What makes FileMaker Data API so special?

FileMaker Data API is more than just a normal API interface to link systems together, it provides powerful customisation functionality allowing it to greatly simplify the interconnection of two systems, reducing time and cost during development.

 

The Client

Recently, when developing a new e-commerce fulfilment system for a client, we needed to connect to the e-commerce website being built by a 3rd party web development agency. They needed a simple tool to allow a two-way transfer of information between the website and the FileMaker solution.

The Challenge

Initially the web development company’s assumption was to query FileMaker directly using the Data API, however it quickly became apparent that the data structure of the FileMaker system was different to that of the SQL tables used for the website. This, combined with a lack of control and visibility of the agency’s code, caused a considerable increase in consulting time and cost without solving the problem.

The Solution – Filemaker Data API

With an eye on the client’s budget, we then proposed a simpler and more elegant solution, which not only regained control of the processes required but also prevented records being created, modified or deleted outside of the security and validation requirements embedded throughout the FileMaker system.

The solution was to create a FileMaker script that the agency called via the Data API and return a result was customised to the agency’s needs.  The creation of this script took considerably less time and therefore cost than had been forecast for development of the original solution by the web agency. At the same time, the web agency’s code development was reduced to only a few lines. Not only did this  simplify their process, it kept the custom code within just one system – FileMaker. This gave greater visibility and control over the whole system development.

In Summary

As a tool, FileMaker’s Data API is considerably more powerful than the name suggests. It is a fully functioning Custom API, allowing a developer to build almost any API required into almost any other system no matter what functionality it provides. On top of that it retains data security and process ownership, at a fraction of the development cost of other platforms for API development.

Learn more about Filemaker Data API

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