Microsoft Access 2002

Rating:
Summary: Does what it is supposed to do
Review: Desktop database systems (as opposed to SQL systems) are pretty much old school. That doesn't mean it isn't useful. If you remember the old dBase family, then this is pretty much the same type of software, only more powerful, as that. Access is an application that is often talked about in terms of front end and back end. The front end is the graphical development environment for forms, queries, reports, etc. The back end is the actual database management system that is tied to the graphical front end. In Access, that back end database out of the box is called Jet.

But that's not where it ends. You aren't limited to to the Jet DB. In fact, depending on available drivers (often if not always freely available) you can use almost any database system, SQL systems included. When one says SQL systems, they are often speaking of client server type systems like proprietary Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase, to name a few, or the open source systems like MySQL and PostgreSQL, again, to name but two. These SQL systems are what one needs to build scalable applications that will host many users and hundreds of thousands or more table records. You can use Access to prototype the app, and then often use the Access development environment as the front end for building forms and reports for SQL data. Many using this type of system have great praise for Access.

The other way to use Access is to use it as a complete solution. Here, you are limited, but serious Access pros will say many limitations can be handled with the right design and/or coding. That may be true, but if you are developing for many users and anticipate a large database, Access as a complete solution is probably a bit out of its league. On the other hand, Access is great for desktop database functions. If a small, or even mid-sized firm needs for example, a contact management system that no off the shelf software allows, Access would be a good idea. If you are currently using Microsoft Excel for a database system, Access would perform the tasks much better, and once you get familiar with database design and terminology, the learning curve for reports and queries over Excel isn't that great. Excel is great for calculations and spreadsheets, but comes up a bit short on being a database.

Access was sort of a joked about product when it first came out. But that was when desktop systems designed in Clipper or FoxPro ruled. Once Access started to mature, its user base expanded as Windows apps took over. Now, with SQL databases being the trend, Access front ends are still put to use. Access isn't quite as good an app as Excel, which is in my mind the best application Microsoft has ever developed. However, with the serious bugs in Word, and the shortcomings of Outlook, Access is narrowing the gap with Excel as a really good application that a lot of people need that there are few competitors to.

Rating:
Summary: An excellant desktop product for data collection and review
Review: Have only used Microsoft Access 2000 Office version and would be interested in acquiring MS Access 97 or 2000 for home use.

Rating:
Summary: An excellant desktop product for data collection and review
Review: Have only used Microsoft Access 2000 Office version and would be interested in acquiring MS Access 97 or 2000 for home use.

Rating:
Summary: Improved Application
Review: Improves PivotTable and PivotChart support; adds multilevel undo and redo in Data Access Page; increases keyboard shortcuts; provides better support for multilingual databases. In Access 2002, Microsoft has updated the file format yet again, sure to causee graning among the Access 97 faithful. But Access 2002 can open and modify Access 2000 databases without applying the new file format, which is a small concession at best. Access 2002 interacts with the new SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (formerly MSDE) for creating more scalable apllications and supports two-way XML support.

Rating:
Summary: Great Windows product; many ease of use enhancements.
Review: Let's face it: as a cross-platform tool or large system database Access won't cut it as it comes out of the box, but if you are looking for something to create a pretty cool application for a windows platform, Access can't be beat. The database is flawless, string manipulation is easy, and designing the GUI is a breeze if you have done your up-front work (like giving the fields a meaningful text description).

The latest version, Access 2002 comes with improved wizards that are actually helpful. I created a small application in a day with just this product and the help text. It did not require much code (4 navigation macros that anyone with basic programing skills could write). We also flawlessly moved this application to a Windows 2000 server running IIS for an intranet.

Don't expect the best response time from Access 2002. A web query through what is called a "data access" page takes about 30 seconds on a 200,000 record file on a server with half a gig of memory and no other applications running.

Some of the other ease of use enhancements are better button control and improved macro coding, easier navigation throughout the product and improved help text with step by step procedures on how to create specific examples.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for entry level, front end systems
Review: This is an excellent entry level database for Windows platforms - very flexible and easy to learn. Also, this makes for one of the best front-end applications for Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, etc. Microsoft's continued improvements in VBA in Access allow you to create very powerful data entry and data management solutions.