Comparing Database Solutions: FileMaker, MySQL, and NoSQL

FileMaker is a cross-platform relational database application known for its user-friendly interface and powerful capabilities for creating custom apps. It is especially popular among non-programmers in small to medium-sized businesses due to its ease of use and the ability to integrate various functionalities like inventory, billing, and customer relations.

Strengths: Intuitive design, built-in templates, and strong support for multimedia files. Ideal for custom solutions that require rapid development with minimal coding.

Weaknesses: More expensive than some alternatives, limited scalability compared to more robust database systems like MySQL.

MySQL is one of the most popular open-source relational database management systems. It is highly regarded for its performance, reliability, and flexibility, making it a staple in web development, particularly in LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl) stack applications.

Strengths: High performance, scalable, and widely supported by a vast community. MySQL excels in applications that require complex queries and transactional consistency.

Weaknesses: Can become complex to administer in large-scale deployments. Less efficient in handling large volumes of unstructured data compared to NoSQL databases.

NoSQL databases are designed to provide high operational speed and flexibility with regards to unstructured data. They are ideal for big data and real-time web apps. Common types of NoSQL databases include document (e.g., MongoDB), key-value (e.g., Redis), wide-column (e.g., Cassandra), and graph (e.g., Neo4j) databases.

Strengths: Exceptional scalability, flexibility in handling various data types, and efficient performance in distributed architectures.

Weaknesses: Lack of standardization can lead to complexities in data consistency and transactions. Not inherently suited for applications that require complex transactions and joins.

Each database system has its unique advantages and may be better suited to specific types of applications. FileMaker is great for SMBs looking for ease of use, MySQL is ideal for applications needing robust, transactional database capabilities, and NoSQL fits well with applications requiring flexibility and scalability with unstructured data.