The standards on these pages are managed and monitored by a core group of FileMaker developers who have a wide variety of FileMaker development experiences. Pages on this wiki are updated with new content on a periodic basis.
Being notified about changes and comments
If you would like to be notified about changes made to both pages and comments on this wiki then join the FMStandards Google Group. You will need to be authorized in order to join the group and you will then be able to reply via the e-mail list about notifications sent from this wiki. Your replies within the context of the group do not become part of the public areas of this wiki. In order for your remarks to be public, you will need to comment directly on a page on this wiki. That will, in turn, generate an e-mail within the group.
Making proposals to the accepted standards
There is a separate section on this wiki where all proposals are made. This includes proposals to the Coding Standards and Best Practices areas.
Any accepted proposal will be refined and then moved into its respective section.
Getting a full access account on the wiki
Currently, direct editing of pages on this wiki is limited to accounts with write access. Anyone may make comments or submit Proposals as an anonymous user (simply add your name or signature to your post).
Before granting a full access account, we need to verify that you're not here just to say how much "better" your method of development is. We wish to operate as a unified collective in pursuit of furthering these standards to the benefit of those who have adopted them.
This site is not a place for heated debate (although debates will happen) about who's method of development is better or the best. As FileMaker developers we've all had (or still have) our "own ways" of doing things. In fact, FileMaker development is rife with individual "development standards". To join our group, a degree of ego must be left at the door in order to realize the benefits of adopting such standards.
Many other languages and open source communities leverage strictly defined standards. In most all cases, it's the adoption of these standards which has improved the overall acceptance and usefulness of their technologies. My personal experience in this regard is PHP, Java/Groovy and the Drupal CMS Framework.
If you are seriously interested in acquiring a full access account on this site because you wish to follow these standards and play a more active role, then please answer the following questions and email them using the account request method via this thread on the Google group. You will need to join the Google group first, then submit your request.
- Have you read most of the documented standards and best practices at filemakerstandards.org?
- Do you agree with, and will you be coding your solutions against the standards outlined here?
- What type of contributions do you see yourself making to the site?
If you need to report abuse or any incident regarding this site or the email group you can email filemakerstandards@gmail.com directly.
Leveraging the work of other smart developers
FileMakerStandards.org was created to not only provide some structure and documentation around a cohesive set of conventions, but also to share the collective knowledge of multiple developers. Resources, such as accepted techniques and an authoritative collection of custom functions are included as part of our goals.