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Databases in Disguise

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Filemaker and Access

Why it's a Database...and more

When people hear the word "database" they are more likely to thinkf of Filemaker and Access rather than EndNote and SAS. In reality, these are applications which allow you to build custom database structures and applications.

Both programs allow you to:

Define any field needed for a record
Build data entry screens to enter data effieciently
Build custom reports to search for data
Access 2003 supports the creation of charts. Filemaker can do so with the right plugin.
Define multiple tables to stor different types of records
Perform statistical calculations
Import tab-delimited data from other applications
Store images and links to multimedia files

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Why a High Learning and Development Curve

The learning and development curve is a major hurdle for users being able to develop their own database applications. Here are some reasons for this:

Interfaces differ greatly among applications. Most word processors have standard names/menus for differentfunctions (e.g. Bold, Italics, Align Center, Cut, Paste). For various reasons, the names for different functions are not standardized across applications. Thus you have synomyns like "NOT search, Inverse search" and "Omit search" to describe the concept of searching for items not fitting the search criteria.

To make matters more confusing, specialized applications like EndNote and others deliberatly avoid database terminology to be more "accessible", but ironically introduce more synonyms/interface variants for the same concepts.
Most databases build relational databases. Relational databases are powerful, but require some training in order to implement correctly. Until the concept of a relational database is understood, many people find applications like Access and Oracle difficult to use. Specialized applications like EndNote have the database structures already created, while others like Excel and SAS support flat-file (non-relational) databases.
Database design requires pre-planning. Unlike Excel or Word, it can be difficult to redesign or re-edit a database once it has been built. A design change may require hours of work to implement.

Are they worth learning?

Some may ask if it is worth investing time to learn a database package like Access or Filemaker. They do allow users to collect and analyze large amounts of data in ways that would be difficult to do elsewhere. Once a database is built, it can be used for years.

Teaching Ideas

Both Filemaker and Access are available in the Student Computing Labs, so students can open database files you create.

Since Filemaker and Excel store images, you can create multimedia style references or encyclopedias, such as the HORT 131 Database for students to use.
Build a specialized searchable glossary.
You can design a database to house data collected by students either in field work or in experiments.
Use the calculation features to create conversion utilities to demonstrate to students.

Advantages and Disadvantages to
Filemaker and Access

	Filemaker	Access
Advantages	Easy to learn. Can support simple flat file databases or more complex relational databases. Works on both the Windows and Macintosh platform	Very powerful set of features. Works with SQL Can support online databases Free with Office 2003 for Windows Includes charting
Disadvantages	Not quite as powerful as other databases (although it has become more powerful in recent years). Not a SQL database Does not support online databases well Plugins needed for charts and other fuctions.	Requires understanding of relational database design to be used the most effectively. Many people find the interface of Access difficult. No Macintosh version available. Development of a working database typically takes longer.

Beyond Access and Filemaker

There are more advanced database packages like MySQL, Oracle, DB2, Postgress and others, but they generally require programmers who are proficient in the database programming language SQL. These are use for online databases and for large databases with many users.

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