artful at rogers.com
artful at rogers.com
Fri Dec 8 09:44:01 CST 2006
Overall, I think the writer hit most of the nails on the head. I do, however, take issue with one point: the small number of users. I developed an enterprise app for a custom travel agency. Four offices scattered across North America, everyone communicating with a single Terminal Services box which hosted an ADP which spoke to a SQL Server box -- 70+ simultaneous users and not a hiccup in sight. It worked flawlessly. Granted, that's not the scale that General Motors or Chrysler requires, but I wouldn't call it "a small number of employees." IMO, Access has been seriously under-rated by professional .NET etc. developers, and not only by them, but also by MS. I admit that I stretched the envelope, experimenting in this and that way, using replication etc., but at the end of the day I had a single enterprise app that did everything but the accounting, and that was accomplished using the API to QuickBooks. So I am the LAST person to admit the lack of scalability of Access apps. Maybe Amazon couldn't run on an Access app, but I have no clients in that category. And I am quite willing to pose Access against any .NET or Ajax solution in the realm of <300 simultaneous users. Arthur ----- Original Message ---- From: Mark A Matte <markamatte at hotmail.com> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com Sent: Friday, December 8, 2006 10:05:27 AM Subject: [AccessD] OT: Dice.com on ms access Hello All, My job yesterday pretty much 'ticked' me off ...so I went to dice.com,reactivated my account, and updated my resume(2 hits already). Anyway...today at the bottom of the sign in page they featured an article about access comparing it to Lego's. You have to have an account to see...so I'll paste the text below. It made sense to me and thought some of you may enjoy as well. Happy Friday, Mark A. Matte Microsoft Access Developer - Grown-up fun for the Lego Builder at Heart By Joseph Faillace When I was a young lad my parents got me my first box of Lego’s. From that time on and for many years afterward they would oftentimes find me on the floor of my bedroom quietly building some construct that I had imagined in my head. For them it was the cheapest babysitter they ever found. For me it was an opportunity to build something from beginning to end. Lego’s was an outlet for my creative juices - though what I was building was relatively small, all my big ideas could be found in the careful placement of every individual block. There was nothing else quite as satisfying as seeing my own little building, car or entire town come to life. When I began developing solutions in Microsoft Access I finally found a career that was an adult equivalent to my childhood passion. Developing Microsoft Access databases is all about building excellent stand alone small scale solutions. Unlike working on a larger Enterprise database where you are one of many developers doing your part to contribute to the maintenance or inception of a new tool, in Access development you are “the man” - the buck stops with you and it’s your way or the highway - as well as any number of other clichés. But seriously, the great thing about getting assigned to a Microsoft Access gig is that you get to think out a plan of attack, create a design spec, a table structure, the look and feel of the interface, a testing plan and then follow it through to implementation. For me, variety is the spice of life and I enjoy working on all different aspects of the development process. Now, if you are the type of person who prefers to get lost in the crowd, Access development is not for you. Whether you are creating a database for a Mom and Pop shop or a Fortune 500 company, the success of the project primarily falls on you. You need to carry the project through from beginning to end. People are counting on you, and often you alone, as their only path to process improvement. However, as is often the case, the more weight that you carry the greater level of satisfaction you get of seeing a project to completion. Some of the little things that make developing in Access nice are that, unlike a larger system, there are fewer users on Access and issues can be identified more quickly. Also since the Access database is not a company-wide program, the red tape factor is greatly decreased, meaning you can make changes more readily, push up or pull back schedules, and bend testing criteria to your will. You can push the limits of your ideas, try things out, go where no man has gone before, and see, taste, smell and touch the fruit of your labor. Microsoft Access development is also a great spring board to a number of other career options. Since Access contains all the portions of a larger Enterprise system you can hone your skills on common languages and knowledge like VBA, SQL, report design, and XML. Let’s not forget that Access has a bigger brother (SQL Server) which you can download for free off the Microsoft site (SQL Server Express). Your Access database’s backend can be converted to SQL Server. You can expand your knowledge of this Enterprise database making yourself more valuable to your clients or employer. If you are not in the IT industry but have interest in pursuing this type of work, you can work on Microsoft Access on your home PC and use it to solve problems in your current profession. Join a discussion group and take free tutorials. Microsoft Access is a great way to get your foot in the door to our booming industry. So, if you have big development ideas, but would prefer working in a smaller environment where you have more control and responsibility, then be the corporate world’s next Lego builder. Be an Access developer. Comments? Please contact us at feedback at dice.com. _________________________________________________________________ View Athlete’s Collections with Live Search http://sportmaps.live.com/index.html?source=hmemailtaglinenov06&FORM=MGAC01 -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com