Martin Reid
mwp.reid at qub.ac.uk
Thu Nov 20 02:54:25 CST 2003
Disclaimer This is a personal reply to me and NOT an OFFICIAL Microsoft Response <quote> I try to dispel the marketing hype around InfoPath for the Access developer. I've yet to see an InfoPath scenario that couldn't be solved quicker with Access 2003 and its new XML features. If you are not familiar with relational databases and tools like Access, then InfoPath is a tool to consider if your business is starting to adopt XML as a transport mechanism between business processes. If you live in a world of ODBC and OLEDB for moving data within your organization - and it's working - why mess with a good thing. On the other hand, if you are struggling with ways to send that data through your firewall to your business partners/customers, XML works really well, because text doesn't get hung up in the process. With that said, Access is an excellent tool for exporting relational data as XML and importing XML from other sources.