A Walk Down FileMaker Memory Lane

Adam Wunn: FileMaker could be a simple database, with a friendly user interface, for someone’s recipe collection and similar needs (I used it for my CD collection at the time). [Yet another recipe collection trope – they used to advertise that as a feature to the everyday buyer – so funny!] FileMaker could also become a relational, multi-table, bespoke database that could run an entire business, while servicing all the needs in between. In my mind, the beauty of it was that many people who had never coded before could create solutions that solved problems in their business themselves. “Solutions” is the company’s term for their database and front-end combinations that effectively become applications. In that era, the software’s capabilities and friendliness to the average person in my estimating is similar in result to the currently burgeoning community of every-day users using vibe-coding to create custom built apps for company specific needs. FileMaker really was a power tool for…