Linda J. Burke

Assignment No. 6

 

What it does	The Web Companion is a cgi/http (web) server which communicates between FileMaker Pro database and web browsers. Interactive
Potential educational use	FileMaker Pro/Web Companion could be used by an educational institution to create databases of school information and have them available to all via the Web.  it could be the driver for an assessment program such as TEBase, or an online program.
When and how it could be obtained	Available at many software stores and on line.
Cost today, and in the future	for FileMaker Pro 5.0, $240 at several on line software stores
URLs for more information:	http://www.filemaker.com/support/web.html Official site http://www.auburnschl.edu:591/  A school which provides public access to school information http://www.hermitage.com/filerevu.html A page of independent reviews of File Maker Pro http://www.filemakermagazine.com/ An online magazine about FileMaker
Hardware and software requirements	Intel 486/33                   Hard disk drive Windows 95                  CD-ROM drive 16MB RAM
For Web Publishing	Review of FileMaker Pro 5.0 in InfoWorld Sept. 15, 1999 by Geoffrey Hollander available at http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayArchive.pl?/99/37/e04-37.76.htm I found it extremely easy to publish my database as a Web page using a sleek wizard  that allowed me to view, edit, and query data directly through my browser. You don't even need to have FileMaker Pro installed to access data via the browser, a  feat that Access can't manage. You can then specify particular IP addresses that can  request data from the FileMaker's Web companion so that, for example, only IP addresses that start with 1.2.3.* can access your databases.
Whether needed resources are available in typical schools	Someone at the site would need to learn to use the program. It is described as much easier to learn than other high end databases, but it takes several hours to learn to use.  The school would need a Web server in order to use the Web Publishing features, but the rest
Additional features/comments	I had never experienced the level of marketing that I saw at the www.filemaker.com website.  The site was extremely well organized, and offered everything from features to factshheets (.pdf files) to Quicktime videos. Of course, since it was the company's site, the information was positively glowing.