[Year 12 IT Apps] RDBMS systems

[Mark KELLY]

Database terminology is not a *huge* issue if you use Filemaker; you just
need to keep your kids 'bilingual' so they can translate exam terms
(usually Access-centric) to Filemaker terms (e.g. input forms and reports
are both 'layouts' to FMP users).

Some concepts like referential integrity don't exist at all in FMP and must
be taught explicitly.

One significant difference between FMP and Access is that calculated fields
are actual fields in FMP and are defined in the database schema along with
the other fields. In Access they only exist in queries. I think Filemaker's
way is more intuitive, but exam questions in the past have relied on
students believing that new data is calculated from existing data only in
queries.

There are other differences between FMP and Access, such as how data
validation is done, and what functions exist in each database. In my
post-mortems I like to challenge readers (and examiners) by describing
Filemaker answers and asking whether they would have accepted those answers
during marking.

I am rather vocal about such issues as terminology and assumptions about
database behaviour to keep the examiners conscious that there are databases
other than Access and that exams need to be fair to all students -
especially during marking and students suggest a technique, term or concept
that is valid in *their* RDBMS but not in the 'mainstream' RDBMS that the
markers are probably expecting to see.

We're just lucky that the dominant spreadsheet is also the de facto
standard which the competitors (few as they are, like Google spreadsheets
and Open Office) slavishly imitate  ;-]


On 8 June 2012 09:38, Simone Tynan <Simone.Tynan at shcy.vic.edu.au> wrote:

> Hi.
> Yes, we are a Mac school. Used FileMaker for the first time this year. I
> have always used Access in previous schools. I found FileMaker to be easier
> to use despite having used Access for about 10 years. Definitely agree that
> using either Access or Filemaker is best so as to limit terminology
> confusion.
>
> Simone
>
> ************************************
> Simone Tynan
> eLearning Leader
> LOTE Leader P-12
> Simone.Tynan at shcy.vic.edu.au
>
> Sacred Heart College
> P.O. Box 286
> Yarrawonga
> Victoria 3730
> Phone (03)5744 3258
>
>
>
>
-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au << use this, not Edumail please!
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist

--
An E-flat, a C, and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "I'm sorry, but
I can't serve minors."
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