FileMaker Function of the Week: EvaluationError

THIS WEEK’S function from FullCityConsulting has a twist, and can help track down where errors occur in complicated calculations:

Unlike all previous functions of the week, EvaluationError wasn’t created to give you information that your database uses. Rather, it’s a troubleshooting tool for developers. Take the function Pi; when you call it in a calculation, it gives you the value of Pi that you can use in geometric calculations. That’s all information for your database. EvaluationError, on the other hand, returns a FileMaker error code based on the result of the calculation inside its parameter. But well-built database shouldn’t have any defective calculations, and even if it does, the end users have no need or desire to deal with error codes. So why even have it at all?

The way FileMaker and its Specify Calculation dialog box is designed, it’s pretty hard to get away with writing an invalid calculation. You’re not able to save a calculation with syntactical errors like unblanaced parentheses. You can, however, write a valid calculation that is impossible to evaluate.

So, if you get frustrated when a FileMaker calculation returns a question mark instead of an answer, use the FullCityConsulting solution (there’s a download file at the link) to help find the reason.

I just wonder if it works to track down executeSQL syntax errors.

via FileMaker Function of the Week: EvaluationError.