Very much a description of the Business I am in.
For all the criticism leveled at it, I still think that as a rich
Database Client that permits really rapid development of Database driven
applications Access is unbeatable. Pair it with a good Database server
and it is the perfect combination.
That said I would love if there really were an OSS alternative to Access
(I would settle even for a closed source competitor whose product
philosophy is standards compliance and offers a range of interfaces
(JDBC, ODBC, Native Drivers)).
I had high hopes for the new Base Application in Open Office but have
been disappointed - hopefully continued development will see it improve
but at this stage it is a long way from matching Access 97 (or even 95)
as a Database client. Which is to say that it is a decade behind MS Access.
Although there is a lot to like about Access as a DB client and RAD tool
for Database centric applications I worry that Microsoft's desire to use
Access to push SQL Server sales, as well as it's fears about OSS, and
it's antipathy towards Java, means that the future of a Technology stack
built on Postgresql and MS Access looks uncertain.
If someone knows of a RAD/DB client that offers what Access does -
especially the rapidity with which rich forms can be created, the
capabilities and ease of use of the Visual query builder, the breadth of
data analysis and manipulation tools that can be run from and on the
client, the integration of a capable Report editor which is usable with
a small amount of training by the end user, and the ability to easily
talk to a spreadsheet or word processor, I would love to hear of it.
As it is I find myself combating the FUD that Access really only plays
nice with SQL Server all the time, and the fact is that Microsoft's
commitment to ODBC is lukewarm, and it will probably be a cold day in
hell before Access ships with a JDBC driver, or for that matter sports a
well documented API for developing native drivers for Particular
Database systems.
The absolute necessity of Outlook for many people used to be one of the
key strategic locks that Microsoft had, but the development of Evolution
on the client end has made exchange competitors like OpenGroupware that
much more viable, and the converse is true.
There has been massive growth and improvement in the OSS database server
segment over the past 5 to 7 years, but it has not been matched on the
client end - admittedly the spread of web based applications has
disguised the need for such development, but the huge number of SME's
with 5-50 employees still need a decent rich Database client if they are
to replace their often expensive and primitive off the shelf solutions
with tailored solutions. And here the cost is overwhelmingly represented
by developer time. With Access I can spend time make sure my
Postgresql back end is all that it can be, knowing that when the time
comes I can create most of the forms that I will need with a single
click of the Autoform button , and ten minutes later, after cleaning up
a few captions and adding some drop down lists, and then a bit of extra
functionality with VBA, such as pumping a Query into Form letters or
charts or a report, I am done. And because these are not the sort of
companies who can afford a full time DBA, it is handy that Access
permits a mildly technically savvy user to extend it, which means the
client can add customizations when they need to provided you have
documented the schema for them.
Doing the same thing with either a web scripting language or a Java IDE
is still a process that takes 4 to 6 times as long, (when equivalent
functionality is even available) and this pretty much prices most SME's
out of the market except for either trivial applications (which is what
the majority of web based applications in this market are) or for
projects that become quite risky for developer and client alike.
Johan Wehtje
Alex Turner wrote:
Actualy to me, it seems like postgres is a perfect partner for MS
Access. Throw out Jet, and use Pgsql. It's infinately better than Jet,
so operating in a Win98 environment seems reasonable in this scenario.
I swear you could build a business just building MS Access apps on a
Postgresql databases so that they can actualy _scale_ when a business grows.
Alex
On 10/13/05, *Chris Travers* <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Alex Turner wrote:
> Support for windows 98 was infact extended to June 2006:
> http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean1
>
Right....
And it was extended again last year as it was supposed to extend this
last June, and Last June, etc. We will see if it is not extended
again....
But if you are running an production database on Windows 98 you have
bigger problems than support from Microsoft....
Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
Metatron Technology Consulting
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