[AccessD] Future of Access?

Hi Chris

If you are thinking of keeping the same app and database engine alive
for 30 years I would go for Java and Oracle or DB2. Microsoft is indeed
unpredictable for a time span of this size.

However, you don't tell anything about the requirements, the amount of
data, number of users or the complexity of the app. Nothing widely
used - be it a programming language or a database format - disappears
in a year; a dBase III or Paradox I application will run today which
will have left you with at least five years considering how to port
such an app to a present system.

/gustav


> I'm in the process of putting together a document for my company. We are
> bidding for a contract that will last for at least 30 years. I'm proposing
> the use of an existing database created using A97 to manage one aspect of
> this contract. I suspect that Access 97 will not be supported (or indeed
> supportable) come 2033. I need to put in some upgrade path. I'm thinking
> along the lines of:

> A97 upgrade to A2k in the next few years.
> A2k to SQL(?) in 2005
> Then what?

> Anyone got a hotline to the future?

> Is SAP going to be the next big thing or .NET or XML or....?

> Any comments gratefully received.

> I appreciate that predicting the death of Access on databaseadvisors.com is
> a bit OT >;O