Is any one using MS Access?
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
Yes, and Access can work quite well in small office settings. Many things work very well, but it also does have downsides (particularly handling memo fields). It you need a lot of control over keyed inputs for forms, etc., it is going to be more difficult to accomplish with access as a front-end, but most items can be done fairly quickly and work quite well.
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
I am a developer of business applications with MS Access version (97) for small businesses and professional firms. Develop programs with MsAccess is a guaranteed investment over time. The programs were converted in later versions of MsAccess (2000/2003/2010/2013) with SO Xp. Win 7, Win 8 and finally with Win 10. Queries, Forms, Reports and VBA are more than enough to satisfy monoutenze and multiuser with 10 users. With accesshosting.com also work remotely.
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
Yup. I made over $200k last year developing in MS Access. And in ever case, it was just the right tool. If you are good at it, it's a great product. Not without flaws like every tool, and limiting compared to some, of course. But if used in the right situation by someone that knows what they are doing, it's simply a great tool. I build complex applications that save tremendous amounts of time. Multi user environments are just fine. Lots of data. Lots of calculations and automation. Like anything, it sucks in the wrong hands.
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
You will find that MS Access is used widely in banks and trading companies. They use it because it is a great tool, along with Excel for modelling and reporting data sets from a wide range of sources such as SAP, Endur, Reuters, Bloomberg, Oracle, SQL Server and so on. Up-to Access 2010 Microsoft had a great feature where you could remove the Jet database engine and replace it with SQL Server (this was called Microsoft Access Project). This would provide you with the enterprise features, security and scalability, of SQL Server with forms and reports built in. I use this feature a lot. My current project at a global trading firm is for a price risk tool that is used globally with 200+ users, hundreds of millions of records and is used to make mulit-million dollar decisions. The forms and reports editor in Access is still a league ahead of the clunky tools available in .NET for desktop applications, although Access does lack all the fancy 3rd party add-in's you can get for .NET. Unfortunately Microsoft has neglected the tool over the years and the last good version of the tool was MS Access 2010. I know VBA gets a bad rap as a programming language as there are a lot of bad Access databases out there but it is actually quite powerful when used correctly. You can write bad applications in any language - i have seen enough poorly written C# applications over the years. Also the best thing about MS Access development is the pay - it is at least 50-100% higher then the top rated day rates you can get with any other programming tool available. You do need to have a trading background though to understand the models - it is that knowledge you are getting paid for, rather then your skill with VBA
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You will find that MS Access is used widely in banks and trading companies. They use it because it is a great tool, along with Excel for modelling and reporting data sets from a wide range of sources such as SAP, Endur, Reuters, Bloomberg, Oracle, SQL Server and so on. Up-to Access 2010 Microsoft had a great feature where you could remove the Jet database engine and replace it with SQL Server (this was called Microsoft Access Project). This would provide you with the enterprise features, security and scalability, of SQL Server with forms and reports built in. I use this feature a lot. My current project at a global trading firm is for a price risk tool that is used globally with 200+ users, hundreds of millions of records and is used to make mulit-million dollar decisions. The forms and reports editor in Access is still a league ahead of the clunky tools available in .NET for desktop applications, although Access does lack all the fancy 3rd party add-in's you can get for .NET. Unfortunately Microsoft has neglected the tool over the years and the last good version of the tool was MS Access 2010. I know VBA gets a bad rap as a programming language as there are a lot of bad Access databases out there but it is actually quite powerful when used correctly. You can write bad applications in any language - i have seen enough poorly written C# applications over the years. Also the best thing about MS Access development is the pay - it is at least 50-100% higher then the top rated day rates you can get with any other programming tool available. You do need to have a trading background though to understand the models - it is that knowledge you are getting paid for, rather then your skill with VBA
Good to here for everyone, sounds like its still very much alive and I didn't know, which is why I asked the question. I was always led to believe that access was 'evil' and something for hobby use only, So I never got involved. Your right, you can use any language to write bad code/projects. I think its time we had a survey!! Top 10? but which ones, I'm sure this will divide the community, and possible the world ;)
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
Yes, it is used... actually quite a bit. Generally, not by developers, but by users. It is used in commercial software (e.g. gINT) Should you use it? Probably not. Should gINT use it? Probably not. When should you use it? If you have to give a database to a non-programmer who has Access installed on their machine or some other rare use case where is makes sense. I've actually use (yes present tense) an Access front end to process some SQLite files and it does what I need no fuss no muss.
