Introduction
A database is simply a computer program that organizes information, allows
for input and organization of information, and retrieves and manipulates that
information at the request of the user. Easy to use desktop databases such as
FileMaker Pro and Microsoft Access can do everything from keep track of contact
information to manage the entire financial system for a company with hundreds
of employees. To get started with databases, we'll follow the construction of
a simple FileMaker Pro database:
Records and Fields
Our example database will be an inventory of equipment donated to a fictional
RSVP project. We want to build this database so that we have an official record
of all donated equipment. If problems surface with any particular piece of equipment,
we'll know when it arrived at our project, who donated it, and other pertinent
information that can be of assistance to us.
Each item of equipment we enter into the database will be represented as a record. The descriptive information in each record is made up of individual fields such as "date_donated" and "donor_email".
It's important to think through exactly which fields you want to use, so that
you can capture the right amount of information about each donation.
Each new record in our database will include all of the following fields:
Layouts
Now that we have defined the fields used by each new record in our database,
let's look at how records are displayed on screen.
By default, the database will present each record in a bare-bones layout like this one:
Using the layout menu, it's possible to create multiple views of the database
- one for entering information, one for printing it out, and so on. You can
use layouts for different purposes, but the data in the database itself remains
unchanged.
Here's an example of a layout optimized for entering information:
Sorts and Queries
A sort is an easy means of organizing the records in your database.
For example, if you wanted to print out all the records in your donations database,
but you wanted to sort it by donor last name, it's easy to do so. You can even
sort by multiple criteria, so that the information is sorted by last name, then
by first name, then by date.
Queries are more targeted. Let's say you want to find all the donations made
by Jane Dobbins. By using the "Find" screen in FileMaker Pro, you type "Dobbins"
in the "donor_last_name" field, and every record with Dobbins in the "donor_last_name"
field will be displayed on screen.
The true power of databases can be unleashed when you use them in a relational
fashion. See the article Relational Databases for further information. |
