scratching my plugin itch

So I decided to scratch an itch, regarding FM imports, exports,
command line automation and other goodness. I wanted a plugin to make
FM interaction with the shell painless.

I googled around, and there are a couple solutions already out there.
One of them at least isn't free, and while inexpensive the costs add
up. Another I found, is free, and looks like it would get the job
done. The website is out of date though, and hasn't been updated in a
long time (which isn't a bad thing if it still works.)

So if that's what you need, its out there.

So I decided to re-invent the wheel anway.

The good news, its pretty easy. Thanks to the plugin template from 24U
that cleans up a lot of the boilerplate, and lets you get right to the
guts of the plugin functionality, it took about an hour, and maybe 20
lines of code. Works a treat in XP/Vista.

I haven't tested it yet on OSX yet; I'll have to set up Xcode first
and rebuild it there, but I used cross platform standard C++ libraries
so I'm optimistic it will pretty well just work... anyhow. I thought
I'd open source it, at least to the extent that I can given its
dependency on FM8 proprietary libraries that may not be redistributed.

Is there any interest in something like this from you guys? If there
is maybe I'll toss up a website to document / support / distribute it.

This solves a lot of my FM automation annoyances, like pre/post
processing csv files ;). It also gives you the ability to import an
arbitrary file into a field something I was looking for a few days
ago, it gives you the ability to query the local system for its ip
address, lets you do ftp, and manipulate files without additional
plugins, link filemaker to python, ruby, perl, etc, etc.

-cheers,
Dave

Re: scratching my plugin itch

d-42 wrote:

> So I decided to scratch an itch, regarding FM imports, exports,
> command line automation and other goodness. I wanted a plugin to make
> FM interaction with the shell painless.
>
> I googled around, and there are a couple solutions already out there.
> One of them at least isn't free, and while inexpensive the costs add
> up. Another I found, is free, and looks like it would get the job
> done. The website is out of date though, and hasn't been updated in a
> long time (which isn't a bad thing if it still works.)
>
> So if that's what you need, its out there.
>
> So I decided to re-invent the wheel anway.
>
> The good news, its pretty easy. Thanks to the plugin template from 24U
> that cleans up a lot of the boilerplate, and lets you get right to the
> guts of the plugin functionality, it took about an hour, and maybe 20
> lines of code. Works a treat in XP/Vista.
>
> I haven't tested it yet on OSX yet; I'll have to set up Xcode first
> and rebuild it there, but I used cross platform standard C++ libraries
> so I'm optimistic it will pretty well just work... anyhow. I thought
> I'd open source it, at least to the extent that I can given its
> dependency on FM8 proprietary libraries that may not be redistributed.
>
> Is there any interest in something like this from you guys? If there
> is maybe I'll toss up a website to document / support / distribute it.

Yes please. I'm sure I'd find a use for it.

It is the sort of thing I'd be likely to try writing myself once I got
far enough into FileMaker Advanced and had enough free time.

I can assist with testing it, at least on the Mac - I have FM Pro 9
Advanced, and Pro 7 and 6, and a friend has Pro 8.5.

I assume it can be distributed in binary form without licencing issues,
it will just be the source projects that need missing pieces added from
the Plugin SDK which is distributed with FM Pro Advanced.

--
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz

Re: scratching my plugin itch

> I assume it can be distributed in binary form without licencing issues,
> it will just be the source projects that need missing pieces added from
> the Plugin SDK which is distributed with FM Pro Advanced.

Exactly.

Re: scratching my plugin itch

> On Oct 3, 10:13 pm, d-42 wrote:
> Is there any interest in something like this from you guys? If there
> is maybe I'll toss up a website to document / support / distribute it.


I would use the heck out of something like this. Thought about
writing one myself awhile back... but never got around to looking into
writing plugs.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Reality is the leading cause of stress...
....amongst those in touch with it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
WinXP Pro 32 & 64Bit / FMP Adv 9.0v1
VoicesInMyHead
a.k.a. The Voices
No, we're not... Yes, we are...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The only reason some people get lost in thought
is because it's unfamiliar territory for them.

Re: scratching my plugin itch - OT !

VoicesInMyHead... hm - how about www.nuance.com and their Dragon
NaturallySpeaking voice recognition ???????????


;=o)))))))))))))

--

--
Met vriendelijke groet / Mit freundlichen Gruessen / With kind regards
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>
>> On Oct 3, 10:13 pm, d-42 wrote: