FileMaker, Inc. Announces FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer Edition
02:15 a.m. Mar 18, 1998 Eastern
HANNOVER, Germany (CeBIT), March 18 /PRNewswire/ — FileMaker, Inc.,
formerly Claris Corporation, has announced FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer
Edition, an essential database development tool kit for corporate and
professional developers that runs on Windows 95, Windows NT and the Mac OS.
FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer Edition will give developers a wide array of
32-bit based applications and tools for compiling, debugging, developing,
deploying and managing FileMaker Pro database solutions, the company said.
For the first time, the new version, scheduled to ship later this year,
will feature an API (Application Program Interface) that will allow
developers to write External Functions for FileMaker Pro databases, a
capability that will greatly expand the core functionality found in the
stand-alone version of FileMaker Pro 4.0, the company’s award-winning
desktop database software. In addition, FileMaker Pro Developer Edition
will enable access to FileMaker Pro databases over Java-compliant operating
systems, such as Unix and Solaris Systems, with the addition of Java
classes.
The right developer tools for a wide range of FileMaker Pro user needs
“Just as the stand-alone version of FileMaker Pro 4.0 now provides fast,
powerful solutions for managing information of all types, FileMaker Pro 4.0
Developer Edition will make it much easier for the FileMaker Pro developer
community to build solutions for enterprise workgroups and small to
mid-sized organizations,” said Dominique Goupil, president of FileMaker,
Inc. “Using FileMaker Pro Developer Edition, professional developers can
easily turn user requests into solid business solutions.”
The new FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer Edition API will allow developers to
produce useful new external functions such as credit-card verification,
complex scientific and financial calculations and graphical representations
of data, many of which were not available before using FileMaker Pro.
“This API, along with the Java classes, thrusts FileMaker Pro into the core
of corporate MIS suites by permitting rapid development of robust,
diversified, sophisticated information management systems,” said developer
Steven H. Blackwell, president and CEO, Management Counseling Services, in
Alexandria, Virginia.
Java developers, using FileMaker Pro Java classes shipping within the new
Developer Edition, will be able to harness the relational power of
FileMaker Pro to enhance their Java applications and applets.
Other features within the new version include an enhanced version of the
FileMaker Pro runtime binding engine allowing for fast, low-cost deployment
of runtime solutions based on FileMaker Pro. Offering greater GUI
customization of the database, the runtime binding engine does not require
users to install a full copy of FileMaker Pro. Also included is a complete
Developer Tools Collection including Home Page Pro 3.0 (formerly Claris
Home Page 3.0); Code Warrior Lite; thousands of buttons and backgrounds;
more than 50 complementary third-party tools from leading FileMaker Pro
developers; and Windows and Mac OS versions of FileMaker Pro 4.0.
FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer Edition, to be priced at $499 (in the U.S.) and
available through authorized FileMaker, Inc. resellers, will ship on a
hybrid CD-ROM (Windows and Mac OS) allowing for easy cross-platform
development. Windows requirements include an Intel compatible 486/33
computer running Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.5.1 or higher (with 8MB RAM
along with a CD-ROM drive and hard disk drive). Mac OS requirements include
any Macintosh, Power Macintosh or compatible running System 7.1 or newer, a
CD ROM drive, hard disk drive and 4MB RAM (8MB required for Power
Macintosh).
With three million units of software distributed, FileMaker, Inc. delivers
desktop-to-Web productivity and creativity for customers ranging from SOHO
to the enterprise. Its award-winning FileMaker Pro line of database
software provides relational power, instant and custom Internet publishing
and legendary ease-of-use. Its unique blend of power and ease has fueled
significant growth: sales of FileMaker Pro for Windows have tripled in the
past two years, complementing its long-time leadership among Macintosh
database software.
