Jim Dettman
jimdettman at earthlink.net
Tue Sep 27 10:51:25 CDT 2005
Shamil, I think it's a little more then we've seen in the past; their saying they can make additions to the VBA project and the current MDE via the use of macros (which to me doesn't sound like their doing anything special at all). As a result, the truth may be a different matter. Jim. -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of Shamil Salakhetdinov Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 11:05 AM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: Re: [AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL > Maybe all code was > destined to be open source. They can only "unlock" forms' and reports' designs. They can't crack the code. Serge Gavrilov a long ago published similar utility for free. A while ago I helped here somebody to get their reports' designs out of .mde. I didn't know that time Serge Gavlilov's utility and I still don't know how Serge Gavrilov and romanian guys get .mde unlocked - I have heard that just one bit have to be patched or something like that. What I did when I helped to get designs out of .mde was just connection to a running MS Access app using Automation and getting all designs into a new database. This is possible since MS Access 95 I think. The similar things can be done with ordinary MS Windows, COM and .NET apps using .DLL injection techniques. All that is well known but have you seen a lot of apps "cracked" this way? > There are obfuscating tools available I think that these obfuscating tools are really good even relatively cheap ones. I used one of them - Xenocode - http://www.xenocode.com - even its standard edition for USD99 looks good enough to well protect the code. IMO to reverse engineer a well obfuscated code is a task comparable with developing similar code from scratch. Shamil ----- Original Message ----- From: "Boogie Loogie" <boogieloogie at gmail.com> To: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving" <accessd at databaseadvisors.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 5:56 PM Subject: Re: [AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL > I have been learning dot.net <http://dot.net> for some time now. It is more > powerful with respect to developing applications for a Pocket PC. However > the one BIG BIG drawback to Vb.Net I have just learned, is that your source > code is not safe. VB.Net compiled apps can be decompiled with inexpensive > third party software. There are obfuscating tools available but as quickly > as new one comes out a decompiler comes out saying it can crack it. > > SO...I hold Microsoft responsible for this. If they can not protect my > intellectual property with their development software then I think they > would/should be held libel in a civil court. > > I was about to say 'If there is a third party app that can crack a .mde file > I do not know of it, so Access wins with respect to that.' but then I found > http://www.adresa.ro/QSDET1709.htm so this really sucks. Maybe all code was > destined to be open source. > > BL > > On 9/27/05, Jim Lawrence <accessd at shaw.ca> wrote: > > > > Hi Arthur: > > > > Most of the work I have done for the last eight years has been with Access > > and MS SQL or an Oracle BE. I think that is where most of the Access > > developers have been migrating. It is a great presentation tool and it > > will > > be a long while before its functionality is surpassed. > > > > On the other Hand, everything is moving towards the web with the next > > version of ADO.Net 2 being very much a RAD type program, standards like > > XML > > becoming common and SQL databases everywhere and getting cheaper. Throw > > SQL > > Reporter into the mix and maybe that is the future of development. > > > > Maybe we are just getting old Arthur?? > > > > Jim > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller > > Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 11:05 PM > > To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' > > Subject: [AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL > > > > Frankly I would say that MS (the company) has never regarded Access as a > > serious development tool... this despite the efforts of the Access > > development team to make it one. > > The bottom line (of principal interest to MS) is that Access ships with > > Office, and despite the developer's kits, they always have and always will > > regard it as a toy, as compared (in various eras) with VB, VC, .NET et. > > al. > > We are the underground. We like RAD development and the Access developme nt > > team keeps helping us do it. But it is not in the commercial interests of > > MS > > either to provide a genuine compiler or to provide a .NET porter. > > I deeply admire the Access development team (knowing none of them > > personally). My take is that they fight an uphill battle to keep this > > product in contention; but MS the corporation is much more interested in > > the > > money it can make from .NET software, seminars, books etc. > > This is not to slag .NET either. It is a high-quality product and it can > > do > > things Access developers only dream of. But that is the dividing line. > > There > > will never be an MS-authored Access compiler, nor a tool to port Access > > apps > > to .NET. MS is in exactly the same position as Ashton-Tate was, so long > > ago, > > when my friend Brian Russell had a vision that led to Clipper, which > > revolutionized the dBASE marketplace back then. There seems to be no one > > to > > step up to the plate and provide an Access-compiler nor an Access->.NET > > converter, so here we are, not quite orphaned, and certainly not abandoned > > by the Access dev team (mucho kudos to them), but we are not in the MS > > mainstream. > > The greatest thing the Access dev team has achieved so far, IMO, is the > > ADP > > project format, which can speak directly to SQL. I don't know how long > > this > > will live. I hope for a long time. But I cannot help but think that inside > > Microsoft, various powers think of this as heresy, and tolerate it the > > same > > way they tolerate FoxPro. Funding will continue, but minimally. (This is > > pure conjecture; I don't know a soul within MS in any position of power or > > influence, so take my words as pure conjecture from a recipient of their > > software and nothing more.) > > I am slowly learning .NET. Only because the market seems certain to go > > that > > way. I would much prefer to stay with Access, and receive a compiler that > > delivers EXEs rather than the current run-time solutions, but I don't see > > that in the cards, nor see a third party with the skills to bring it to > > the > > table. So here I am, relatively expert at Access, an amateur at .NET, and > > thinking more and more and more that I should just concentrate on my real > > expertise and become a SQL Server DBA, and to hell with the application > > side > > of things. > > Perhaps I am just depressed this evening :) > > Arthur > > > > -- > > AccessD mailing list > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > > -- > > AccessD mailing list > > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > > -- > AccessD mailing list > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com