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Philosophy of FileMaker
Level: N/A
Version: FileMaker 15
Category: General
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Philosophy of FileMaker

You may be wondering why I named this blog the "Philosophy of FileMaker". Philosophy is defined as the following by Merriam-Webster :

1) the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc.
2) a particular set of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc.
3) a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live

The Philosophy of FileMaker
The Philosophy of FileMaker aims to teach you how to think about FileMaker in a meaningful way and not just regurgitate techniques. Too many developers blindly follow what they read on a blog or an article or a book without thinking about whether there is a better approach. With FileMaker there are always multiple approaches. The goal of this book is to teach you how to think on your own so you can solve your own unique problems using the best solutions available.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” - Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie

The Reader
It’s easy to say an educational resource is designed for intermediate or advanced or expert level FileMaker developers. But, what does that really mean? How is an advanced developer gauged? What makes someone an intermediate developer? It’s pretty easy to determine a beginner since they just recently started their FileMaker journey. An expert developer is also easy to recognize as they have been working exclusively with FileMaker for a decade or more and have probably passed all the FileMaker certification tests. It’s all the in-between that’s tough to figure out.

My guess is you, the reader, fall into this undefinable black hole of knowledge seeking. Most people are not experts. Others don’t want to go beyond the basics. That’s not who I’m writing to in this blog. I’m writing to all the aspiring FileMaker developers who want become professionals. You might be a hobbyist, an in-house developers or even a full time FileMaker consultant. Whoever you are, this blog aims at teaching this widely diverse audience to the best of my ability.

If you have a passion to be better than the average developer then read on and enjoy!

Author:
John Mark Osborne
jmo@filemakerpros.com
www.databasepros.com

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