10_FileMakerScripting_1up.pdf - CS 200 Lecture 10 FileMaker...

CS 200
CS 200 Winter 2019
FileMaker Scripting
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Lecture 10
FileMaker Scripting

FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Abbreviations
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aka Also Known As
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DBMS DataBase Management System
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Miscellaneous Notes

FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Please read and highlight BEFORE lab
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Assignment 11
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Lecture Notes
This week
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Scripting in FileMaker
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Regular Expressions
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Project Pearl
Please ask questions if there’s something you don’t understand
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Administrivia

FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Assumptions
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You have completed Assignment 9 and have an understanding of FileMaker.
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You have an understanding of scripting and automating tasks in an
application
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FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Things to Think about
How do we manipulate the data objects with a script?
Is there more than one way to create a script?
What are the deficiencies of the scripting interface?
What are the efficiencies of the scripting interface?
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FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Application scripting is a way
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to automate lengthy manual procedures
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to automate error prone manual procedures
eg sort & enter Preview Mode to display/print a report in FileMaker
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to customize / extend an application
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to create a different interface
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for an application designer to hide details from an application user
Using a “textual representation” of every possible user action
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or at least most user actions...
“Digital player pianos”
Before we look at scripting in Filemaker...
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“why scripting again?” and
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“what do we expect ?”
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Application Scripting

FileMaker Scripting CS 200 Winter 2019
Commands (statements) equivalent to user actions
Variables
Loops & Conditionals
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loops so we can do something repeatedly
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if-stmts so we can make decisions about what to do
The ability to invoke one script from another, so we can
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easily reuse scripts
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write small scripts to do simple things, & combine them
The ability to (manually) create and edit scripts
Recordability
A way to attach scripts to buttons, menus, and/or keystrokes
Debugging support
The ability to customize the user interface
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