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In 2024, forms created with FileMaker, Excel, Sheets, or Acrobat can use PHP to enable asynchronous communications with SQL databases or REST APIs.
PHP-enabled forms can use calculations to package and native functions to dynamically send user-supplied query parameters to PHP scripts that can look-up information, or execute Create-Read-Update-Delete transactions, or call stored procedures, or interact with reference or messaging APIs, and then filter the results back to specified form fields as single values or JSON, XML, FDF, or HTML arrays, automatically updating related calculations in the process.
Concise 2-way interactions, triggered as users enter, update, select, or click elements as they progress through the form, sending query parameters to and assembling query responses from one or many databases or APIs in real-time.
Claris FileMaker database documents can perform calculations and dynamically execute webhooks that use PHP, PDO, and cURL to interact with SQL databases and REST APIs. FileMaker provides a process automation toolkit designed specifically for building bespoke programmable controls and multi-user interfaces that can be shared securely using Apple or Windows desktop application, WebDirect mobile forms, or the FileMaker Data API.
Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets spreadsheets can also use calculations and native functions to send query parameters to PHP scripts that interact with SQL databases or REST APIs. PHP scripts can filter real-time scalar or aggregate query results back to active spreadsheet cells as either single values or XML-formatted results (for Excel dynamic arrays) or HTML-formatted results (for Sheets dynamic arrays).
Adobe Acrobat PDF forms can be used as programmable data interaction runtimes. Many document types can be converted to PDF and extended with PHP to send query parameters to databases or APIs and return filtered results to designated form fields in real-time. More securable than HTML forms, Acrobat PDF forms are not susceptible to XSS, CSRF, or session attacks, and can be password protected, encrypted, flattened, or digitally signed.
PHP is a popular general purpose server scripting language, currently used on approximately 75% of websites globally. PHP Data Objects and cURL code libraries provide comparatively simple, securable, injection-resistant methods for efficiently interacting with SQL databases or REST APIs. PHP is open-source technology, meaning no licensing costs, transaction fees, or subscriptions required to own and use reliable industrial strength code.
The PHP Data Objects (PDO) extension defines methods for sanely interacting with MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, or SQL Server databases. PDO provides a data-access abstraction layer that can map typed query parameters to prepared statement inputs in order to execute queries. Code differences between database types are minimized as PDO database drivers encapsulate database-specific features as extension functions.
PHP incorporates libcurl, a code library that can be used to simplify connections and interactions with REST APIs. Perfect.
In addition to REST APIs, libcurl provides scriptable methods for communications tasks involving http, https, ftp, gopher, telnet, dict, file, or ldap protocols, HTTPS certificates, HTTP POST, HTTP PUT, FTP file uploads, HTTP form-based file uploads, proxies, cookies, and user-password resource or directory authentication.
