Backend Access database on OneDrive - Can this be done

[AccessBlaster]

Probably used to it, been a member since 2014.

 

[561414]

@KitaYama
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate you took the time to check the sample and I'm glad you found it useful. Your IT department knows about their constraints and that's a good thing, but I would like to point out that Access is guilty of a lot of these:

• Risk in Sustainability *
• You don’t own the content
• Reputable brands do not guarantee anything *
• Lack of Support and Accountability *
• Can be difficult to transfer elsewhere *
• More chances of losing your data *******
• Lack of warranty. *
• Developer Loses Interest *
• Intellectual Property Right Issues
• Integration Challenges *
• Integration and cross-platform support *******

Even though I've used the free tier of Firebase for a while, it has not failed me once so far and with one click you can export your entire JSON tree and import it somewhere else the same way. I will mention a few drawbacks of this methodology in the thread that I make about it, but they're drawbacks for their internet nature, things usually are a little more complex than we think when it comes to web availability.

@isladogs
That quoted comment is missing the smiley face, but yes, that's me. I need to change my username here, I'll see if it's possible. By the way, I'm actually in favor of change when change is necessary, this thread is proof of that, so I'm not sure why my responses are being perceived as dogmatic. Actually, I perceive others' responses more dogmatic as they only focused on the "free software" part of my initial post and disqualified the alternative entirely without consideration of the several times I've said it's a free-tier, part of a broader kind of service, not a free service alone. But let's not focus on me, let's focus on having a better alternative for web availability, shall we? By the way, I respect your style a lot, very similar to the Doc, I wish all threads had a respectful moderation like that.


@GPGeorge , @AccessBlaster
I'll make a dedicated thread about the alternative. But I anticipate that the alternative does not use ODBC and Firebase is not intended to be exclusively for Access developers, far from that, the target customers of the service are web developers with requirements of all sizes, but I can make a thread that looks like it's for Access developers. The adaptation presented in this thread can be translated to any other platform that can perform http requests, so that goes for a lot of other products or platforms.

 

[GPGeorge]

Thank you. I will anticipate your findings.

But I anticipate that it does not use ODBC and it's not intended to be exclusively for Access developers, far from that, the target customers of this are web developers. So the adaptation presented can be translated to any other platform that can perform http requests.

I hope it doesn't turn out to be exclusively http requests, because that goes back to the point of requiring a lot of rewrite to make it work from a desktop application like Access.

On the other hand, Access can be programmed to use APIs for web related tasks, so it's not out of the question.

 

[561414]

Thank you. I will anticipate your findings.

I hope it doesn't turn out to be exclusively http requests, because that goes back to the point of requiring a lot of rewrite to make it work from a desktop application like Access.

On the other hand, Access can be programmed to use APIs for web related tasks, so it's not out of the question.

Well, I'll see what I can come up with in this format, most part of the thread should be about how the REST API of Firebase expects you to make our HTTP requests. The whole strategy is
1. Make HTTP Requests, like "create http object, send request, receive response", that's like three lines of code
2. Convert the response (using a handy module), another line
3. Use the response in a form, regular vba code for forms, mainly loops traversing the json object and processing the strings

 

[GPGeorge]

That's exactly what JuanJo describes in his presentation to our user group.
He includes the GitHub where the relevant VBA and JSON parser are located.

 

[561414]

I'm sorry, George, I've been doing some plumbing this weekend, so I can't really watch the entire video. I did watch some snippets, but if what I said in conjunction to what you said aligns with what's covered in the video then I'm afraid it's that trivial. No fancy stuff, just basic REST API. There's the NoSQL aspect to it, so I think other Access developers could give it a try anyway, given that it's gaining a lot of popularity.

 

[omar.aslaoui]

I am currently building a small application to create quotes for customers. I have place all of the data in a separate linked backend Access database containing several tables with the sales data, customer data and supplier data as well as some very small lookup tables. There will be a maximum of 3 users running a copy of the front end on their own computers.

They want to be able to use the application when they are working from home but they don't currently have a server that they can access so I was thinking of putting the backend in OneDrive and linking the application to that.

Can this be done and if not are there any other options that would work which would allow them to use the application both in the work place as well as at home?

What you want is a LAN that is simulated in a WAN (the internet). You can do that with Radmin VPN . You keep control of your data in a server in your LAN with rapid (fiber ?) connection to the internet, Radmin operate at 100MB/S . No need to change your access app. FE to the workstations (Local & remote) BE on a server with fast connection.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The U.S. Navy set things up this way for our take-home laptops. While a VPN over a WAN does, in fact, work fairly well, it still suffers from the same problems that any WAN connection suffers. If the WAN connection drops long enough (and WAN connections CAN do that), the virtual connection also drops due to a time-out. It IS a game of probabilities. If a WAN were stable enough you wouldn't need a VPN. If the WAN is extremely unstable, the VPN won't remain connected. So I'm not saying it can't work... but caution is advised in any solution using a WAN.

