[Article] FileMaker Pro 7 vs. Servoy

This "comparison" is biased in its language and the selection of its talking points. It is also inaccurate in more than one regard. I had expected something more objective, or at least something factually correct. As such, the chart was neither useful nor informative. That's not to say that Servoy doesn't have it's strong points, but the same chart could be produced by a FileMaker Pro developer where FMP is stronger on all of the points. The problem with charts like these is that the selection of comparison points is biased and then the comparison language is biased towards personal opinion. I haven't seen a useful one yet. Corn Walker inRESONANCE

"the same chart could be produced by a FileMaker Pro developer where FMP is stronger on all of the points." If you can find a FileMaker developer who knows Servoy and is willing to write a comparison of the two products from a FileMaker developer bias—I will gladly post it. I totally agree that charts are about as useful as the viewpoint they serve. They are a good starting point for debate however and you have stepped up to the plate! Instead of generalizing, maybe you could share with us the specifics on the points you disagree on. David Workman Servoy Magazine

I have a reaction to Corn Walker's comments, then I have some Servoy related questions for David Workman. I agree with Corn the table is blatant in its Servoy bias, but Corn is equally provocative with this: "The same chart could be produced by a FileMaker Pro developer where FMP is stronger on all of the points." I suspect he really means he could produce an unfairly biased comparison in FMP's favour. If he really does believe the specific Servoy advantages David points to are inaccurate then I'd like to see his arguments. In the meantime, as a relatively new Servoy developer I'd like to learn more about these features David listed. "Localization translations can be done by local users as needed and are stored on server." Now, if true, that's truly remarkable. Haven't yet received my 2.1 docs yet so I'm not yet up to speed on I18N. Does David have references? "Scheduling". David says Servoy has it but FMP doesn't. What does he mean by the term, what's he referring to? "Report Creation. Users can create their own reports on the fly with point-and-click selection and store those reports for future use." Haven't gotten into report generation yet. Not sure what he's referring to here, how the end user would build and store such reports. Again, page references would be useful. A nit pick. Guinness IS a stout. All stouts, any brand, are an acquired taste, as most Guinness drinker would agree. Having worked with Servoy for about three months now, I'd make these comparison comments. Up until FMP6 FileMaker was relatively fast and reliable for development for development work. No comment about FMP7 since I've bypassed it. Developing in Servoy, in contrast, has a steep learning curve if you've not programmed in VB, AppleScript, JavaScript, etc. before. Even if you have a good set of programming skills, it's my intuition that Servoy development will never be as fast as FMP (any version). Servoy development is like having the training wheels removed from your bicycle. With so many new capabilities it takes time, especially if you don't want to send your code up against a wall or round in infinite loops. It was only in the last year of active FMP development I became frustrated with the structural limitations of FMP. However my move to Servoy was forced by the realization that my very large FMP6-based solution would require a substantial rewrite before it could take advantage of FMP7. Faced with the choice between FMP7 and Servoy I opted for the big jump. I'm very glad I did, not only for the feature set, but also the very short time period between Servoy versions (major new features are being added very frequently), and also for the support forum. During the days of Darren Terry, FMP support was very rich, but the help I'm getting from both Servoy staff and other developers is awesome.

Corn - I somewhat agree with you. Vendors can "skew" a features/benefits chart any way they want. However, I'd love to hear/read any comments or suggestions. I'm very interested in your opinions :-) Morley - a couple of things: 1) Localization - we will have a demo showing it - or email me (bob@clickware.com) and I'll send you a demo I did. 2) "Report Creation. Users can create their own reports on the fly with point-and-click selection and store those reports for future use." Look in the CRM example that ships with Servoy - and click on the "Reports" button. There is an interactive SQL builder tool there where you can define a query, save it and have users run it. Also, I'm working on a free, open source turbocharged version of the same thing that you can get at: http://www.clickware.com/servoy/reportmaker.htm 3) "Developing in Servoy, in contrast, has a steep learning curve if you've not programmed in VB, AppleScript, JavaScript, etc. before. Even if you have a good set of programming skills, it's my intuition that Servoy development will never be as fast as FMP (any version)." Interesting observation. Here's my personal experience: Servoy is NOT for every FileMaker Developer! Since I have experience in programming (HyperCard, SuperCard, RealBasic, JavaScript, HTML, etc.) I can now do projects 2-5 times FASTER in Servoy (especially if you have to do interface stuff like dim buttons, and conditionally show/hide objects). I've been using FMP for 14 out of it's 20 year life - and even though Servoy is only 2 years old - I can get an amazing amount of stuff done in a short amount of time. Corn & Morley - THANKS for your posts!! Cheers, Bob Cusick

If it appeared that this was a biased comparison, that was not the intention and if there are errors, then I apologize for them. I still think that FileMaker is an awesome product and it is certainly accessible to non-programmers which makes it a great tool for many people and many uses. However, there are some major drawbacks, especially for large projects, and those are the ones that I was focussing on. By all means, Corn, take the chart and post your comments alongside each item; I'll certainly be interested in seeing them. Servoy is definitely not for everyone. It does require a much higher degree of programming skills and, for me, the learning curve has been colossal and continues to be so. In contrast, getting completely comfortable with FM7 has been, relatively, quick and simple. But, then again, I do have about 17 years of working with FileMaker so I would expect to be able to get to grip with a new version relatively quickly. Is Servoy a better product than FileMaker? In some cases and for some people, absolutely 'yes' and in some cases and for some people, absolutely 'no'. Both are tools and if you always use the best tool for the job, then you are serving both yourself and your clients best.

