This is a cross posting from the MySQL forum and is also related to Filemaker Pro ...

Ok, I'm a relative newbie technical project manager, so if I say something silly, please don't kill me ...

I've got a new client who is a perfect 'pilot project' for me to develop SQL/PHP development skills while still being able to deliver a competently designed final product.

The business is a new Italian made wine-tasting machine that allows people to draw 1oz size "tastes" of up to 50 different wines for between $1-3/per taste. kind of like a very upscale soda fountain ...

I am designing the client's backend database for 1)creating his inventory management system 2) everything else that follows .. website, targeted marketing/mailing lists, point of sale integration etc etc ...

Here's the kicker ... the client would like to create the initial "rollout" app in FILEMAkER PRO!!! He's non-technical but can more or less grasp the GUI interface for filemaker pro ... He DOES understand that down the line as he develops his business, he'll need to migrate over to a LAMP or WAMP system, but is more than anything, concerend with initial startup costs during a weak economy ... and rightly so.

SO MY QUESTION ... is can anyone help me frame the argument for WHY and how quickly we should be looking to move AWAY from Filemaker and to a more robust, integrated CMS. Can anyone poin me to online resources that clarify why Filemaker is just not a really doable option ... ???

keep in mind, I am a relative newbie, and can actually give him what he wants (initially) in Filemaker in little over a weekend ... and this will be the first project in which i will serve as the technical lead ... so really in a way, its perfect for me to be able to create a prototype in filemaker that he'll be happy with and then port over to MySQL ... troubleshooting my first major project with a time buffer as opposed to under intense delivery pressure ...

But my real goal is to develop his overall CMS and I'll need to explain at what exact point, Filemaker will no longer be an advisable option.

Anyway, hope this makes sense ... I'd appreciate any feedback ... thx in advance

can you use MySQL in Filemaker pro?
often its what soemone is familiar with, or what their system comes with. Ive occasionally sen deamnds for filemaker pro becuase the custoemr uses Mac's, or 'believes' in Apple.

sometimes its because Filemaker or Access or whatever is what they are familiar with, so they are thinking in terms of well I can always dabble and find what I want without having to pay xx.xx per hour.

I think providing you can scope the project you shoudl be OK, perhaps you need to show what you can do without resorting to filemaker, or find out why filemaker has cropped up.

it may well be that he doens't appreciate just what can be done.
I think if you can

Like many end-user tools, FileMaker Pro is great for doing mock-ups but performs very poorly when put under a transactional load. I'd have no problem using (or allowing a Business Analyst to use) FileMaker Pro to create a prototype. This is quick, easy,and non-technical but it provides a working prototype to try basic use cases in the design phase.

This prototype provides the developer/project manager with a clear design image including the functional specifications that are often hard or impossible to pin down. In extremely low transaction volume cases (say one or two simultaneous users and up to fifty transactions an hour) this prototype might even be usable for an alpha system.

Once you need to move to production where there can be security issues, multiple users, and higher transaction rates then I think you need to look at a more robust platform than FileMaker Pro can provide. This is where LAMP/WAMP or a similar environment comes into play.

-PatP

This is pretty much what my mentor told me ... design a prototype with Filemaker and use it to establish firm Product Requirements for a wamp or mamp application. Then I can concurrently be developing in MySQL without allowing unreasonable expectations to develop.

I am a relatively new developer and really an aspiring Technical Project Manager who is needing to work on the Technical part.

Thanks for the reply.

What's interesting with Filemaker 10 is we can now connect to external database for the back-end part and create the UI with Filemaker.

yayyy
Filemaker has caught up With Access Version 95 or was it 97? and can now talk to external db storage methods. something that Open Office's Base product has done for several years


yet again Apple leads with new exciting and innovative features

You are such a ... jaded developer! Was that sarcasm I picked up on you your post???

who?
me?
sarcastic?
its just not in my nature....


I did think there was a slight clue in the smilie

Please don't laught at Apple! They are soooo coool!

I would never laugh at Apple,
its customers mebbe....
its evangelists definately....