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Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

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Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#41

Post by matheusmoreira »

segfaultbuserr wrote: post #8

This is the question I always wanted to ask, I almost wrote an Ask HN... Who use Microsoft Access in 2019?! An obvious case is creating a glorified/enhanced Excel for some specific office tasks, another case is that some applications use ".mdb" backend. But that's all? edit: What I'm interested in is cases of using Access for something other than a specific Excel-like office task - it seems Access is still used for s…

Why would anyone use Access in 2019 when they can use SQLite instead? Is it because Access has a graphical interface?

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#42

Post by jjkaczor »

SigmundA wrote: post #30

I have a special place in my heart for Access, its where I first started making money writing software and learned SQL and VB. Its where I really felt like I was making something that solved real world problems for people, quickly at that. It was actually amazing how far it could scale, you could put a shared MDB file out on a Novell network share and have 30 concurrent users with no server app at all, users just dou…

>you could put a shared MDB file out on a Novell network >share and have 30 concurrent users with no server app at >all, users just doubled clicked the MDB

You could be describing myself. However... I beg to differ on it's scalability... There were 'issues' with the 2.0 Jet engine when accessing MDB files on network shares that would often result in 'missing data'. Lots of fun. (Lots of work up-sizing to actual SQL back-ends as well though)

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#45

Post by SigmundA »

Clubber wrote: post #40
SigmundA wrote: post #30

I have a special place in my heart for Access, its where I first started making money writing software and learned SQL and VB. Its where I really felt like I was making something that solved real world problems for people, quickly at that. It was actually amazing how far it could scale, you could put a shared MDB file out on a Novell network share and have 30 concurrent users with no server app at all, users just dou…

My first real paying gig was Access 97 (I'm old). They actually taught it at my university at the time in the MIS/CIS path. I built a credentialing system for a small HMO. I was able to get it to support over 100 people, including report load. I split out the database from the front end (forms/reports) and put the database files on an NT4 share. When we grew and it started to buckle under load, I created an additiona…

I got started using Access 2, so I'm older...

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#46

Post by alkonaut »

tracker1 wrote: post #22
alkonaut wrote: post #12

Is there a modern and/or open alternative to this? E.g a SQLite + electron or local web client thing where you could build a simple inventory or similar but you should also be able to scale it to client server when the need occurs 10 years down. Note that any number of cloud startups don’t count as an alternative to access. When these things start it’s as an excel sheet with data that no one will go through the enter…

I think that Open/Libre-Office have options for this. You can also use Access as a front end for another db (odbc) backend pretty easily. I'd probably do a web app myself, but that's just me. I know a lot of people that cut their programming teeth on Access apps, including distributed ones.

Yeah it doesn’t feel like something more than an access clone. I’d like something that is as easy as access but can also be migrated to a modern web+db app with ease. Even if it requires some minimal coding ability it would be cool to be able to make an Elm crud app deployable as a container, starting from an access-like set of tables and forms.

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#47

Post by shubb »

alkonaut wrote: post #12

Is there a modern and/or open alternative to this? E.g a SQLite + electron or local web client thing where you could build a simple inventory or similar but you should also be able to scale it to client server when the need occurs 10 years down. Note that any number of cloud startups don’t count as an alternative to access. When these things start it’s as an excel sheet with data that no one will go through the enter…

Arguably Saleforce. One aspect of the product is point and click editable database tables, reports, forms.

Actually I think the lesser known parts of office 365 'PowerApps' have various features for point and clicking your way to a cloud database, forms and reports, and even ETL from your existing data sources.

However, people don't think of these options like they think of access. For MS and Office 365, they could put more effort into marketing the features. Maybe they don't want to. For Salesforce, I guess they could try to get their product into non-computer people IT class syllabuses?

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#48

Post by SigmundA »

jjkaczor wrote: post #42
SigmundA wrote: post #30

I have a special place in my heart for Access, its where I first started making money writing software and learned SQL and VB. Its where I really felt like I was making something that solved real world problems for people, quickly at that. It was actually amazing how far it could scale, you could put a shared MDB file out on a Novell network share and have 30 concurrent users with no server app at all, users just dou…

>you could put a shared MDB file out on a Novell network >share and have 30 concurrent users with no server app at >all, users just doubled clicked the MDB You could be describing myself. However... I beg to differ on it's scalability... There were 'issues' with the 2.0 Jet engine when accessing MDB files on network shares that would often result in 'missing data'. Lots of fun. (Lots of work up-sizing to actual SQL b…

Oh I didn't say it was without problems, but it did mostly work , mostly...

Once I started learning SQL server and VB5 for real client server apps I never looked back, but then you had to go find a reporting engine too.

Re: Microsoft Access: The Database Software That Won't Die

#50

Post by Clubber »

tsumnia wrote: post #14

I will admit a love/hate for Access. Namely, from years of teaching Microsoft Office as Intro to Computing. Access was always the section that was hard to convince students they'd ever need and worse yet outright made the class logistically harder for Mac users. I will say, however, Access has SOME benefit to Information Systems education, especially in a general IS class. These students are marketing, accounting, et…

My university used it to teach relational database design, querying, form design, and report design concepts. It was really useful to have all that in a single software package.

My senior project was to create a complete project plan in MS Project for a system (I chose a video rental point of sale system), then build it out using Access. The project plan had to be a semester long plan, including features and assigned assets. The system had to have a proper ERD, forms and reports. It was a two semester course and taught me a ton about how to actually build software in a business environment.

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