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Professionally I use SQL Express, LocalDB and MySQL and couldn't think of any reason to use Access. Just though it was a hang over from another era, and looking at the comments, looks like it is. So why is it still shipped? MS has dropped other technologies over the years? I guess it still has a large user base
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
I have seen in use by businesses that have poor IT skills and got sold incredibly expensive applications biult with Access. Please, DON'T use it or recommend it. There are lots of free tools that do much more and are better supported.
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
We're still using it, although after the best part of a year of inexplicable crashes and corruption errors we're in the process of replacing our main database for another one. There's still loads of cheap crappy databases floating about though (some of which are now also developing random bugs even though the source code hasn't changed in months.) I'd agree with others that it has its place, but its place isn't in a corporate environment. As a rule, it only ever seems to be used in a multi-user setting out of either necessity or cost. Avoid in all other cases.
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It is poison, don't use it, we have so many application written by a lousy programmer in MS Access that i just can tell you STAHP, don't even think about it. Although for home DB stuff where you like to do things clicky shiny fast you might peek into it :)
if(this.signature != "")
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MessageBox.Show("This is my signature: " + Environment.NewLine + signature);
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else
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}Programming a large application in Access is really difficult. But MS lets people get started with Access with no programming knowledge threshold. Access works if you know how to make it work - but people with the skills to do that are programming something else.
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SPoss wrote:
Does anyone use it?
Yes.
SPoss wrote:
What for?
Gods know.
SPoss wrote:
I've never used it.
SPoss wrote:
and should I?
No, if you're sane and have a good karma. It should be a local DBMS, it is... we never discovered.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
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The code I'm working with is 15 years old and we are using an MDB file, compatible only with Access 97. We really don't have the time to change DB format but it's in the TODO... It corrupts. Alone. With a single user. And a fixed set of instructions...
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
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Access is a database system - and yes, it's still used. Should you? Probably not. It's not a bad DB system, and for a single user it works fine, the management system isn't bad, and it's easy to work with from your code. But...as soon as you move to a multi user environment, it all turns to poo. Personally, I paid for it as part of Office, but I don't use it - I use SQL Server instead, even for "private" single user (i.e. me) applications. Internally, it uses the same files as Access, but it wraps it in a layer of comforting security.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
I've made four highly multi-user applications with Access, three now in use at manufacturing companies. The multi-user part is a challenge. I set these up so that each user gets their own appplication file on their client PC connected to the data file on the server. I've also made an auto-updater file that automatically updates the client PC with the latest files each time the user logs in.
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My dad uses it. He worked for many years as a VAT Inspector before becoming an internal auditor for Customs & Excise. This made him a very boring man. He has a number of Access DBs he has created on his laptop to store his stuff on. It is perfect for that.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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I was going to say, why don't they use locaDB/sqlexpress instead, but thinking about it, if your in Africa etc, and you're an end user (not a developer), and you have need for a DB, what options do you have? I had a very quick look at access this morning, it does seem to come with ready made templates that an end user could quickly get setup and use. I'm not about to start using it!! :) But for non developer/end users that want a simple DB, what other options do they have? Search for an app already made for the job. As an example, I've just googled 'CD Database software' ... and there where lots of hits
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I have a difficult time imagining that a developer has no idea what Access is. Perhaps I missed the sarcasm? Since you already have it installed, I'd suggest that you try it and decide for yourself if it might be useful to you...it won't cost you a thing. That said, I use Access 2003 almost every day. Why? Two words: Query Designer :)
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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We're still using it, although after the best part of a year of inexplicable crashes and corruption errors we're in the process of replacing our main database for another one. There's still loads of cheap crappy databases floating about though (some of which are now also developing random bugs even though the source code hasn't changed in months.) I'd agree with others that it has its place, but its place isn't in a corporate environment. As a rule, it only ever seems to be used in a multi-user setting out of either necessity or cost. Avoid in all other cases.
