Why MSAccess ?

Microsoft Access is by no means the only RDBMS, or Relational Database Management System available on the market today, other popular relational databases include FoxPro, Paradox and Dbase to name just a few. Access is extremely popular and there is a good chance you already have a copy on your PC even if you don't use it, Access is a component part of Microsoft Office Professional. If you do not have a copy of Access, we can arrange a run-time version, so you wont necessarily have to purchase a copy.

As Access is a Microsoft product and has been since version one, it is more likely to have a secure long term future than many of the others. If you love Microsoft, or loathe them with a passion, the fact is that the majority of the world is using their software. Consequently information about Access is readily available to the developer in the form of books, discussion groups, internet resources etc, which simplifies the development task and helps keep the price down.

Many people start their business using a spreadsheet such as Excel, then rapidly discover the serious limitations and want to convert to a database. An Access database will allow complex queries from the underlying tables, producing reports that show exactly the information you require. Data can be checked as it is entered into the system, preventing predictable mistakes, saving time and money in the process. Using the security system built into Access you can restrict certain users from viewing/changing data. For example you might want to stop a particular user from viewing the salary of members of staff, or make arrangements so that a user can add information to the system, but not be able to change the existing data. Access will allow context sensitive help files, which can describe to the user exactly how to use each area of the program. By simply pressing F1 you can view the help file for that particular screen.

Access, like all other programs does have its limitations, as a general rule you don't want to have more than about ten people using it on a network at the same time, or have more than about 500,000 records in your database. If your requirements already exceed this, or are likely to in the near future, you should consider a Client Server arrangement. In this case Access is still a good choice as you can use Access for the front end and use SQL server for the back end.

If you are worried about the Y2K or year 2000 millennium bug, lets have a look at how Access stores dates in the underlying tables. All versions of Access store dates with a four digit year, the problems arise when you enter dates using a two digit year. Access version 2.0 is not 2000 compliant, it assumes all two digit years start with 19 and so you should enter four digit years if you still use Access 2.0. Access 95 varies and can be subject to which DLL files you are using on your current set-up. Access 97 & 2000 assumes all two digit years entered below 30 are in the 21st Century and all other two digit years are in the 20th Century. For example if you enter 01/01/30 Access 97 will enter 01 January 1930, if you enter 01/01/29 Access 97 will enter 01 January 2029. The simplest way to be sure that you have entered the correct date, is to change the formatting so you can see the full eight digit date.


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