[AccessD] Hiding Back End Design

Arthur Fuller artful at rogers.com
Wed Jun 23 10:15:19 CDT 2004


I'm in late on this thread, but it seems to me that this requirement for
a hidden database design should have been in the project specs right
from the start, and that its presence there should have signalled a
warning that Access was the wrong database for this job, and the wrong
front end too. Something like VB with a RAIMA back end would IMO have
been a wiser choice. Of course, if this requirement were not in the
project specs from the beginning, who would know? This is one of those
classic examples of how major changes to the specs introduced late in
the game cost 20 times as much as they would have if introduced early.

On the subject of open-source, way back when in the days of Clipper I
had a company that sold 6 libraries for Clipper developers. We included
all the source code to each of them. Most of the code was in Clipper,
but some was in C and some in assembly language. No doubt some people
did things with it that were not covered in the license, but on the
other hand a small cadre of "believers" formed around us, and some of
them submitted significant enhancements to our original code. We
credited them in the comments on the relevant source files and mentioned
them in the documentation, and sent them an Artful sweatshirt. That was
payment enough for them.

This is hardly the Linux open-source model, I realize. I wish that the
open-source model would "infect" the Windows world more than it has so
far. Access developers are among the most willing to share, I find, but
there is lots of VB and C and C++ code out there too. Most of the time
these free offerings are components or gussied-up controls and so on. It
would be cool, IMO, if it went up a notch, to the application level. For
example, apps vaguely like the application wizard can create in Access.
Unfortunately, most of these wiz-generated demo-apps don't reflect good
design principles, IMO.

While on this subject, does anyone know how to interface with this
wiz-generator? I.e., suppose I want to create (let's keep it simple for
the discussion) a General Ledger app with a Chart of Accounts, General
Journals etc., can I do so in such a way that the wizard will detect its
presence and automatically add it to the list of apps you can generate?

If memory serves, old versions of this wizard offered to populate the
resulting app with sample data, but new versions don't. Anyone have any
idea why this feature was dropped?

Arthur

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of ACTEBS
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 10:20 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: RE: [AccessD] Hiding Back End Design


Gustav,

"Personally, I think the time for proprietary systems has passed -
customers need systems they can drag data from to be used elsewhere."

Never a truer word said. 

With the decision by the Munich government to migrate to Linux, France
looking to do the same and Brazil on the verge, it seems as though the
end is nigh for the proprietary software/business model. 

Hmmm, sorry I went a bit off topic there..... ; )

Rocky - if a cracker wants to crack your software he will. There are
teams of these people out there who see it as a challenge. Why waste
your time?  

Vlad

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Gustav Brock
Sent: Tuesday, 22 June 2004 4:02 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Hiding Back End Design


Hi Rocky

No, you cannot open or attach tables from the BE without the correct
password. But as stated from several already, you can google up at least
three password crackers.

Next step would be Access security as mentioned by Drew, and the next
would be to apply field encryption which is a major step.

By why not turn it completely around: make the design open and
documented as "this is the way to build a database for an application
like this"? Then you are the master and everyone else is the replicant -
following the "Rocky" standard. Personally, I think the time for
proprietary systems has passed - customers need systems they can drag
data from to be used elsewhere.

Also, I really doubt someone can figure out the intelligence of your app
just by watching the table design. One can watch what is going on when
data have been entered or updated but not _how_, and if someone can
figure it out, he will already know how to build a similar app without
knowing your table design.

/gustav


> If I'm reading the help file correctly, encryption does not hide the
> objects, just the data, yes?  I need to hide the design of the back 
> end. Password protection is too weak.  I'll be up against 
> professionals.

> Rocky

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gustav Brock" <gustav at cactus.dk>
> To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" 
> <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
> Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 9:41 AM
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Hiding Back End Design


>> Hi Rocky
>>
>> You can encrypt the database. Not bulletproof, of course, but keeps 
>> the average user away.
>>
>> /gustav
>>
>> > Is there a way to easily hide the back end design?  My distributor 
>> > in
> Taiwan feels that if the back end design is not hidden then the 
> product
can
> be easily knocked off.

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