called Notational Velocity.  NV is an OS X application that allows for rapid creation and search of notes. While I have not tested such, apparently ResophNotes is an equivalent Windows application.  Both applications sync with SimpleNote, so you can get your notes on the web and on an iOS device.

Notation Velocity Library

NV uses a search-while-you-type field to allow you to search your database of notes. If the application does not find a match, you can simply hit enter and it creates a new note with the title you typed in the search field. Notes are stored as text files in a directory of your choosing and the app provides the necessary keyboard shortcuts for the power user.

SQL reserved words in Notation Velocity

My NV library currently has about 300 entries that include:

  • All of the FileMaker error codes
  • About half of the calculation functions
  • Various tested SQL statements
  • SQL reserved words
  • Commonly used calculations

Naming Conventions

Using naming conventions helps to organize the library. For example,  the FileMaker calculation function notes are named “fmfk” + FunctionType + Function Name, so that I simply can type “fmfkdes val” if I want to find the note regarding the ValueListIDs function:

Calculation functions in Notation Velocity

Hint: NV stores notes in a database in the application support folder on OSX. In preferences, you can change the location and choose to store the notes as plain text files.

My Development Library

So, who wants to collaborate on building a more comprehensive reference library?  I would be happy to share what I have created so far.  We could expand the library to include:

  • FileMaker Server error codes
  • The balance of the calculation functions
  • Windows and Mac keyboard shortcuts
  • Port numbers
  • Script steps
  • And more

You can download the current version of the library below.  If you have a suggestion to add to the library, please post a comment below.

20120626 Developers Reference

Filed Under: Rapid Development Tagged With: Demo file, Development standards, Notational Velocity, Productivity, Software tools

The Primal Challenges of Custom Development

May 30, 2012 by Darren Burgess Leave a Comment

Working out requires careful planning

I’ve been thinking lately about the challenges of custom software development and why I do what I do. For that we first need to explore my workout last week at Go Primal Fitness – Power Endurance/Power Strength.

Phase 1

Dumbbell Complex, 6 reps each:
Biceps Curl, Hi-Pull, Bent-Over Row, Thruster, Lateral Lunge, Push-up
3 rounds = 1 sets, do 2 sets (increase weight on second set)

Phase 2

12x dumbbell Clean and Press/Jerk; 2:00 minutes of Burpee/Broad Jump OR Burpee/Pull-up
2:00 minutes rest
3 sets

Phase 3

10x (5 each) Overhead Kettlebell Swings/Box Step-up @ 12″; 4x (20s Mountain Climber + 10 second Ring Plank) +
2:00 minutes rest
3 sets

Phase 4

6-minutes of Alternating Dead Hang and Rack Hold @ ~ 1/2 body weight
Perform in as few sets as possible
Cool Down (finally…)

If you hurt just reading this then perhaps you can feel for a moment what it was like starting around the middle of Phase II – muscles burning, heart pounding.  The worst of it though is the doubting mind.  The body can do anything, but around the middle of phase II, my mind is screaming:  “Just give up!” “You can just go home early!” and other such truly painful drivel.  Go Primal Fitness brings together small groups of dedicated athletes to train together to accomplish things that would not be possible on their own.  I find this kind of group training a fantastic way to inspire and motivate me to do something physically and mentally challenging.  Like this for example (30 yards of weighted Bear Crawls, 3 sets):

Working out requires careful planning

Custom Software Development

When I joined MightyData three months ago, I knew that I was stepping to just such a challenge.  Each day presents difficult problems to solve.  Translating the business needs of my customers into efficient database solutions takes determination, mental discipline, thorough communication and good coffee. I also knew that I was joining a team that thrived on getting great results with the toughest challenges a business can face with great teamwork, expertise and support.

If your company is looking to optimize your data systems through custom software development, I have to be honest and tell you that failure IS an option. Many software projects fail, for reasons that perhaps I will address in a future post. In the meantime, consider what it may take to bring your company’s technology to the next level, and how hard you are willing to work to make that happen.  You might begin by asking a few questions:

  • Why: Describe your mission and purpose. Why does your company do what it does?
  • How: How do you go about achieving that purpose through your company?
  • What: What tools, processes and procedures do you have in place that bring you closer to your goals? What is working and not working about those systems?

We believe that these are some of the core questions that will help you and your company overcome the challenging obstacles to successful software development. That will allow your company, along with a well-matched software development partner to accomplish difficult things that help you achieve your mission.  Like this for example (Relationship graph – Mangeaux School Management System):

Complex database requires careful planning

Filed Under: MightyData Culture Tagged With: Productivity

Let’s get started on your project.

It will be more fun than you think.

Get in Touch

  • Company
  • Services
  • Results
  • Blog

Copyright © 2023 · Parallax Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in