Thanks both. Largely confirms what I was thinking. I'm trying to avoid Access for practical reasons. The Microsoft Office package for iMacs does not include Access. So, to use it, I'd either have to adopt the OpenOffice version or run it in Parallels, like I currently do for SAS. I'd like to use a native OS/X database. I now see two choices: buy the upgrade for SIR or get Filemaker Pro 13. The former is more expensive and runs under X11 on my iMac (i.e. it is not really 'native'). It's still somewhat 'old school' but has the advantage that all of my current code will run without requiring any modification. And, I could do updates as time permitted. Filemaker takes more advantage of CSS, styling, graphic presentation, etc. It has record locking and support data entry from remote sites via the internet (not a priority a prsent but something which could become useful). But, I'd have to develop completely new screens/programs to replace my current ones. And, it has no option to write the database and entry screen definition code in a file and the run them - you have to do all of that using the graphic interface and menu selection (which I find slower then typing code). Plus, the linkage to SAS is a bit more complicated. A compromise would be to get the SIR upgrade to support my existing databases but use Filemaker for any new work that I do. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.
... View more
