[PCWorld]

Post your comments for First Look: FileMaker Pro 9 vs. Alpha Five 8 Pro here

[nancybstern]

I work for a Fortune 1000 company. My team reviewed both products extensively looking for an "ease of use" database development tool to set as a standard. We have just decided to go with Alpha Five. Here's why.The extensibility and customizability of Alpha Five ultimately provides us with the confidence that we can create any custom desktop or web solution we need. Filemaker tends to run out of power too often.Alpha Five lets you build full scale secure Web applications (with reports) against its db engine or against any SQL backend (and they are portable between SQL backends.) Our testing showed that Alpha Five web apps rival anything created in PHP or Visual Studio but take much less time to build.The SQL support in Filemaker 9 is actually pretty limited in a practical sense. Instead of doing the heavy lifting (sorting etc on the server), they do it on the client - the result being very slow performance.The Alpha Five report writer is quite a bit more powerful.

[mronck]

As an experienced developer I beg to differ with some of the arguments and the conclusion as well. I would place Alpha Five above Filemaker at any time. One of the strenghts of Alpha Five is, that it can serve users from one employee companies untill billion dollar companies. There is as much detail available in terms of scripting possibilities and functions as you like at any given time. It is obvious that from the surface one could conclude this looks less intuitive. Truth is, the options are amazing and all at your finger tips. What I definitely missed is the customer awareness of Alpha's Support Team which more the incidentally brings a solution to a problem encountered within the very same day. Usability is more then being intuitive only. My conclusion is, that if you want to play choose something else, if you want to get the job done quickly, choose Alpha. As far as Filemaker is concerned, the advantage of SQL access is overated. It is limited.

[SteveWorkings]

The reviewer, while providing a nice overview, didn't get deep enough into each product to discover what you can really expect. For the learning user, Alpha Five's complete suite of tools and genies make it a good choice. Something very important comes with Alpha Five: an amazing online community. A bonus: the developers at Alpha Software participate strongly in our community. Filemaker doesn't come close to A5's ability to work with backend databases. One of the most important differences is that Filemaker's processing (such as a query) only operates on the client side. A5 developers can also choose for processing to occur on the powerful server side. Developers who are looking for serious, scalable solutions will find A5 far superior.* Alpha Five has a free 30-day trial download. Get it. Try it.

[stevewood]

I looked at both about four years ago while looking for a development platform for a specific project and went on to develop a software consulting business after that project was complete. I looked at FMPro9 just now to get reacquainted. I chose Alpha Five over FMPro back then and still would (admittedly I am biased now, but my reasons are solid). FMPro may appear more intuitive if you just open up a template and start doing data-entry, but Alpha wins by a wide margin if you actually want to build an application for your business.* I mean I really do like their nifty slide bar and page-turning book image record navigation, which give it its intuitiveness, but they are not that important in the larger view of things.Templates, you quickly find, are completely useless when it comes to actually building something that fits your business needs. They dont even help you get started. What they do is lull you in to believing building what you need is going to be a piece of cake. All of the FMPro templates are simple one-table, one-form flat data-entry screens, useless. Even though I dont give much credence to templates, the ones that Alpha provides are full applications with multiple screens, menus, etc. The kind of well-rounded thing you will actually have to create if you build an application for your business.I was interested to see if FMPro had improved their web capabilities (thats what I was looking for when I found Alpha), but I see you still really cannot create true web applications. You share your desktop application screen with others through the Internet. That may be intuitive and a quickie solution for some applications, but I cant see it working well for anything complex. Or (and I did not spend much time learning this so I dont really understand) you link to a site already written in PHP. Scripting languages like PHP is what everyone is trying to avoid by coming to products like FMPro and Alpha.Id have to see a really decent sized application written in FMPro to do a real comparison, but based on what I have been able to build (both Desktop and full Web Applications), I really like Alpha Five. If you check it out, be sure to look at Action Scripting, SQL Reporting, Web Projects and Xbasic. Also check out the basic layout when building desktop and web pages, very neat and intuitive design, everything at your fingertips. I guess I am trying to say that Alpha is intuitive where it counts, deep down inside where you will be spending lots and lots of time putting together something worthwhile and making it work.

