[AccessD] Access poll

<rant>

I have looked at the new applications and I have to say, interface is one small part of application 
development and it is obvious to the most casual observer that these apps were designed by the same 
summer interns that designed the original apps 15 years ago.  Which for starters means that the 
designer started college 15 years ago and are still plugging away at college 15 years later.

One of the very first things we learn as developers is NEVER use spaces or special characters in 
object names (table, field or query names etc).  Look at the crap they name stuff.

If they can't even do the basics...  And if they think this is a good example to use to demo their 
stuff, what does that say about the underpinnings?

Nuff said.

</rant>

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com


Arthur Fuller wrote:
> <rant>
> IMO Access 2007 has been overly berated by developers. One has only to look
> at the revised Northwind or Time and Billing apps to realize the new powers
> available. The interfaces to both are gorgeous and very contemporary, and
> make the previous versions look crusty and ancient. I now use the T&B app
> for my invoicing exclusively. I did have to customize one of the reports to
> include (and exclude) the details I was interested in, but the result is
> simple to use and prints out the reports just as I want them, and the
> customizations took about 10 minutes.
> I would use Access 2007 exclusively were it not for the reluctance of
> several clients to stick with what they already have. In one case, because I
> detect a market beyond his immediate needs, I am proceeding with development
> of a pretty complex app and doing the whole thing in Access 2007. I'm not
> yet done because significant portions, forms and reports mostly, need to be
> re-thought, and I am also a relative newbie to 2007, but I love what I've
> got so far. It leaves the 2003 version of the app way in the cobwebs of
> history. In fact, I'm thinking of redoing another client's app in a similar
> fashion. The Access 2007 run-time works great, as evinced by the T&B app
> that is freely downloadable and includes the run-time so you don't need
> Access 2007 to run it.
> 
> Just my $0.02, but I'm totally in favour of the the migration. I just wish
> that more of my clients were, too. But on the other hand, since by the
> standards of Canadian law, in the absence of a specific clause that declares
> code-ownership to the client, then code ownership falls to the developer, so
> I am free to revise these apps and upgrade them and potentially even re-sell
> them to new clients in the same or similar fields. This is not to say that I
> would cut them out of the pie. I would far prefer to invite them into the
> potential pie, and act as principal beta users and testimonials. All that
> aside, IMO there is no comparison between the Access 2007 versions of
> Northwind or T&B and their dinosaur equivalents in Access 2003.
> 
> And that's my point. All the bad-mouthing about Access 2007 is based on a
> failure to investigate what profound improvements lurk therein. Yes, old
> crusty developers might have to rethink things, but so they should.
> 
> </rant>