Tag: ExecuteSQL

ExecuteSQL, Level: Advanced, SQL, Version: FM 18 or later

Fun with SQL Joins and Currency Formatting

Kevin Frank

Demo file: sql-join-fun-etc-v2.zip requires FM 18 or later.

[26 Feb 2022: demo file has been updated to v2 to address the concern raised by Phil McGeehan in the comments section. Screen shots have not been updated.]

Recently I was asked to create a mini-report combining data from a pair of related tables via ExecuteSQL.

This provided an opportunity to think about SQL joins, and also to come up with a way to apply currency formatting to dollar amounts in the SQL query result, given that FileMaker’s SQL implementation does not support the standard SQL way of accomplishing this (e.g., CAST AS NUMERIC or CAST AS DECIMAL) . Continue reading “Fun with SQL Joins and Currency Formatting” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 16 or later, Virtual List

2-Column Magic Value Lists, part 2

Kevin Frank

Disclaimer: the techniques shown in this article are provided on an as-is basis. Use with appropriate caution and at your own risk.

Introduction

This is a quick follow-up to last month’s article on 2-Column Magic Value Lists, and, to avoid repetition, will assume the reader is familiar with that material. A colleague pointed out that it might be helpful to offer some real-world applications of this somewhat esoteric technique, and today we have two demos based on last month’s demo #2, but this time actually doing something useful.

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Demo Files

Continue reading “2-Column Magic Value Lists, part 2” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Advanced, SQL, Version: FM 13 or later, Virtual List

2-Column Magic Value Lists

Kevin Frank

Disclaimer: the techniques shown in this article are provided on an as-is basis. Use with appropriate caution and at your own risk.

Acknowledgements: today’s article would not have been written without the inspiration provided by Bruce Robertson, John Ahn (FM 12 ExecuteSQL Unconference Session), Andries Heylen (Magic Value Lists), Marcelo Piñeyro (How to Extend FileMaker Value List Sort Capabilities) and Jonathan Fletcher (It’s Sorta A Value List Thing).

Introduction

Last year, in Custom Field-Based Value Lists, we looked at a technique to enable single-column field-based value lists to display their contents in entry order, as opposed to standard index-based alphanumeric order. For example using the contents of this field (from a single-record table) as the basis for a value list…

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…we came up with a way to sort our value list (a.k.a. “VL”) items like so…

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…as opposed to what you would get with a standard field-based VL, i.e., this:

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I ended the article by saying…

Today’s article looked at value lists based on return-separated values in a single field. In an upcoming article we’ll explore implementing a similar technique for sorted two-column value lists based on entries in a dedicated value lists table where each list item lives in its own record.

…and now, nineteen months later, am ready to pick up where we left off last time, and to avoid repetition, will assume the reader is at least somewhat familiar with the issues and techniques covered in that article (Custom Field-Based Value Lists).

Note: if you aren’t clear on why a 2-column value list might be preferable to its single-column counterpart (or to a custom value list for that matter), check out Thinking About Value Lists, part 1.

Demo Files

Continue reading “2-Column Magic Value Lists” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 12 or later

User-Friendly Excel Exports, part 7

Kevin Frank

16 Sep 2017: this file (Excel Exports, v7d) fixes a bug where empty fields would cause values to appear in the wrong columns.

This is a follow up to last week’s part 6, with three refinements.

Continue reading “User-Friendly Excel Exports, part 7” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 12 or later

FM/SQL Portal Filter + Dynamic Sort

Kevin Frank

Editor’s note: Today I’m pleased to present a guest article and accompanying demo file written by Joel Englander on using ExecuteSQL + a global multi-line key as an alternative to FileMaker’s built-in portal filtering mechanism, with dynamic portal sorting included as an added bonus.

Demo file: fm-sqlportal-filter-and-dynsort.zip (75 Mb compressed, 230 Mb uncompressed)

browseaksortcitycomp Continue reading “FM/SQL Portal Filter + Dynamic Sort” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, Version: FM 13 or later

Fast Summaries Revisited

Kevin Frank

Update 30 May 2018: see also Fast Summaries Re-revisited.

If you do complex data analysis, then from time to time you probably need to group, summarize, and parse data into variables and/or fields. There are various ways to accomplish this, including the Fast Summary technique, which regular readers of this blog may be familiar with, as it has made a number of appearances here over the years.

