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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

#121

Post by codeulike »

flukus wrote: post #106
radcon wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, but isn't it a sign of much deeper issues if this "Shadow IT" land exists at your company in the first place? Why is it that experienced programmers can't efficiently solve a problem that a business user can handle in Access? Are they under-staffed? Neck-deep in spaghetti code? Lacking business knowledge and the opportunity to acquire it? Bottle-necked by a lack of business analysts or testers? I he…

Agreed, I think it's because developers like to over engineer everything and the managers like to over engineer the processes. So many of these access excel solutions should be a days worth of work, simple perl cgi scripts with a minimalist UI deployed by rsync. Instead we have to use our super "productive" modern frameworks, split everything into a thousand files (god forbid you embed an sql query in the only place…

god forbid you embed an sql query in the only place it's called

-gasps-

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

#122

Post by taffer »

codeulike wrote: post #120
taffer wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really like the idea of developing a modern Access alternative, but why are you trying to create a new language? Aren't QBE and SQL sufficient? Why not something that is like a cloud SaaS version of Access, but can be extended with some procedures and later used as a GraphQL backend like Hasura?

Salesforce is (among other things) basically a cloud SaaS version of Access. And people pay a lot of money for it. See my other comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21403393

True, when I think about what I've seen, what people are building with Access and what people are building with Salesforce, there's a lot of overlap.

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

#123

Post by bdcravens »

MisterOctober wrote: post #119
truculent wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I still think there is a killing to made on a modern day Access "Done Right". DB, Gui framework and printable report generator all in one sharing the same language front to back, top to bottom. Reminds me of Airtable, Monday, Notion or one of these all-purpose productivity tools

Airtable is really good for what it does : makes data-driven tools available for folks who don't want to mess with writing queries or being a DBA, and also has a reasonable API for automations. For heavy stuff, I'll take Postgres anyday given the choice, but Airtable is great for small user-maintainable tools + dashboards, etc

I think Airtable is great, but it’s lack of aggregate functions really restricts it.

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

#125

Post by encoderer »

SigmundA wrote: post #48
jjkaczor wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

Crystal reports. Shudder.

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

#126

Post by dbrgn »

asdfman123 wrote: post #25
phs318u wrote: post #7

The reason that both Access and Excel use is so prevalent in corporate “shadow IT” land is because there are many parts of the business that have problems for which only a negative or marginal business-case can be made for IT to solve it (given the “get out of bed” costs of most IT departments). It’s a barrier-to-entry problem. Excel and Access are cheap enough and fly under the corporate IT radar (no involvement nee…

Access is the perfect tool for an intelligent, technically-minded person with limited programming experience to create an application to replace spreadsheets. There are a lot of those kinds of people out there, and they're extremely useful in introducing minor optimizations that other people wouldn't be able to find. Access is for that guy who says "I know there's a better way to do this," but doesn't have access (no…

I taught myself Access 97 when I was about 10 years old and helped a teacher set up a small database to register library books. I couldn't have done that with a real SQL database, but Access was somewhat discoverable. Never underestimate the empowering power of tools that can be learned without any external help! I hate Access, but I love it too.

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

#127

Post by wil421 »

codeulike wrote: post #84
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…

Salesforce, the core database/CRUD bit of it if you ignore all the stuff they've purchased and tacked-on in the last few years, is essentially 'Access in the cloud', in terms of the sorts of things you can do and the ease with which you can do it, and how far you can stretch it before it starts to get cumbersome. And yes, they are making a killing. edit: And if that sounds easy, imagine how you would go about upgradi…

ServiceNow is a lot easier for admins/developers to use for workflow automation. In my opinion it’s a little easier than Salesforce but it could become bloated like Salesforce if it want already. Quickbase is another one I worked with but I was migrating workflows off of it. Quickbase was good for non IT people but not much better than Access or Excel.

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

#128

Post by julianz »

dillonmckay wrote: post #113
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…

FileMaker Pro?

Yup. I built a networked invoice database with FileMaker Pro (2.1??) on Macs at a university in the 90's. It was still there when I went back a few years later, running on an ancient Mac server with an external hard disk duct taped to the top. It had just enough functionality that the department could keep track of how the monthly budget was going while the month went on, as the official Oracle Financials system could only tell you once it was too late.

Later, I realised that it had a Y2K bug in it, but oh well.

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

#129

Post by HenryBemis »

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 made my first system for a client 20 years ago on MS Access, and the latest one was again (they asked, I didn't say no) I created a mini-MIS for another client. Reports, forms, tables, everything MS Access. I won't be insulted if MS renamed it to "SQL for dummies". Access just works!
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