Re: Filemaker - compatible Gnome database app?

["Anthony E. Greene" <agreene pobox com>]

Ciaoweb wrote:
>         another app request... under Windows, I have a very important
> database written in FileMaker 4, and since I am trying hard to port as
> much of my work as possible under Linux, I am looking for a database
> under it... possibly, of course, Gnome! :)
>         is there an easy to use database app out there? I don't think I
> need all the possibilities offered by PostgreSQL & C., I just look for
> something simpler... that, in my dreams, can read FM4 archives, but this
> ain't fundamental, after all... I could just export my DB into some
> format managed by that app... just need an hint on the app itself! :)

StarOffice can read tab-delimited text files. It's not nearly as powerful as
Filemaker, and you'll need to find documentation for it's scripting
language.

There's also qddb, which uses tcl/tk, but may be just what you need.

  http://www.hsdi.com/qddb/

I run my databases using Perl, Apache, and CGI scripts. I can develop things
quickly and it works across networks transparently. I have a few basic
routines in a pl file that is shared among all my perl/db apps. Perl can
interface with so many system services and commands that you can do a lot
more with your apps than you could with a dedicated end user database. This
allows you to use existing tools instead of rolling your own. Sending email
messages becomes as simple as opening a pipe to sendmail:

  open(MAIL,"| /usr/sbin/sendmail -oi -t");
  print MAIL "From: \"Tony Greene\" <agreene@pobox.com>\n";
  print MAIL "To: \"Ciaoweb\" <mano@ciaoweb.it>\n";
  print MAIL "Subject: Weekly Report\n\n";
  print MAIL "Results of database query here.\n";
  close(MAIL);

I use this ability along with cron to have certain databases queried on a
schedule and have the results sent to my workgroup via email. Or if the
results need to be brought to my attention quickly, I can have a Winpopup
message sent to my Win95 desktop:

  $message = 'There is a problem with the mail server';
  $recipient = 'agreene';
  `echo $message | /usr/bin/smbclient -M $recipient`;

Or at home, where I use Linux, the third line would be:

  `/usr/X11R6/bin/xmessage -display :0 $message`

I have several small apps at work that allow me to do things like log
incoming documents and search for them later. Information related to the
documents sometimes comes in via email and is automatically put in a
database. Results from a basic search in the document log may be used to dig
for details in the email-updated database. Yesterday I added the ability to
print file folder labels for the paper copies of the documents after they're
logged. Since this is all run via CGI scripts, everyone in the office has
access to these apps. Apache allows password and/or IP address restrictions
and PostrgreSQL offers even finer control on who can insert/update/delete
records in each table.

This is just a small sample of the kinds of things you can do when you don't
use limited tools.

-- 
 Anthony E. Greene <agreene@pobox.com>
 Homepage & PGP Key <http://www.pobox.com/~agreene/>
 Linux: The choice of a GNU Generation.