Well today we’re going to look at a couple alternatives to Fast Summaries, with the help of some demo files, which you can use to do your own benchmarking.

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Or, if you’d rather not do your own benchmarking, scroll down to see results from my tests. Bottom line: each of these three techniques can be fastest, depending on circumstances.

(Also, if you’ve been putting off exploring Perform Script On Server, a.k.a. PSOS, host the demo files on FileMaker Server 13 or later. The reporting routine optionally uses PSOS, so you can dive in painlessly and see what you’ve been missing.) Continue reading “Fast Summaries Revisited” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 14 or later

FM 14: Separation Model Data Mining

Kevin Frank

Note: Interface file #1 requires FM 14 or later; interface file #2 works with FM 12 or later.

What do you get when you combine the Separation Model + FM 14 placeholder text + ExecuteSQL + a million-record table + a variable array + Get(CalculationRepetitionNumber) + the Mod and Ceiling functions + a couple custom functions, with blazingly fast (local, LAN and WAN) performance thrown in for good measure?

This article w/ accompanying demo (fm-14-separated-data-mining.zip), that’s what.

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The Challenge

Provide a data-mining interface to query a million-record table (cc_transactions) containing 20 years’ worth of credit card transactions. The client wants to be able to pick a date via a calendar widget, and see transaction info for that date, summarized by card type, transaction type and region.

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This is a separated solution, with cc_transactions living in a file called z_data.fmp12, and a specific requirement for this project is to not make any schema changes to the data file. The data-mining will take place in a separate interface file… or in this case, two interface files, since we’re going to look at two methods.  Continue reading “FM 14: Separation Model Data Mining” →

ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 12 or later

Outer Joins in FileMaker 12, part 3

Kevin Frank

I’ve said before, and no doubt will say again, that one of my favorite things about this blog is how much I learn from your feedback and the demo files you send me.

Recently I received a file from Otmar Kramnis of the Hochschule Luzern demonstrating the fastest SQL-based method I have yet seen to solve the challenge we looked at in part 1 and in part 2, and with a few minor modifications, this is the demo we’re going to focus on today:  Outer Join Demo 7

As you may recall, the aim is to show a week’s worth of daily sales totals for all employees whether they had any sales or not.

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Or, to restate the problem in more generic terms: we need to show all values from table A, whether or not there are any matching values in table B. This is known as an “outer join”, or more precisely a “left outer join”, since we want to see all values in the “left” table (Employees), whether or not they have corresponding matches in the “right” table (Sales).

Continue reading “Outer Joins in FileMaker 12, part 3” →

Beverly Voth, ExecuteSQL, Level: Intermediate, SQL, Version: FM 12 or later

PDF version of FM 12 ExecuteSQL Reference

Kevin Frank

Beverly Voth has produced a PDF version of The Missing SQL Reference with some additional material not available in her original posting from October 19th.

And the SQL4_fmdev2.fmp12 demo file has been updated with new queries.

Thank you Beverly for this major contribution to the FileMaker community.

Beverly Voth, ExecuteSQL, SQL

The Missing FM 12 ExecuteSQL Reference

beverlyvoth

There seem to be many questions about the usage of SQL (Structured Query Language) with the ExecuteSQL function in FileMaker 12. This tutorial attempts to explain some of the SQL terms, if you are new to writing SQL statements. Since there are already many examples of how to write the ExecuteSQL queries, links to these will be listed at the end of this article. If you don’t need to learn the terms, jump right to the Helpful Example Databases section, below. There you will find links to solutions that help you create and test your queries.

This is not a complete SQL guide, as other databases may use other syntax. This is not a complete FileMaker and SQL guide, as FileMaker may be an ODBC source and the SQL queries made against it may vary from the terms used by ExecuteSQL(). This is not a complete FileMaker and ESS guide using SQL calls (if using Import or Execute SQL script steps or ExecuteSQL() function or ESS). It may not have all the nuances needed for other data sources. This is the ExecuteSQL() function reference for which you’ve been waiting. The FileMaker 12 ODBC and JDBC Guide is helpful, but it has uses outside (and beyond) the ExecuteSQL() function. Any discrepancies between the reference and the function will be noted here, if possible.

Continue reading “The Missing FM 12 ExecuteSQL Reference” →