[filesmith]

FileMaker has all of, and exceeds, the web app capabilities described by the reviewer referring to Alpha 5. FileMaker instantly builds CSS pages and has a well-designed web security framework. Online systems for education and reservations are just the beginning of FileMaker web solutions. And its web publishing is way beyond the concept of sharing your desktop screen. It is capable of very complex applications. The easy-to-use tools simply give you additional options, especially for non-programmers. FileMaker Server has SSL encryption and a new PHP Site Assistant to quickly and easily build a PHP web site based on a database without coding. To correct a misunderstanding, that "Filemaker's processing ... only operates on the client side," that is not true. FileMaker Server performs search and calculation routines, and FileMaker developers take advantage of the "powerful server side," too. I agree with the comment, "I'd have to see a really decent sized application ... in FMPro to do a real comparison" - Thank you - that is true. The sophistication of development, and power and variety of solutions using FileMaker will surprise many. Each release provides more powerful developer tools, adapts for emerging technology trends, and yet retains its core commitment to user-friendliness. It has a stagering range. It is great to see the supporting comments for Apha 5, and I'm sure it has more in-depth features than are revealed here, just as FileMaker software has more to offer than you may have realized if you are less familiar with it. I hope everyone will look at the benefits of each.

[catplus]

Where did my post go...Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:39 amThe moderator used censorial privileges and deleted my reply. Did I write anything objectionable or...???

[KellieCM]

Hi catplus,We normally do not delete objectionable posts -- we usually edit them or move them to a private area. The only time we delete posts is if they are blank -- this sometimes happens when posts are made from the article page. I am seeing that you have one post to your name (the one you made above), so I cannot review a past post you made. Please re-post your comment, and a moderator will let you know if it is not within our community standards.If you have any questions about our moderation, please feel free to email me at forums@pcworld.com or send me a PM through the forum.Kellie

[catplus]

Kellie, thank you for responding!I re-quote my reply posted today at 4:39 AMBecky Waring write-up is at best mediocre who evidently has not even scratched Alphas surface! Its like comparing QuickBooks to Microsofts Dynamics (formerly Great Plains)!What else could I write in 1,000 characters?

[ADWeiss]

As a long time developer I would highly recommend Alpha Five over FileMaker for any type of applications, in fact I wouldnt even consider FileMaker as an option against Alpha Five. Ill list a few solid reasons to prove it. You might not call it templates but you can create professional looking forms and browses in many different styles and colors, in just a few clicks, and you can also change the looks of an existing form or browse in seconds. Templates in my opinion are useless in real time programming.Creating Web applications with Alpha Five is so simple, I have little knowledge with the web app tools, and I created three web apps using the powerful tools of Alpha Five. Alpha Five also gives you the ability to publish an entire app to the web in one click.Alpha Five offers many choices to write codes and dialogs, especially the powerful x-dialog writer. They also have an enormous amount of predefined easy to use functions available.To conclude; I can say that in the past 18 years I have been developing using Alpha Four and Alpha Five, I never came across something that I could not design with it.Most important; The Alpha Five staff is always willing and able to back their customers

[datawiz]

The writer certainly did their best to compare the two, however, I am not sure if they fully understand what someone can do with Alpha, I compared both and do all my development with ALPHA and there certainly is no comparison between the two.I would compare them in the following way: if you wanted to move a ton of bricks, would you use a Pick-Up Truck or a Tonka Toy? --- Both certainly look like trucks but only Alpha has the power of a Pick-Up Truck.ALPHA is a powerful development environment that simply allows anyone to develop applications from the simplest to extremely robust without any limitations.

[techwriterrr]

Did PC World actually test these products? Or did they rewrite marketing brochures? How much did you pay for that so-called review? You should get your money back.The writer exhibits a total lack of understanding about application development, database development, modern business requirements (read: apps need be Web based, need to be on-demand). Gee whiz.I have used and written about virtually EVERY database app and language made. FileMaker is at the VERY LOW END of the market, in terms of capabilities. It can't do much more than really simple stuff.Alpha is not even in the same league as FileMaker. WORLD'S APART. This review compares a VW Beetle to a Corvette. By rights, Alpha should be compared to Visual Studio dot-NET, NetBeans, IronSpeed, etc. Even though Alpha is easy to use, it's a REAL development tool, not a kiddie toy.GET A CLUE PC WORLD. Hire real tech writers who know how to code their way out of a paper bag. Stop using hacks. Or you'll end up like all the other tech zines -- wishing you were a blog.

[remoorejr]

Alpha Five's web capabilities BLOW AWAY Filemaker's.Filemaker's web publishing restricts you to their look and feel which in most cases is undesirable.With Alpha Five you can do anything that you can do in other languages like ASP, PHP, etc. and it will take you significantly less time to build a bulletproof, secure web application. Also, if you want to integrate Flash, ActiveX, etc, no problem. Want your own specific look and feel , no problem.It's key to note that Alpha Five's web development environment sets a new worldwide standard for ease of development. It's actually fun to work with. It encourages experimentation and is the most intuitive web development environment I've seen to date. It's truly an order of magnitude above every other web development environment I've worked with.If your plans include scaling your database application to the web then I highly encourage you and your team to take a serious look at Alpha Five.

