[AccessD] AccessD never changes

Arthur Fuller fuller.artful at gmail.com
Fri Feb 22 14:48:15 CST 2013


Just a thought...

Since most of us have either migrated to another platform, or are clinging
to Access, or are interested in possible migration-paths, we ought to
direct such thoughts to our dbaTech group, and see after a while what
"groups of thought" emerge.

Speaking only about myself, and not intending in any way to impose my
current interests upon the direction of our beloved groups, I can
comfortably say this:

a) I am still very interested in Access, but recently in its use as an FE
to MySQL BEs.
b) JavaScript and its children are a principal focus of my attention.
c) I am enamoured of Alpha Five, in large part due to its ability to
deliver cross-platform apps that run on native web, tablets and
smart-phones. In that respect, Access is sadly way behind the 8-ball.
d) Lately I have been converting lots of my Access apps to address MySQL as
the BE rather than Access or MySQL. There are two main reasons for this: a)
MySQL is not limited in any way (granted, the new expansion of MS SQL
Express to 10 GB from 2 GB is significant, but a MySQL is unlimited).
e) I'm sensing a lot of restlessness in our Access list.

I do not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I am also very
aware of the huge leaps that Alpha Five has taken over all the current
Access versions, and I for one am in transition-mode: I know that A5 is way
superior, but as yet I'm not expert in its use, so thus far I'm continuing
to prototype in Access, then port the results to Alpha Five. I deem this
product far superior to Access in just about every possible way, but the
fact is that I'm still learning their programming language and I'm expert
in VBA, so my tendency is to prototype in Access, where I know what I'm
doing, and then port that to A5, where I'm not quite a Virgin but not
a Trollop either. For advanced coding, there are hurdles to overcome.

I am privately working on an Access-to-A5 form-conversion utility; this is
slow-going. My apps tend not to be trivial like Northwind, but rather
involve a few hundred tables and (if it's a SQL or MySQL back end) a few
thousand sprocs. So the conversion is non-trivial, but that's the sort of
challenge I like.

Excuse that aside. What I meant to say is this:

1) No matter how long I live, I shall still continue to use Access.
2) Access cannot deliver a large number of things the contemporary
environment requires (such as apps for web, tablet, smart-phone, and who
knows what the next platform will be?).
3) Every single hour that I invest in learning Alpha Five, I feel is an
hour well-invested. First of all, it's a superior product. Second, even if
the co-CEOs of Alpha Five make radically bad decisions, learning Alpha Five
involves learning all the languages it supports -- JavaScript, HTML 5,
JSON, jQuery and so on. Therefore, every investment you make in these
supported  languages shall be useful, even in the unlikely event that Alpha
Five dies -- which I doubt, to the max! I think these folks have their
finger on the pulse of RAD development for the new universe -- phones,
tablets and traditional web browsers.

What I have learned from importing existing apps is that some of them work
beautifully on tablets and phones, and some do not. What I find absent (and
perhaps it's already there and I have missed it) is smart-recognition of
the data-type of any given field in any given form:

In any given date-time field, I want an automatic calendar to appear. This
is a cinch in Access.
In any given lookup column, I want an automatic dropdown to appear, with
the ability to add a new item to said lookup table.


On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 12:39 PM, Jim Lawrence <accessd at shaw.ca> wrote:

> Hi Kenneth:
>
> When it comes to Access there are people here who could answer any question
> about the product from now going back 10 to 15 years...but few are asking
> as
> there are few clients using it. That's a fact. Many here are now working in
> newer computer disciplines.
>
> As to your assertion of not filling a niche, there is no niche to fill. If
> you making your living with MS Access; you are part of a rare breed.
>
> So in conclusion: "There is still a viable niche for Access support"...no
> there is not. "We are doing a crap-ass job of filling that niche"...what
> niche...it is a dimple not a niche.
>
> Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Kenneth Ismert
> Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 3:24 PM
> To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] AccessD never changes
>
> >
> > Jim Lawrence:
> >
> > Hardly depressing...that's life.
> >
>
> Jim,
>
> You miss the point. What is depressing is that we claim to fill a niche,
> namely advice and support for Access.
>
> And it seems, from this discussion, that we do a worse job of filling that
> niche than nearly anybody else.
>
> Can anybody name even one aspect of our group that is leading the pack?
> Number of posts, topicality, new members, search engine visibility? I dare
> say not one.
>
> I would even say we are not even in the middle of the pack for any measure
> you would care to name. The strongest point we have, expertise, is surely
> eclipsed by any of the much more lively groups mentioned in this
> discussion.
>
> And what is the point of expertise, if there is audience to benefit from
> it?
>
> Whine and moan all you want about the state of Access, but there are two
> undeniable points:
>
> 1. There is still a viable niche for Access support
> 2. We are doing a crap-ass job of filling that niche
>
> -Ken
> --
> 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
>



-- 
Arthur
Cell: 647.710.1314

Prediction is difficult, especially of the future.
  -- Niels Bohr


More information about the AccessD mailing list