Bento is a discontinued
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
application for
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
made by the former
FileMaker Inc.
Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were ...
, since renamed to
Claris
Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Inc., Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several program ...
. Bento differed significantly from the company's flagship product,
FileMaker Pro, in that it relied heavily on
templates
Template may refer to:
Tools
* Die (manufacturing), used to cut or shape material
* Mold, in a molding process
* Stencil, a pattern or overlay used in graphic arts (drawing, painting, etc.) and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs
Co ...
and integration with other applications. By default, Bento's data sources included Apple's
Address Book
An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address, telephone n ...
and
Calendar (previously called iCal) applications, which it could modify directly. FileMaker announced on July 31, 2013, that it would discontinue Bento on September 30, 2013.
Compatibility
Bento was only compatible with
Mac OS X 10.5 or later due to its reliance on features not available in previous versions of the operating system. Certain actions, such as switching templates, used
Core Animation
Core Animation is an animation graphics compositing framework used by macOS (Mac OS X Leopard and later), iOS, watchOS, and tvOS to produce animated user interfaces.
Overview
Core Animation provides a way for developers to produce animated user ...
to animate the transition. It also included integration with
Time Machine
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
for backing up and required iCal 3.0 (later renamed
Calendar) for live data editing.
Release schedule
A public preview was made available alongside the initial product announcement on November 13, 2007,
with the first final version released on January 8, 2008.
Version history
Template sharing
A Bento template was a pre-made library with all the forms necessary to catalog items within a certain context. With the release of Bento 2 on October 14, 2008, Bento users could import, export and share their templates. On June 16, 2009, FileMaker launched its own template-sharing site
where users could download a variety of templates as well as share their own.
Upgrade controversy
On October 14, 2008, FileMaker released Bento 2.0 with bug fixes and new features, including integration with
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
's
Mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
. The new version did not offer upgrade pricing and cost the same as version 1. Many customers expressed their disappointment at the official Bento user forums,
where FileMaker responded that they were using the "same pricing model" as other companies' products such as Apple's
iWork
iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple Inc. for its macOS and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website.
It includes the presentation application Keynote, the word processing and ...
and
iLife suites.
Additionally, on November 25, FileMaker provided an official statement
indicating that they would discontinue revisions and bug fixes for the version 1 product.
Given interest in a revision, this was neither a quick, nor an easy decision to come to.
Bento 1 received extensive beta testing, but like every software product, issues were discovered after shipment. We followed up with Bento 1.0.2 to address critical issues that had been discovered.
In addressing product issues discovered after 1.0.2 for the 2.0 release, we reworked the product in significant, and sometimes, architectural ways. Simply put, this means that there is no way to easily migrate the fixes in 2.0 backwards to 1.0. We would have to reengineer 1.0 until it effectively became 2.0. Doing so would have strongly delayed the 2.0.3 version of Bento, which we will be releasing as a free update for Bento 2.0.1/2.0.2 this week, and continued development of the Bento product line.
As of May 20, 2012, the price for Bento 4 was $49 for a single license, or $99 for a "Family Pack" of five licenses.
Discontinuation
FileMaker
announced on July 31, 2013, that it would completely discontinue the Bento product line on September 30, 2013, with technical support for Bento products finally ending on July 30, 2014.
Competing software
FileMaker
*
FileMaker Pro (formerly
Claris
Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Inc., Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several program ...
FileMaker)
Others
*
Alpha Five
*
Dabitat
*
Borland Paradox
Paradox is a relational database management system currently published by Corel Corporation.
It was originally released for MS-DOS by Ansa Software, and then updated by Borland after it bought the company. In mid 1991 Borland began the process to ...
*
DataEase
*
dBase
*
Foxpro
FoxPro was a text-based (computing), text-based Procedural programming, procedurally oriented programming language and database management system (DBMS), and it was also an object-oriented programming language, originally published by Fox Softwa ...
(later acquired by Microsoft)
*
Helix Rade
*
Kexi
*
Lotus Approach
Lotus Approach is a relational database management system included in IBM's Lotus SmartSuite for Microsoft Windows.
As a start-up company, Approach was formed in 1991 and won over 30 awards the first year, including "best of show" at Comdex. Th ...
*
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access is a database management system (DBMS) from Microsoft that combines the relational Access Database Engine (ACE) with a graphical user interface and software-development tools (not to be confused with the old Microsoft Access ...
*
NeoOffice
NeoOffice is an office suite for the macOS operating system developed by Planamesa Inc. It is a commercial fork of the free and open source OpenOffice.org that implements most of the features of OpenOffice.org, including a word processor, spreads ...
*
Omnis Studio
Omnis Studio is a rapid application development (RAD) tool that allows programmers and application developers to create enterprise, web, and mobile applications for Windows, Linux, and macOS personal computers and servers across all business sec ...
*
OpenOffice.org Base
*
SQLite
SQLite (, ) is a database engine written in the C programming language. It is not a standalone app; rather, it is a library that software developers embed in their apps. As such, it belongs to the family of embedded databases. It is the m ...
*
Sun StarBase
*
Sybase PowerBuilder
References
External links
Bento Users – unofficial Bento users' site
{{Apple
Proprietary database management systems
IOS software
MacOS database-related software