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Using FileMaker as an external data source

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Using FileMaker as an external data source

Andy Straw

2013-10-21 12:00

Status: Closed

Looking at accessing an external database from LabKey. Docs list specific databases that are supported (MySql, PostgreSQL, etc.): https://www.labkey.org/wiki/home/Documentation/page.view?name=externalSchemas .

We have a lab that is looking at using FileMaker to build some database applications, and we would like to integrate our LabKey instance with that database. FileMaker has a JDBC driver (see http://www.filemaker.com/help/html/odbc.18.2.html#1027617 and http://www.filemaker.com/support/product/docs/12/fmp/fm12_odbc_jdbc_guide_en.pdf ), so I'm wondering whether using the "external data source" mechanism would work. Does LabKey have any experience with customers using an external data source that is a FileMaker database? Are there specific gotchas (in regard to supported metadata features in the JDBC driver, for example) that we should look at? Does your "external data source" code depend on specific database vendor features/code, or might this "just work", if the JDBC driver is complete enough?

Thanks for any info, suggestions.

Andy Straw
University of Rochester

kevink responded:	2013-10-21 13:11
Hi Andy, It should be pretty easy to create a new SimpleSqlDialect class that LabKey would use to talk to the FileMaker JDBC driver. The MySqlDialect is a good example of creating a new dialect. The external data source code uses the SqlDialect to abstract away the differences between the data sources and should "just work." To provide a SqlDialect, your module needs to register your SqlDialectFactory with the SqlDialectManager.