I think most issues with Access come from inexperienced developers and a fussy user base. It's easy enough to build some simple things in Access and so people with limited knowledge think they can build high level tools. Those people are dangerous. Again - the problem is with who is developing, not the tool itself. If you know what Access is and you know how to design a proper UI and database, as well as code, then there is nothing that can match the ease and cost efficiency. I make a living at Access development and I have hundreds of applications in use. Many mutli-user environments. Many with massive amounts of data (though the bigger data sets use a SQL back end), and my user base is happy as can be. I can do more in .net, obviously, but the infrastructure is much more expensive. If you have an application that does not need to be online (forms-wise), Access is the cheapest, fastest way to go. And in the right hands, at least as powerful. People should stop blaming Access for the crappy skills of many of the people that try to develop in it.
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ACCESS is so good that MS is killing it because is a big competitor of VS. ACCESS is the fastest RAD tool and you can do petty good desktop and web applications for SME or departments almost without code. Access it is simply fantastic. And of course there are millions of people using ACCESS.
MS stopped making improvements in Access with the 2003 version. But - they have improved Access for power users since then. It doesn't make sense for MS to put resources into improving two products for the same set of developers. The IDE in VS is much better than the IDE in Access.
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Just updated office 365 and along with it Access 2016. I've never used it. Does anyone use it? What for? and should I?
Wow - there is a lot of animus directed toward MS Access. I wonder how many people actual actively use it or are just haters.... Just some background - my company develops applications using LAMP, SQLServer, SQLite, and Dot.Net connectors to many other databases - so I think I'm fairly agnostic. A couple years ago, we needed a simple input form to capture some information quickly and I had something up and running in 30 minutes that worked just fine in Access - no server, no program, no debugging. Below are my thoughts about MS Access. MS Access is a number of things in one package and it might *just* be able to help you out. 1. It is its own proprietary database and has its own SQL Syntax (and query builder) 2. It is stand-alone file, much like SQLite 3. It handles multiple connections to a single database file over a network share pretty well. 4. It has its own JET engine to allow other programs to connect to it (I think it has a DotNet connector now as well) 5. It has its own reporting engine built in to the program 6. You can quickly and easily develop an extensive GUI to edit and access your data. 7. You can embed reports, GUI, and database into a deliverable, protected file. 8. You can write things that are usually tough for databases to do (iterations over many records) in the included VB scripting language. 9. You can develop a front end and reports in MS Access and connect to pretty much any ODBC compliant database in the backend. 10. You don't need (or need to be) a database guy to use it. 11. You will not notice (unless you have millions of records) any issues with the DB engine in terms of speed. There are some DISADVANTAGES to MS Access, but they are not due to the program. Because it is so easy to develop a pretty involved database and application in MS Access, non-DB types will often build what they need. This often leads to the following problem flow. a. Database tables are often just thought about just like excel files. b. This leads to *lots* of non-normalized data c. After a couple (or ten) years, someone will hit a wall where they get stuck and can't figure out how to do something in Access. d. At which time a "real" DB guy will be brought in to help figure out how to get things done. Be careful here, because there are three options that can arise at this point. e1. If this DB Guy is a DB admin, he will find that he can import the data easily into SQLServer. However, at this point he is basically screwed. In my experience, there is no way to ea
