

This style of development has a few advantages, first of all most of the scripting is compatible between the Windows, Macintosh, and the web platforms.

So from an application developer's point of view, the programmer will first design a database, then start using the IDE to build forms, menus, tables and lookups that are all stored within the database. The application development portion of FileMaker centers around building forms, tables and lookups that are displayed on the screen and function as a way for the end user to interact with the database.

After you’ve designed the database you can directly access the data in a gridlike fashion using FileMaker’s interface. Take for example the fact that when you build an application using FileMaker, you start with a database layout where you design all the fields of the database, the relationship between the fields of the database and also the formatting of the fields in the database. Don’t get me wrong, you can build applications with FileMaker, it is just that FileMaker takes a different approach. Perhaps that feel has its roots in the fact that FileMaker Pro 11 is all about databases - in other words, it is a product that focuses on database design and updating, as opposed to building applications.