Under "Licensing" you write "For concurrent users. Can have 300 people using system but only 50 at the same time so only 50 licenses required." This sounds great, but perhaps because I'm not a lawyer, I can't figure out how I would purchase this from Servoy. Is this a "standard", "volume" or "flex" license? While you're at it, can you tell me what the lifetime of a "license" is? One year? What's a "subscription"? Why can't Servoy's own pages be as clear as your table? Thanks for the clarification!

Yes, George, you are correct. You only buy as many licenses as you are going to have concurrent (simultaneous) users; it is all controlled by Servoy Server. This is an ideal situation where you have users working on different shifts or in different time zones. As to what a license is, as far as I am aware, it is a lifetime license and you pay an annual subscription (based on the number of licenses) for automatic upgrades. Everytime you launch your copy of Servoy Developer, it checks with Servoy to see if there is a newer version and then gives you the option to download and install. Say 'Yes', wait a few minutes and then restart and you are upgraded. Hope this answers your questions.

I've used FileMaker Pro since 1987. It's been a great program for me up to a point... I have never used Servoy. I'm just learning how to spell it :) The next two paragraphs are very "anal" to make the point. Anyone who has written an extensive DB in FMP knows what I am talking about. In my opinion, FileMaker's biggest drawback is having everything placed in small cubbyholes. Lets say you have a Field used in an unknown number of places and you need to find all instances and change half of them. First you use "Development Design Report" to produce an index of locations. (Plus $200 or so for the Developer Edition.) Next you "go" to to the individual location of the Field and change each one by hand. By "go," I mean that you typically click 3-5 times and type the few first characters of the name in question for each instance. Except if it's used in a Script, you must manually READ ALL LINES until you come to the line in question. Now lets say this variable is used 30 times. You must spend 10-30 minutes doing error-prone trivial stuff which any word processor would do in an instant. If you were writing a book, the equivalency would be: (1) first you make the index for all words in the book, the wait is 2-30 minutes; (2) read the index for item 1; (3) go to the PAGE for item 1; (4) change the item (4a) if it is in a Script, you READ the page to find the word which really might involve many pages; (5) change the word; (6) repeat items 1 thru 5 by going to the index again to find the next page... Imagine writing a book and thinking, "Oh no! I don't want to go through the laborious process of changing that word. Where has creativity gone? How would you alter your thinking process if you had a simple Find/Replace over all Field Definitions, Scripts, ValueLists, Relationshhips and layouts? That's what suggested to FMP in 1993. I'm still waiting...

Let me clarify my point a bit. I'm not saying the bias is necesasarily intentional or even conscious, but that these comparison charts are hard to do without introducing the bias of the person selecting the items to include in the chart.Then the language of the items is biased towards what is perceived as the better value. For example: Supported databases FileMaker – solution files must generally be stored on a single server. All SQL compatible databases; Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, Firebird, mySQL, etc. Servoy can open a connection to multiple database servers of different types in different locations and can combine any data from any source into a report or layout.  Global worldwide connectivity. To change this point to reflect a FileMaker bias I might write: Included databases FileMaker Pro includes its own relational database engine Servoy requires the use of a relational database server from a different vendor which potentially means more work installing and configuring the dtaabase So there are two ways to create the bias. First, selection of the talking point. Second, language in the talking point that makes one position better than the other. For almost all of the points above someone could rewrite them to make FMP seem like the better tool. My point is not that Servoy or FMP is better, but rather that these comparisons are meaningless in a general sense. Furthermore, the comparison is specific to each individual. I might not _want_ my database environment to be event driven so that Servoy is would be a negative factor. Obviously if you want an event driven environment then Servoy works much better than FMP. Then there are the inaccuracies but I believe that is also not intentional but perhaps not a thorough exposure to some of the techniques that can be used in FMP to accomplish tasks. And that is all that's important. Given a specific goal with specific requirements, which tool lets you achieve the goal with the least amount of headache, hassle, and copmromise? Sometimes it may be FMP, sometimes it may be Servoy, sometimes it may be 4D. I would suggest that the best thing a developer can do for themselves is know the limitations of their tools and not take on projects for which the tools aren't well suited. Sometimes that means picking up a new tool like Servoy but if you come into it thinking it's a panacea for all of FMP's shortcomings you'll be sorely disappointed. Corn Walker inRESONANCE