[Hidden-tech] Access and Mac access

[Graham Ridley]

Hi,

I feel compelled to respond to this criticism of MS Access.

I'm no apologist for the shortcomings of Microsoft or Access, and I make
liberal use of open-source software when it's appropriate. As a PC person, I
can't comment with authority on the use of Access with Macs, and the
JDBC/Firebird recommendation may be a good one.

I've been working with Access since the '97 version. In that time, I've
encountered lots of Access applications, built by professionals and
non-professionals, that were very flawed in both design and implementation,
and this did result in corruption and other problems. There are definitely
some issues there, but I have found that when properly built and installed,
an Access database can work great for years on end with minor periodic
maintenance.

For non-professionals, the main strength of Access is that it's a database
with query, form design, and reporting all built-in and relatively easy to
learn and use. For an individual or company with little or no money to spend
on a professional developer or database administrator, Access provides the
ability to build something very useful in a short amount of time on a
relatively small budget. As a professional, the ability to leverage the
built-in Visual Basic for Applications language makes Access an extremely
powerful tool for building real applications. Most of the open source
databases will store and serve data very well, but you still need to build a
user-friendly interface, and most don't include the tools for form-building
and reporting. I find that most of these options require more expertise than
the end-users have. For a client with big goals and lots of money to spend
on development, I may not recommend Access, but in many cases it is one of
the best options.

Thanks,
Graham

Graham Ridley
Clarity Data Services



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Major" <greg.major at comcast.net>
To: "Greg Caulton" <greg at stayintouch.org>
Cc: "Hidden Tech" <Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 4:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Access and Mac access


>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's
area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I suggest that you go with any database that has a level 4 JDBC driver
> and then use the openoffice interface to develop your forms and reports.
> Database administrators, myself included, consider Access and MS
> SqlServer the worst products in the DBMS world and most of the free open
> source solutions (firebird, postgresql, mysql, etc) are light years
> better then them. Access constantly corrupts and Sql Server is just slow
> and a bear to manage and administer. The, by using openoffice, you can
> develop the forms and reports you need that will work on almost all
> platforms.
>
> This solutions also has the added benefit of being completely free.
>
> Now, depending upon the database demands and the fact that you are
> considering Access tells me that you should use Firebird. A dbms I have
> been using for many years and am constantly shipping product on.
> Originally from borland as interbase this product is a diamond in the
> rough. It is easy to install, manage, and backup. Unlike most dbms' out
> there, the longer it runs the better it runs, and it self compacts so
> your administrator doesn't have to touch it. The database, its drivers,
> and other software for this database can be found at
> http://www.firebirdsql.org.
>
> Good luck and I hope this helps.
> Greg
>
> Greg Caulton wrote:
> >   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's
> > area.
> >   ** If you did, we all thank you.
> >
> >
> > Hi All!
> >
> > The client I'm consulting with (on studio management) is planning an
> > MS Access product-line database that he wants our Mac equipped studio
> > to interact with.
> >
> > Has anyone on the list dealt with a similar issue?
> >
> > Or does anyone have an alternate PC/Mac db solution that they feel
> > might appeal to a Windows IT specialist who has a lot of Access
> > experience? He has already ruled our FileMaker because of a bad
> > experience several (many?) years ago. So FM would be a difficult sell.
> >
> > Anyhow, I'd value your thoughts.
> >
> > Greg
> > __________________
> > Greg Caulton
> > 233 West Pelham Road
> > Shutesbury, MA 01072
> >
> > Ph: 413-259-1505
> > Cell: 413-695-3361
> >
> >
> >
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