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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

#131

Post by listenallyall »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #41
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?

Because the vast majority of Access users have it installed locally on their PC already as part of Office, and have never heard of SQLite. And even if SQLite was installed, you'd also need a different program altogether to actually view or input any data. Access includes the engine, the GUI, the query tools, the form builder in a single program.

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

#132

Post by EvanAnderson »

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.

I've seen Access macros to generate reports, called from the command-line, as a "reporting engine". It was a rickety death-trap but it worked...

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

#134

Post by frgotmylogin »

segfaultbuserr wrote: post #33
a_cool_username wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An acquaintance of mine is an accountant. He uses it when his spreadsheets get too big/busy/complex. He's not "technical", but he is quite intelligent and is very familiar with Excel, has even written a few VB macros here and there. It's perfect for him. I assume the thousands of people just like him are the answer to your question.

Thanks for the story. I can imagine that, as I said > creating a glorified Excel for some specific office tasks What I'm interested in is cases of using Access for something other than a specific office task - it seems Access is still used for some serious business in many businesses (pun not intended).

My first job out of school was fixing someone's bright idea of writing a few dozen ecommerce websites with Access as a data store. They stored the CC# so it could be run later as a card not present purchase. It was nightmare fuel, this was in ~2006.

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

#135

Post by EvanAnderson »

alexis_fr wrote: post #101
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…

Modern-day Access: Filemaker Pro was the contemporary competitor and still lives and has usergroups today; Airtables and similar (all SQL-based form managers) are the modern options.

FileMaker, in my experience, attracts a certain smug developer who simply cannot believe that there are more industrial-strength database systems and that FileMaker can't solve every possible problem in the world. Access devs, at least, don't seem to have that particular quirk.

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

#137

Post by UtahDave »

At a previous job an operations analyst built out an Access database because our IT group never got around to helping him build something more robust. It actually worked pretty well.

Once we started getting to scaling issues we imported all the tables into MySQL and had Access use the remote tables that existed in MySQL.

This worked really well. All the forms and various things were in Access and the tables in MySQL and this scaled out pretty well to many 10s of users.

A nice side benefit is that I was able to reuse a lot of that data in an internal web application.

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

#138

Post by linza »

wil421 wrote: post #127
codeulike wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I was curious about ServiceNow and googled it and was excited as they offer demos. But they require registration and a lot of information about myself, so i stopped. Is it not meant for small businesses perhaps?

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

#139

Post by ebiester »

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 know you say that being something other than a web application is a feature, but we have Microsoft's replacement for access in Office 365 and it's PowerApps combined with Flow. I haven't been able to dive too deeply, and it definitely has a learning curve, but so did access. Further, data is actually backed up and permissions can be applied.

I also have fondness for Access, but I think that we have a chance for something like that again.

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

#140

Post by jedimastert »

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…

Airtable, maybe?
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