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Feature |
FileMaker |
Servoy |
| Database | Proprietary – Not SQL | Industry Standard SQL |
| Supported databases | FileMaker – solution files must generally be stored on a single server. | All SQL compatible databases; Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, Firebird, mySQL, etc.
Servoy can open a connection to multiple database servers of different types in different locations and can combine any data from any source into a report or layout. Global worldwide connectivity. |
| Data | Stored with file structure – no separation of design and data. (Even if solution constructed so that data is in a separate file, the two are irrevocably linked). | Design and data completely separate. Do not even have to be on same machine or in same hemisphere. |
| Installation | On every machine; has to be done individually and with a master disk with multiple serial numbers. | Java web start – installs automatically from web page for each and every user. |
| Licensing | One copy per machine | For concurrent users. Can have 300 people using system but only 50 at the same time so only 50 licenses required. |
| Maximum # of Users | 250 | Unlimited – subject only to limitations of server box(es) |
| Software Upgrades | Requires installation from disk on each machine for major releases. Fixes are downloaded. | Automatically installed from Servoy Server – requires annual subscription for unlimited upgrades |
| Solution Upgrades | Data has to be imported into new version – can sometimes take hours | New version uploaded to server and activated – no data transfer – takes minutes. |
| Rollback on new version | No | Yes |
| Development Testing | Requires complete copy of solution and then has to be done again on master copy | Requires local copy of data for testing purposes and new release is then activated when ready. Changes do not have to be redone. |
| System Crashes | Run Recovery on every file in the solution – all users are down during thisperiod. Ideally the data should all be imported into a ‘clean’ version of the program. Depending on the number of records, can take many hours.
If periodic backup is being done, can restore backup but work will be lost. |
Restart application. |
| Platforms | Windows and Mac | All (not Mac OS9 or earlier). |
| Speed of Searches | Fast | Fast, considerably faster with very large record sets. |
| Reporting | Sometimes very time consuming, especially with complex reports that include summary and summary calculation fields. | Blindingly fast. Reports are generally created as an html page which can be printed, opened in a browser or saved as a PDF file. Calculations are done on the fly. |
| Report Design | One layout for each report with specific fields on the layout. | One layout for all reports with the report being compiled dynamically. |
| Report Creation | Requires access to layout functions – not generally recommended for users | Users can create their own reports on the fly with point-and-click selection and store those reports for future use. |
| Report Appearance | Subject to way report is designed – not readily changeable | Can be changed on the fly with different colors, emphasis, etc. |
| Audit Tracking | No | Standard, automatic |
| Interface Tools | Excellent | Better |
| Window Sizing | Yes but objects are not resized so if a window is enlarged, the appearance can look wrong or out of proportion | All objects can be set to resize automatically as window is resized. |
| Event Driven | No – must physically run a script to perform a function; plugins are available for some of these purposes but require purchase and installation | Yes, actions (scripts) can take place on entry into a field, on exit from a field or even on data change. All objects have events. |
| Object Oriented | No | Yes |
| Scheduling | No | Yes |
| Navigation Tabs | Done manually – painstakingly created for each different layout with all tabs having to be set to go to a specific layout. | Created instantly with as many tabs as needed. Tabs can be added or removed at any time and position of tabs set to be top, left, bottom or right or not at all. |
| Localization | Very time consuming, requiring multiple copies of each layout and navigation adjusted for each different language or can use global fields for placeholders but somewhat impractical. | I18N compatible. Each object (field, field label, dialog) can be translated and will then appear in the selected language without any additional overhead.
Translations can be done by local users as needed and are stored on server. |
| Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) | FileMaker has a number of ‘themed’ layouts but the options are very limited and apply to every object on the layout. | Servoy fully supports CSS which can be applied to an entire form or certain elements within that form. CSS can also be used to generate html reports and users can even choose which style sheet they want to use (that is, if the developer, gives them that option!) |
| Credit for this table goes to Michael Rochard from Excelisys | ||
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Filemaker Pro and Servoy are very similar from a user point of view but worlds apart for the developer. Filemaker is fine for any existing database deployment which already works - after all there is no sense in fixing it if its not broken. However if for example you need to add licenses to your Filemaker 5 or 6 or 7 deployment, and find that they are no longer available, and find that as a result you need to upgrade the lot to Filemaker 9, which in turn requires that you rebuild your solution (all absolutely true) there is absolutely no point in doing it in Filemaker Pro. We willingly maintain existing Filemaker Pro solutions for some of our customers. However as soon as the deployment needs to be extended, or as soon as they need to access it from outside of their local network, or as soon as they are frustrated with having to recover crashed Filemaker Pro databases, or as soon as they are frustrated by the whole database needing to be turned off to make any modifications to the logic, we recommend switching it to Servoy. Cheaper, Faster, Better.
The following is a table of a few simple comparisons between the two products. There is an awful lot more to it than this but to give you an idea: