MsAccess yes or no ?

[INFOS]

Hello,

what do you think generaly about MSaccess as a profesional tool for creating
bussines databases. Most programers underestimate Access giving advantage VSNET. I'm working with MSaccess for 5 years and I think it is great tool for using (simple). Now I'm starting new application and I don't know should I use Access again or try with VSNET or maybe oracle. Access is the fastest way for me to make application, but I'm afraid of behavior of my application in companys with more users.
So far everything was o.k. but my bigest client has 7 users on same database (4 non stop users). Even here they feel that it works pretty slow when more people is working same thing (using same tables).

Also, I must plan my application for maybe 20 users. What is important to say - I have never use SQL as a back-end database. And I have never use real server machine (I use regular pentium IV as a main computer).
Should I suggest my client (with 7 users) to by server (xeon) - would they feel big change? Should I upgrade access database on sql-server? Is there any benefit of SQLserver database without server machine (computer) ? Is there any benefit of Sqlserver database when database is linked to access mdb file and not to adp file?

Thanks!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Down the road, almost any DB will grow past the limits of Access efficiency if allowed to do so. Long-term, SQL Server or ORACLE is probably the way to go. But...

Access is an excellent prototyping tool and also is an excellent interfacing tool. You can use ODBC-type connections between Access and something else (SQL Server, MySQL, ORACLE, etc.) so that your Access forms and reports can be re-used.

Data designs performed in Access can often be transferred either directly or with minimal alteration once you have something working. In particular, if you had already split your DB into a Front-End/Back-End (FE/BE) situation, it would become pretty simple to upgrade the BE from Access to something else and yet retain the FE almost intact.

Not to mention that if you take this route, upgrading to a better DB but keeping the FE intact means less new training expenses for your existing user base.

Therefore: "MsAccess yes or no" - a resounding "Maybe" is still a good answer.

 

[WindSailor]

Here is my 2 cents...

I think that 'Doc' has given great advice...

Access I believe is great for creating fast apps that if you stay within the bounds of the jet engine and everybody is running the same setup, you can create complicated programs, and run relatively error free, provide you do your error coding.

My suggestion is to run test apps on different environments and not just yours, I have seen some stuff that was really hard to explain even though they were identical setups, I believe you had something similar recently.

Other options besides SQL Server and Oracle are...
VistaDB
TurboDB
Valentina

I recently moved to .Net and started database programming part time (hobby, not good enough to do it professionally yet). I think I read a post here stating that Access forms etc. were heavily subclassed... believe it.
I was very critical of what Access couldn't do or had problems with, but until I started programming and doing everything manually, I realized how good Access was in doing things I never thought about.

I guess the bottom line is where do you feel comfortable, where do you want to go, and most of all... how do you want to spend your time...

 

[Pat Hartman]

Designing an application in Access doesn't commit you to Jet forever. Keep in mind that an Access fe can use just about any database on the market for its data. Very few of my applications end up with Jet tables. They are more likely to be Oracle, DB2, or SQL server.

When you design and build an application that has even a small potential for a future upsizing requirement, start from the beginning to make that upsizing problem free. Read the client/server optimization articles in the knowledgebase and MSDN library. Make sure you use properly formed names for columns and tables so the "real" RDBMS will accept them. Changing table and column names is a real pain so prevent the problem from occuring. Make sure that all forms/reports etc are based on queries.

Any database I have ever created can be "upsized" seamlessly by simply deleting the links to the Jet be db and relinking to a different database be it Oracle or DB2. NOTHING in the application needs to change.