[melvin6925]

I believe the reviewer has greatly underrated the benefits of Alpha Five. I personally cannot speak for Filemaker, but I've been developing applications in Alpha Five for over 20 years, and it is by far the easiest and most powerful PC / front end database on the market. javascript:PcwCommentsCode.postComment();Submit

[RichardEJames]

From the comments of the reviewer, it appears to me that she does not really understand the significant differences between Alpha Five and Filemaker. When I looked at Filemaker three years ago, I realized that its design does not inherently separate application from data, and it lacks an underlying development tool comparable to Alpha Five's Xbasic. While templates may be adequate for a simple applications, serious commercial applications require the ability to customize the presentation of the data to meet the needs of the user. Applications that are to be deployed and maintained over multiple sites require clear segregation of code and data, and the ability to programatically update the code without exports and imports. As a serious development tool, I think Alpha Five is a demonstrably superior product. -- R. James

[mronck]

I can really see only one posting to make an effort to support Filemaker here, and even that one is stuck in generalities that do not state real arguments and facts.Where filesmith states Filemaker has direct CSS writing and a security framework, I can only mention that (of course) Alpha Five also has full blown CSS capabilities and even an CSS editor which gives you CSS at your fingertips when developing.Alpha's of course also has a security framework. And it is amazingly stronger in supporting the developer as Filemaker's framework.If the posting of filesmith is just to state Filemaker has those options and Alpha would not have, it is simply incorrect. On op of that, the provisions in those fields of Alpha are better ones then Filemaker offers.I would suggest when reviewing software in the future, go deeper into it and do not just scratch the top of the iceberg and say it is cold !

[Bremkamp]

Having read the review, the obvious problem is the basic assumption the reviewer made. The assumption was that these two databases are "Kiddie toys" and as such should be reviewed for how well they allow Aunt Martha to file her recipies.In reality, these database products, and Alpha in particular, should really be compared to mainstream database products. Since I'm familiar with Alpha and not with Filemaker, I'll just talk about Alpha.Alpha is a serious competitor to Crystal Reports with much less aggravation at a fraction of the cost. I've used both, and Alpha is faster and easier.Alpha is portable between SQL backends. Create an app for SQLServer, and move it to MySQL with no changes.Alpha cuts development time dramatically. I created an entire Web based QMS system complete with Customer Portal and Supplier Portal for a multi-location high tech company in just three weeks.The real story should have been how these products (at least Alpha) have become legitimate tools for Corporate IT departments.

[NewDesigner]

I need advice, please.I am a self employed photographer and new web designer/graphc artist. I have a AS in comp sci. My plan is to continue studying and move into Ecommerce sites, amone other things and build up a small business.Recently a Small business client asked me if I could do an inventory program for him. I started searching for software and I found this article. Do you experienced people think that with my background and goals, I should get involved with this project?It seems like most of you prefer Alpha. Should I be able to figure out this program reasonably quickly? Can you suggest any references that would help me get going with this project?Please respond here and/or to Email removed for security reasonsThank you all very much,Bob LewisLong Branch, NJ

[bbroyles43]

Alpha 5 Version 8 is like FileMaker Pro on STEROIDS! No way to compare them, because it is like apples and oranges. Actually, Filemaker Pro is an Apple app ported to the pc, and Appleheads will favor it becausr they don't have a right click. I suspect the reviewer is an Applehead.Real applications need the power of the PC, and Alpha comes up in spades with PC api features galore.William BroylesClarkston, WA

[remoorejr]

I'm a recent convert to the Mac. My background goes way back to CPM, MSDOS, all versions of Windows. I still have a number of machines running Windows but everything new is Mac based running OSX because the OS is far more stable and secure. For the record ... I hated all Mac OS's prior to OSX.Over the past couple of years I've developed a number of web apps with Alpha Five and they run just as well (possibly better because of Safari) on my MacBook Pro. I can also run the Alpha Five application with Parallels on my Mac.If you actually take the time to learn what's going on with the Mac and OSX you'll quickly realize the benefits of the platform over any of the Windows based products on the market today. All of my kids now have Macs and I've NEVER had to re-build one of them. They've NEVER been trashed just by going to some bogus website. When they were running on PC's I used to have to Ghost the disk and rebuild the damn machines every quarter!btw ... the new macs support right clicks!