March 28, 2024

Sapiensdigital

Sapiens Digital

FileMaker Expands Low-Code Development with JavaScript Libraries

Claris, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., today released FileMaker 19, the latest version of its no-code solution aimed at helping small to midsize businesses (SMBs) and startups create their own applications. FileMaker, which starts at $15 per user per month for on-premises pricing, leverages direct JavaScript integrations, drag-and-drop add-ons, and artificial intelligence (A.I) using Apple’s Core machine learning (ML) technologies. Also available are add-ons like Kanban boards and photo galleries to snap together robust apps faster, or leverage JavaScript, web services, native FileMaker code, and more to create shareable add-ons to sell in the Claris Marketplace.

“As cost pressure grows in our rapidly-changing world, companies need to innovate quickly to boost productivity and deliver for their customers,” said Claris CEO Brad Freitag. “That critical agility is at the core of FileMaker 19 as we open the Claris Platform to the most popular programming language on the planet. We’re excited to see what our 50,000 customers will do with a growing set of add-ons and the ability to integrate any of the millions of JavaScript packages.”

A product that’s seen development and refinement for over 30 years, FileMaker 19 will be the last yearly release as the solution transitions to an open system platform with the addition of drag-and-drop JavaScript from public libraries.

Template and Add-on Based Programming Solution

Claris FileMaker 19 Database(Image Courtesy of Claris)

For SMBs needing to fill in the gaps in their solutions stack, low-code or template-driven platforms like FileMaker provide bespoke solutions built to suit a workflow’s specific needs.

Businesses new to the solution looking for support and training can access Claris Academy, which offers a series of free training videos to help new users build their first custom app. Businesses can also join the Claris Community, with over 50,000 active users to answer questions and share solutions. Additionally, if they require or need help building their custom app, businesses can access Claris’ global network of certified partners via the, Claris Partners page.

Another key draw for Claris is its Explore Marketplace. This is an App Store focusing on solutions for not only FileMaker customers but also businesses looking for specialized software solutions. As such it offers everything a wide variety of fully finished business apps based on FileMaker as well as a large base of templates and project starters for customers looking to jump start a FileMaker development effort. CRM, Project Management, Asset Management, Event Planning, Supply Management, and Invoicing are a few examples of topic areas where customers can find both fully completed solutions as well as frameworks and app components to help with their own projects. 

According to the company, this latest release is the most open and community-focused version of FileMaker ever released. This means Claris is putting a lot of extra effort into ensuring that customers can leverage a global community of developers. That includes making it easier to work from existing templates as well as its new ability to integrate solutions from millions of existing JavaScript packages.

JavaScript has a lot of advantages that make it a suitable extension to FileMaker’s workflows. For one, it’s a relatively easy language to learn, which is a key reason it’s so popular among developers. It’s also platform independent and doesn’t require a compile step, which makes it easy to debug and test. 

FileMaker has been popular for a long time, but it’s been one of relatively few old fashioned client-server applications that’s made a successful transition to cloud app. As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, FileMaker 19 will allow businesses to create solutions directly in FileMaker Cloud, skipping multi-step configurations and making apps instantly shareable. Customers can opt to host their own FileMaker instances, however, both on premises or in public cloud infrastructure. In addition to Mac and Windows, FileMaker Server can now be hosted on Linux, an industry standard OS, for high availability and reliability.

Those interested in evaluating Filemaker 19 can do so though its 45-day trial

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