Surprisingly simple and efficient SQL or REST API client interfaces

In 2023, documents created with Claris FileMaker, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Adobe Acrobat can be extended with PHP technologies to enable dynamic, precise 2-way data interactions with SQL databases and REST APIs.

These document types can use PHP to dynamically send query parameters to and insert filtered responses from multiple databases or APIs in near real-time.

Extending documents with PHP really shines if you are looking for efficient ways to quickly design, build, and deploy secure multi-user forms interfaces or data processing utilities that require combinations of complex calculations, event sequences, or dynamic bi-directional interactions with mixed data types.

FYI, PHP is popular open-source server-side technology. PHP Data Objects (PDO) and cURL code libraries simplify interactions with many SQL databases or REST APIs. PHP code can also be integrated with HTML on the client side to create web-enabled interfaces complete with advanced data navigation and interaction controls for MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or DB2 databases. PHP can also provide authentication-enabled REST API endpoints for these types of databases.

PHP is open-source, so no licensing costs, subscriptions, or third-party dependencies. Also, PHP is simple and efficient. Simple and efficient is good, take a look!

Claris FileMaker

FileMaker database documents can calculate and execute queries that use PHP, PDO, and cURL to interact with SQL databases and REST APIs. FileMaker also provides an extremely advanced calculation and scripting toolkit, ideal for building bespoke programmable controls and data processing interfaces that can be shared/deployed via FileMaker Server, as FileMaker application documents, WebDirect forms, or the FileMaker Data API.

Excel & Sheets

Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets spreadsheet documents can also use calculations and native functions to execute PHP scripts that interact with SQL databases and REST APIs. PHP scripts can filter and format scalar or aggregate query responses back to active cells in a variety of formats, including Excel dynamic arrays generated from XML-formatted results and Sheets dynamic arrays generated from HTML-formatted results.

Adobe Acrobat

Acrobat PDF forms provide extraordinarily adaptable programmable interfaces that can be used as freely deployable data calculation and interaction runtimes. Acrobat forms can be enhanced with JavaScript to add interactivity, making it possible to dynamically calculate, validate, and format data prior to sending it to PHP scripts that interact with SQL databases and REST APIs and insert filtered results back into form fields.



This PHP script executes a SQL query that returns summarized sales results...

This PHP script queries a REST API and returns a specified currency exchange rate...

This PHP script inserts a record into a SQL database and returns a unique identifier...

PDO can interact with lots of SQL databases...





cURL can interact with practically any REST API...







PHP can interact with non-SQL databases via their APIs...


If you can connect to it, you can...

return real-time
SQL or REST API query results to spreadsheet calculations...

share calculating web forms that merge data from distributed and disparate sources...

execute key performance indicator or complex aggregate queries in real time...

add dynamic
SQL CRUD or REST API functionality to spreadsheets or PDF forms...

deploy really, really, really well connected desktop and mobile workgroup apps





Extending documents with PHP means...

Minimal expense



Minimal dependencies



Minimal techno-babble



“Extraordinarily efficient, ridiculously cost-effective.”


“Simplified, lightness added.”


“That is way, way less complicated. Thank you!"




Web-enabled desktop or mobile interfaces, simple deployment, minimized dependencies, integrating disparate technologies to build simple or complex data automation solutions.

Take a look at the examples at the top of the page and e-mail with any questions. Thanks!