MacDevCenter.com: Are You Talking to Me? Speech on Mac OS X [Mar. 17, 2004]
Everything you want to know about speech on the Mac. I've wondered about using some of these capabilities in reading education software.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
FileMaker 7: separating data and code (Tidbits review)
TidBITS#721/15-Mar-04: "In FileMaker Pro 7, it's possible to put the data in one file, and all the programming resources - layouts, scripts, value lists, summaries - into a separate file. Separating data (and the data structure) from the stuff you do to analyze and display the data brings an enhanced clarity to the development process. It's also a huge boon for any client whose developer is working remotely. When it's time to update that solution with 6 million records, the IT guy takes the solution off line, throws out the old front-end file, puts the new front-end file in its place, and places the solution back online. Downtime: five minutes, tops.
FileMaker developers have been talking about 'The Separation Model' for years, but it was more of a dream than a reality, due to the limitations on the ways in which one file could access, manipulate, and display another file's data. Line-item reports can't be printed effectively from portals, so you usually had to jump to a data file to print line items (like invoices or class rosters). And that usually meant you had to include scripts in the data file to sort the records and display them on a report layout.
But in FileMaker Pro 7, since one file can logically incorporate all the tables in another file and make use of them as if they were stored internally, these impediments to true separation no longer exist. The main remaining obstacles to The Separation Model are the need to deal with unanticipated fields and user modifications to accounts and passwords, but a lot of smart developers are working on these problems. I have a solution on my PowerBook right now that implements The Separation Model completely. It's somewhat modest, but it works.
The Separation Model won't be adopted by every developer. Many developers will be so thrilled to be able to put everything in a single file that they won't want to think about the alternative, at least not for a while. Even those who embrace it may not use it in every solution, in part because it may unnecessarily increase the amount of data that needs to be backed up regularly. But the sky's the limit now as far as file size goes. FileMaker Pro database files can balloon to 8 terabytes (if you have an Xserve RAID to store it on). As FileMaker Pro databases grow ever larger, the advantages of The Separation Model may become more obvious and more compelling."
FileMaker developers have been talking about 'The Separation Model' for years, but it was more of a dream than a reality, due to the limitations on the ways in which one file could access, manipulate, and display another file's data. Line-item reports can't be printed effectively from portals, so you usually had to jump to a data file to print line items (like invoices or class rosters). And that usually meant you had to include scripts in the data file to sort the records and display them on a report layout.
But in FileMaker Pro 7, since one file can logically incorporate all the tables in another file and make use of them as if they were stored internally, these impediments to true separation no longer exist. The main remaining obstacles to The Separation Model are the need to deal with unanticipated fields and user modifications to accounts and passwords, but a lot of smart developers are working on these problems. I have a solution on my PowerBook right now that implements The Separation Model completely. It's somewhat modest, but it works.
The Separation Model won't be adopted by every developer. Many developers will be so thrilled to be able to put everything in a single file that they won't want to think about the alternative, at least not for a while. Even those who embrace it may not use it in every solution, in part because it may unnecessarily increase the amount of data that needs to be backed up regularly. But the sky's the limit now as far as file size goes. FileMaker Pro database files can balloon to 8 terabytes (if you have an Xserve RAID to store it on). As FileMaker Pro databases grow ever larger, the advantages of The Separation Model may become more obvious and more compelling."
TidBITs on NoteTaker
TidBITS#721/15-Mar-04: "NoteTaker 1.8 Hits More High Notes -- AquaMinds has released version 1.8 of their flagship notebook/outliner program, NoteTaker (see 'Take Note of NoteTaker' in TidBITS-677). This version introduces the capability to export to XML, using a new markup specification called NTML (Note-Taking Markup Language); such export can apply an XSL transform on the fly, and as a proof of concept, a transform to Keynote format (APML) is included. Other new features take advantage of technologies in Mac OS X 10.3 Panther: there is import/export to Word (.doc) format, and NoteTaker can now be used as a Web browser - including the ability to type into a search field to do Web searches using any online engine (like Safari's 'Google' field on steroids)."
Network browsing and connected servers in Mac OS X 10.3
About network browsing and connected servers in Mac OS X 10.3
Good reference though I think they're still being coy.
Good reference though I think they're still being coy.
Web Database Publishing Software to Generate Static HTML Pages
Web Database Publishing Software to Generate Static HTML Pages
For those of us who don't own our servers, this is an interesting option.
...quickly create web pages from a database, a spreadsheet or a set of simple text files, and publish them on the web. Your source contents may come from any text editor, FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Access, 4th Dimension, Microsoft Excel, AppleWorks, or any database that can export data in XML or the most common tab-separated text format. Its excellent job management features free your imagination to create big websites.
Mergemill offers great advantages in database publishing. The cost is low and website response is excellent. You can create and update many static web pages using a few web templates, and have your website easily hosted by any ISP. Since none of the web pages needs to be generated on-the-fly, site response will be much better. The process is just the same in publishing large amount of database content in static HTML on CD-ROM.
For those of us who don't own our servers, this is an interesting option.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Email To RSS In Three Easy Steps
Email To RSS In Three Easy Steps - Robin Good' Sharewood Tidings
One of the eeriest experiences of modern life is thinking something one has never heard of ought to exist, entering it in Google, and having it appear at the very top of the results list. Very strange and oracular.
The time has come.
You can now freely generate an RSS feed for any YahooGroup or similar email discussion or distribution list (Topica, Listbuilder, Sparklist, Lyris, Majordomo IMN, etc.).
The process is very simple, it is free, and it may take at most three minutes. (I refer to Yahoogroups in my example but this can be done with any mailing/discussion/newsletter distribution list).
One of the eeriest experiences of modern life is thinking something one has never heard of ought to exist, entering it in Google, and having it appear at the very top of the results list. Very strange and oracular.
Monday, March 15, 2004
Kula: Ecto blogging client for OS X
Kula: ecto
The fun area in net software today is RSS and blog clients. I'm a relative late comer in this domain -- about the right time for me to enter. Maybe I'll be able to eventually say good-bye to FrontPage.
ecto is a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX (we also have a Windows version in the works), supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as TypePad, MovableType, Nucleus, Blogger, and more. ecto is the successor of the wildly popular Kung-Log, which has been in use by thousands of Mac users and which earned a 4.5 mice in the MacWorld July 2003 issue, a 4.7 rating by users of VersionTracker.com, and a 5.0 rating by users of MacUpdate.com.
The fun area in net software today is RSS and blog clients. I'm a relative late comer in this domain -- about the right time for me to enter. Maybe I'll be able to eventually say good-bye to FrontPage.
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