 

[GPGeorge]

I'm sorry, George, I've been doing some plumbing this weekend, so I can't really watch the entire video. I did watch some snippets, but if what I said in conjunction to what you said aligns with what's covered in the video then I'm afraid it's that trivial. No fancy stuff, just basic REST API. There's the NoSQL aspect to it, so I think other Access developers could give it a try anyway, given that it's gaining a lot of popularity.

For those who regularly work with web APIs, it might seem trivial. That's kind of my point, though. If you have not used REST and APIs in a web environment, converting a department level application might not seem trivial at all. I agree it's worth exploring; I wouldn't put it on the same row as splitting an accdb and putting the back end on a LAN, at least not yet.

Is Firebase a NoSQL database?

 

[561414]

For those who regularly work with web APIs, it might seem trivial. That's kind of my point, though. If you have not used REST and APIs in a web environment, converting a department level application might not seem trivial at all. I agree it's worth exploring; I wouldn't put it on the same row as splitting an accdb and putting the back end on a LAN, at least not yet.

Is Firebase a NoSQL database?

Yeah, it's different from splitting an accdb and putting the BE on a LAN, which is extremely easy to do. But since such a simple method for web accessibility does not exist, alternatives must be used. I assume Microsoft's alternative is to make us migrate to Azure or their other products in exchange for a sum of money, but there are ways to avoid paying when the amount of data you use is <1GB. 1GB of data is considerably large, so most developers should be safe with that.

A "Firebase Realtime Database" is a NoSQL database. They also have other services, but the REST API used here is from the Realtime Database service. We have been using the term "Firebase" interchangeably here, but I have been referring to only that part of the service in particular.

 

[amorosik]

@561414 your suggested solution seemed very intersting to me. I sent a mail to our IT team and the developers who work on our databases, explained your suggestion and also a link to this thread.
They replied me with only one sentence.

"Can you guarantee they are continuing this service next year too?"

It is very simple to answer this question
"No"
"As with ANY other programs you have on your servers that are running business right now"

 

[KitaYama]

"As with ANY other programs you have on your servers that are running business right now"

It's very interesting. What do you know about which programs we are using?
Give me an example. Give me the name of one the programs we are using and may not be available the next year.
I will send your answer to our IT.

By the way, you missed the second part of that post where I explained the actual reasons I was given.

 

[amorosik]

It's very interesting. What do you know about which programs we are using?
Give me an example. Give me the name of one the programs we are using and may not be available the next year.
I will send your answer to our IT.

By the way, you missed the second part of that post where I explained the actual reasons I was given.

We can start with the operating system
And continue with all other programs
Whether you have a closed source operating system, whether you have an open source operating system, or whether you have specially trained personnel to provide adequate maintenance, there is no one who can guarantee that any problem can be 'repaired' ' quickly
What you can do are only two things:
- try to minimize problems in case a disastrous event could happ, with correct security policies
- take out an insurance policy that compensates for any damages caused by the problems that the system could generate
The real problem is that you are looking for a future 'guarantee' that a certain event cannot happen
And this thing there is no human being that can give it to you

What I meant initially is that the question asked "Can you GUARANTEE they are continuing this service next year too?" is a meaningless question

 

[KitaYama]

We can start with the operating system ................
What I meant initially is that the question asked "Can you GUARANTEE they are continuing this service next year too?" is a meaningless question

We have paid for the OS. We have Our DVDs. And as long as we decide to use it we CAN use it. It's not something to be ended or discontinued. The support may be ended, but as long as we decide, we are allowed to use it. And even if the life time of the OS is finished, it doesn't mean we are not allowed to use it. Or it doesn't work anymore. We are NOT left in a desert alone and all the company doesn't stop. We have enough time to change our platform (Which was another point given and you really missed it)
The life cycle of an OS only means we don't receive updates. Not we can't use it.
So it's GUARANTEED that the next year and the next one and another century or up to anytime to use our property.

You're talking about problems won't be repaired quickly. Which doesn't concern the sustainability of the service.
I really don't understand your logic and all other un-related points you're trying to tell me.
You can follow your rules, and I will follow our IT's decision. (Even if you think it's meaningless or stupid)
Let's drop the case here. We're hi-jacking the thread.
Thanks for your comment and My apologies to OP for going off road.

 

[amorosik]

It's not something to be ended or discontinued

What ???
The only thing you can do is change the operating system to one that works correctly
If the manufacturer of that system decides you can't use it, there's really nothing you can do to keep using it
Whether you own your nice DVD or you paid to be able to use that operating system

"So it's GUARANTEED.." i'm sorry, but this is only your illusion