FileMaker 8 Functions and Scripts Desk Reference is the only book on the market expressly focused on describing each calculation formula and how and when to use each one. With this book's real-world, concrete examples of how to use each function, you will go far beyond FileMaker 8's help system. Just as a dictionary helps supplement one's memory, this book is an invaluable companion to users working to develop solutions to their every day software problems.
This is the book we want on our deskseven after writing it. Just as a writer always needs a dictionary nearby, we've found over the years that it would be great to have a quick set of reminders within reach. It's impossible to recall each function's syntax, or every script step's attributes. Although we use the Let() function every day, the exact output of RelationInfo() can be a little less fresh in our minds. This desk reference contains notes on all the script steps and calculation functions in FileMaker, and provides lists of other facts like error codes, port numbers, XML grammar, and more. This book will provide invaluable assistance to like-addle-minded developers everywhere, regardless of one's experience with FileMaker.
Before going any further, we'd like to congratulate the tech writers, engineers, and product managers at FileMaker, Inc. for an excellent help system and set of both printed and electronic documentation. If you've never used FileMaker's help resources or website, you're missing a wealth of information. Both are fantastic places to learn, refresh your memory, or uncover areas of FileMaker you had no idea were there.
Sometimes, however, it's nice to leave what's on your screen unchanged, keep your work and your reference material separate, and be able to turn to actual paper. (It's hard to take notes in the help system, for example!)
Some of this book may overlap a bit with the help system, especially in cases where there's really nothing more to add: for example, as in the Abs() function. Where we hope this book will prove useful is in the additional information and examples we're able to provide, the fact that it's collected all here on paper, and that it's a bit more accessible during those times when you may not be in front of FileMaker or a laptop.