[AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL

<<<
The new Office is just not supposed to be a
dev environment any more
>>>
Yes, MS Office(VBA) probably not.
But Visual Studio Tools for Office(VSTO) are very good to develop MS Office
add-ins etc.
And they (VSTO) are getting better with every new version of VS.NET.
Last autumn I did make convertion of several MS Excel VBA add-ins into VSTO
VB.NET MS Excel Add-ins. That wasn't a big challenge.

So I suppose that MS Office Add-ins/third-party Office Automatuon tools will
exist as long as MS Office exists and because MS Office is a "cash cow" for
MS then they promise to exist for a long time...

I guess MS Access Object model will not "die" and it will be supported as
long as new MS Access versions will be released - it shouldn't be a rocket
science programming to write VB.NET/C# code to handle MS Access forms
properties and events in .NET class libraries  - so anybody who has stable
MS Access customers who don't plan to migrate to something else may well
keep developing in MS Access and .NET....

Well, this would be probably not the recommended by MS "mixture" but
possible solution.
Somebody may call it too tricky to be true but it should work...

Shamil

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John W. Colby" <jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com>
To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'"
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL


> I saw a demo of the new beta for Office and it is, shall we say,
distinctly
> developer UNFRIENDLY.  Actively, in-your-face unfriendly.  It is SUPPOSED
to
> be "power user" friendly, although it didn't look particularly friendly at
> all.  A STEEP learning curve because the user interface is just entirely
and
> completely different.
>
> Toolbars are gone (kind of replaced by "ribbons"), menus mostly just cause
> "ribbons" to appear, which take up a lot of screen real estate and are the
> replacement for toolbars.  Code tabs GONE.  You are supposed to do things
> with macros again.  Which are the same old macros of old, no error
handlers
> etc.  Code modules do exist, and can be used, but I never did see how you
> got at them.  Code is just too much for POWER USERS and users are the
focus.
>
> Get out now while the gettin's good.
>
> My personal feeling is that Office as we know it will be around until MS
> pulls the plug on support, just because of the natural resistance of
> companies to change what works.  The new Office is just not supposed to be
a
> dev environment any more.  Too many security problems, plus it always was
a
> clunky mish mash of old technology that MS is trying desperately to
retire.
>
> Just my opinion.
>
> I will continue to support my clients up through 2003, but beyond that my
> services (in Office) are actively discouraged by MS and so I will happily
> move on.  We always were second class citizens, I might as well move on to
> VB.Net and keep my second class citizenship in good standing.  Plus with
the
> emphasis on the web, distributed this-n-that and data everywhere, ASP.Net,
> VB.net and SQL Server is a powerful environment.  IMHO, nothing will ever
> again match the RAD capabilities of Access for database (specifically)
> application development but once I get up to speed in DotNet I will be in
> the same league (in some ways) and waaaaaay more capable in many others,
so
> it will be a good tradeoff.
>
> John W. Colby
> www.ColbyConsulting.com
>
> Contribute your unused CPU cycles to a good cause:
> http://folding.stanford.edu/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Martin Reid
> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 2:55 PM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] The future of Access, .NET and SQL
>
>
> All I can pass on is what I hear and pick up from the web. Personally I
> think they will make a hugh push towards SharePoint technologies with the
> new release of Office and that seems to be the direction they are heading
in
>
> talks we have been having with them re projects in the University. On the
> Access front I think MS focus is on .NET and XML as data the data stores
but
>
> thats my own opinion. RE JET I did hear sometime ago that it would no
londer
>
> be developed but as John says I am sure it wil remain about. I did also
hear
>
> the new engine woudl work with JET.
>
> I do know that when the Access dev team reps where in the UK they didnt
want
>
> to meet developers but wanted to meet with users. Now that I do know and
> have an email about somewhere that says that. Maybe that sort of sums up
> what they think.
>
>
> Martin
>
>
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