In article
<1bbc4269-b89f-432c-a923-09ece51846c7 (AT) glegroupsg2000goo (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
comp.databases.filemaker (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com wrote:

A database that nobody ever sees the data is pretty pointless (the
exception being if the data is exported to be used elsewhere). Someone
must be seeing the data at some stage, whether it's on-screen or printed
out, and in FileMaker Pro (as well as Access and every other database
system I've ever used) that requires a layout.

Having said that, layouts in FileMaker do not necessarily ever get seen.
You can, for example, Freeze the window on one layout, move to another
layout to do processing and the return to the original layout and unfreeze
the window.

Helpful Harry )

In article
<5e671dba-089d-4dcf-8963-c2245ae0500f (AT) glegroupsg2000goo (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
comp.databases.filemaker (AT) googlegroups (DOT) com wrote:

Trying to learn FileMaker (or any new application) and create a
complicated system in only one month, and then drop that system in someone
else's lap to continue with, is really just a waste of your time and
theirs. It would make more sense to get someone who knows what they're
doing to get it done quickly, and preferably someone who will at least be
around later to help with changes if needed.

Helpful Harry )

On 2/18/2011 5:12 PM, LinuxCub wrote:

Layouts are used to give scripts context. You don't need to have any
fields on it if you don't want to. It is just a way of changing your
view of the data to another context.

If this is just running on a server, with no one looking at it, then
there is likely not a need for an export. I thought you were just
trying to get the data out. If not, then what are you trying to do with it?

Sounds like maybe you just need to use a script to loop through parent
records, for each parent get its "children" (related people, either
through a sub-loop in a 2nd window or 2nd layout or whatever), go back
to the parent record and then next parent and repeat. (And when talking
about a script running on a server, all windows and layouts are only
"virtual".)

But what are you doing with the data? If you want to give a little more
detail, then maybe people here would be willing to give you some
pointers. But bashing something just because YOU don't understand it
doesn't really help anyone. Someone who knows what they are doing (and
no, that is not necessarily any typical FileMaker user) can make
FileMaker do whatever they want it to do. You just have to open your
mind to the fact that it isn't SQL.

For that matter, you could use a SQL plugin and make SQL calls from
FileMaker to pull its own data without having to worry about FileMaker's
context.

Or you could use whatever external SQL tool you want to query FileMaker
Server as an ODBC data source.

The data itself may not be seen by anybody, but the scripts will do variousoperations depending on the data (email will be sent to people, etc.)

It is probably that desktop-user mindset that also permeates FM itself, andgives me all that trouble understanding the concepts underlying its scripting language. I'm used to programming on servers, where what "my" program do is massage the data and put the new/altered data back in the database, for some _other_ applications to access later (and possibly display some data, if they want to).