[AccessD] ACCESS Left Behind

Hey Arthur
Before I became a strong proponent of ACCESS I developed applications in
many database languages (some were excellent but some dissolved due to
competition/marketing).  I do not believe there is any RAD package out
there, it all takes time and learning to become proficient using a product,
To be honest SQL Server Express turned me off.  Just my opinion.  No
argument here, each to his own.

Tony Septav
Nanaimo, BC
Canada

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller
Sent: January-22-15 1:13 PM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] ACCESS Left Behind

Tony,

I must admit that I'm a tad surprised by your take on SQL Server Express.
Whenever I work in Access, which is increasingly rare I admit, having bit
the Alpha bullet, I virtually never use Access as the Back End. And
curiously, I've made that choice for what seem to be the same reasons that
you dislike SQL Express. In brief, my take is this:

1. "Everything the Back End can do, the Back End should do." That's my
mantra, and it means that I use Views and Stored Procedures extensively.
Performance is vastly better because all the heavy lifting is done on the
Back End. In the case of a Back End residing on a server, the difference in
performance can be dramatic; left to its own devices, Access handles
queries and filters by piping all the data from server to client, then
applying the filter and sort order and Where criteria locally. SQL Express
does all that work on the server, sending only the final resultset to the
client.
2. As opposed to Access, which offers a single Relationships window, in SQL
Express you can design several database diagrams, each of whose focus is
some part of the database. The AdventureWorks sample database is a superb
example of this. A single Relationships window would be overwhelming.
Dividing into up into several windows lets you focus on the parts (Sales,
Production etc.) of immediate interest, without all the clutter.
3. Security is a dream, and rock solid. You can create groups of users, and
assign users to one or more groups, to automatically "inherit" the
privileges assigned to the given group(s)
4. SQL Express is free, and will work fine with databases up to 10 GB in
size. For clients who go beyond that but shy away from the licensing costs
of standard SQL Server, there's always MySQL or its drop-in replacement
Maria DB, both of which are free. In addition, there are tools available to
port the data from SQL Express to MySQL and/or Maria DB.

I don't think that any of these reasons place me in the Ferrari camp of
database developers. But except for a very quick and dirty app, or a
testbed where I can try out an idea, I see no point in using Access as the
Back End for any halfway-serious project.

Arthur

On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 1:23 PM, Tony Septav <TSeptav at uniserve.com> wrote:

> Hey Susan
> I am not an expert, there are way to many individuals on this list that
> totally amaze me with their vast incredible knowledge. I will be honest
> reading some of their comments really does humble me. I am a straight
> shooter get the job done and get it done right, no excuses. I spent 2
> months
> (I know many will say I did give it a chance) working with SQL Server
> Express (and getting it to work and do what I wanted) but I just found
> there
> were to many rules and hoops you had to jump through to get things to work
> properly.  I quess I am a kind of VolksWagen programmer not a Ferrari
> programmer. Give me the tools and let me perform the magic in my head.
>
> Great Jawing with you again.
> Tony Septav
> Nanaimo, BC
> Canada
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