Databases > Choosing A Database

Database Options for the Macintosh

By Michelle Murrain

This article reviews the options that exist for developing desktop or server databases using the Macintosh operating system, OS X. Desktop applications such as Filemaker Pro and Open Office are discussed, as well as implementations of MySQL and PostgreSQL, for web applications, or as back-ends to desktop databases.

Often, people think of Microsoft Windows and Access as the desktop database platform of choice. However, even without Access, Macintosh computers have always had strong desktop database choices, and they get stronger every day.

One of the strengths of OS X as a database platform is that its underlying basis is UNIX (specifically Darwin, a variant of BSD). The underlying UNIX system allows the Mac to run robust server-based database management systems, as well as any desktop systems that use Aqua and Cocoa, Apple's user interface. Options include desktop applications such as Filemaker Pro and Open Office, and server-based database management systems such as MySQL and PostgreSQL. Depending on your needs, it is possible to find a good, solid database option.

Desktop Database Management Systems

Filemaker Pro

Filemaker Pro has been the major database management system for Apple Macintoshes since the very beginning (the first version of Filemaker was released in 1985). It became a cross-platform application in 1992, working on both Windows and Macintosh. However, it remains a minority player in the desktop database field on Windows, given the domination of Access. On the Apple Macintosh, however, Filemaker has always been the dominant database management system since it was released.

In July of 2007, Filemaker, Inc. (wholly owned by Apple) released Filemaker Pro 9. Which provided an answer to the one major weakness of Filemaker – it's ability to connect to external relational databases. Filemaker is a database system that has focused on end-user ease of use primarily. It became fully relational only a few versions ago (version 6 of FMP was finally, fully relational).

Filemaker pro is probably the easiest database package to allow one to quickly get a simple database up and working. In addition, Filemaker has a number of free database templates (both from Filemaker, Inc. and from third parties) that can make starting a common type of database (contact management, donations, library, etc.) rather easy.

In addition, Filemaker Pro has many different versions – from the basic desktop version, to Filemaker Server Advanced, depending on the number of users, and the needs you have for the database. For instance, although any Filemaker database is sharable by other users, if you have more than 10 or so users, Filemaker Server provides a more stable and robust platform. In addition, all versions of Filemaker allow for web publishing – the server version, however, will provide a much more robust platform for web applications.

Ebase

One important application to mention in this article is ebase – it is a nonprofit contact and fundraising database based on Filemaker Pro. It is available for free, and has a large community of users, especially in the United States, however, it has also been used internationally.

Open Office Base

Open Office is a free and open source office suite, which has matured quite well over the past few years. Since version 2.0 (the current version is 2.2.1), Open Office has included Open Office Base – a relatively rudimentary database application that is designed to work in the same way as Microsoft Access – it has the same basic interface – tables, forms, queries and reports. You can create a new database, or connect to database servers via ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) or JDBC (Java Database Connectivity). It is also able to read a variety of file types.

Open Office on Windows and Linux will open and read Microsoft Access files. It can't read forms or queries, but it can read the table schema and data. You can then save those files as OO Base files, move them over to the Mac, then create forms and queries based on the tables and the data in them. Unfortunately, the reporting modules are very rough, and not at all intuitive (it is possible, however, to create decent reports.)

If you are migrating to Apple Macintoshes, and need to port a MS Access database to the Mac, this might be the easiest solution. It certainly would be the least expensive one, at least in terms of software cost. And since the user interface would have to be redone in any event, it might be more cost effective. In addition, you would be using free and open source project, and could be involved in helping it improve.

4 D

4D (or 4^th Dimension) is a database development platform that has been on the Macintosh since 1987 (it also has a Windows version). It is not designed as much as an end-user database platform, however, but more of a development system for desktop and web database-driven applications. Most small voluntary organisations are unlikely to use 4D.

Appleworks

Appleworks, which is an integrated office package from Apple, includes a fairly basic database application. However, Apple has ceased development of AppleWorks, and it only works on Macintoshes with PowerPC processors.

Server based database management systems

The previously mentioned database management systems would work if an organisation wanted to create a database to track some aspect of its operations on the desktops of their staff. However, many organisations are interested in creating web-based databases, either on the organisational intranet, or over the internet.

Back end

Because Macintosh computers run UNIX, it is quite easy to implement any of the UNIX-based open source database management systems, such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. Further, OS X can run the enterprise level databases such as Oracle and Sybase.

There are two relatively easy ways to get UNIX software, in this particular case, database management systems such as MySQL and PostgreSQL working on the Macintosh OS X. One is called MacPorts, and the other is called Fink. Both are projects that have packaged UNIX software of many types into packages that can run on OS X. Fink is designed to work mostly like Debian's package management system – making it easy to get and install software and all of the things that software depends on. MacPorts works by packaging source code so that it can be compiled on Mac OS X.

Getting server databases up and running in general is a more difficult task than installing and using a desktop database with a graphical user interface like FileMaker Pro or even Access. Some kinds of web servers or special interfaces (like ODBC – Open Data Base Connectivity) require special configuration of the database when initially installed. These sorts of configurations are generally done on the command line in Mac OS X's UNIX interface. Most organisations are going to require the help of a consultant (database developer) to implement a server database on their Mac systems.

Front end interfaces

Of course, in order to make server databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL useful, they need a front-end user interface. MySQL and PostgreSQL have most often been used as back-ends to web applications. Web applications can be used either over the internet, or in an organisation's intranet. If you want to create these kinds of applications on Mac OS X, you can also install what's called “MAMP” - “Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, PHP” which is a very easy to use system to install a webserver right on the Mac.

However, there are other options for front-end user interfaces. One is to use the new version of FileMaker Pro Server, which includes tools to interface with MySQL, and use it as a back end database. You can use Open Office Base (mentioned above) as a front end user interface to connect with MySQL or Postgresql via ODBC or JDBC.

If you just need desktop administration interfaces, CocoaMySQL is a good alternative for desktop administration of remote (or local) MySQL databases.

To summarise ...

So, in summary, whether you need simple single-user desktop databases, complex multi-user databases, or to run or administer robust, secure server database management systems, options abound.