JSON Design Pattern: Enhancing Record Creation in FileMaker скачать в хорошем качестве

JSON Design Pattern: Enhancing Record Creation in FileMaker

FileMaker Opinion Page –  By Matt Navarre This is a practical JSON design pattern that I’ve been using in my FileMaker projects and classes. This approach allows you to store comprehensive metadata during record creation, making your applications more robust and easier to maintain. The Challenge :: Limited Default Metadata When you create a new table, you get a primary key, Creation Timestamp & Account Name, and Modification Timestamp & Account. While useful, these fields often don’t provide enough context for more complex applications. You want more information, but you don't want more fields. ⸻ The Solution: Storing Metadata in a JSON Field A single JSON field in your table. This field stores various metadata elements upon record creation, such as: • UTC time • Server time • Local date and time • Script name (if a script was running) • Account name and username • Privilege set name • Record ID and record number • When to order pizza (this is a test. Are you actually reading this?) ⸻ Here’s how I set it up: 1. Add a JSON Field: Create a field named JSON in your table. 2. Create a Script: Develop a script that runs upon record creation. This script should gather all the desired metadata and store it in the JSON field. 3. To display specific metadata on layouts, use the JSONGetElement ( ) function to extract the needed information from the JSON field. ⸻ Benefits of This Approach • Flexibility: Easily add or remove metadata elements without altering the database schema. • Clarity: Provides a clear and structured way to store and access metadata. • Maintainability: Simplifies future updates and debugging processes. This JSON design pattern has been a game-changer in my FileMaker development, offering a scalable and efficient way to handle metadata. I hope you find it as useful as I have. Feel free to reach out if you have questions or want to share how you’ve implemented this pattern in your projects. https://www.navarre.training