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Summary: Access to Access 2000
Review: I have used several books for Access 2000 and this is one of the best so far. It can be used by beginners,intermediate and advanced users. It covers both DAO and ADO extensively, a feat acheived by only few books, it also covers other external topics like the networking aspects which are related to access and finally how to migrate an access application to the internet. BUY IT!!!!!!
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Summary: Good intermediate Access Developer's tutorial and reference
Review: I learnt VBA with this book and was very pleased with the clear style presented. Having done some IT training and writing myself, I can attest that Alison's style is very easy and enjoyable to read.I thought the sections on Queries and Forms - and their integration with each other - were particularly powerful. e.g. being able to specify a call to a VBA function in a query design page is something that's really neat as far as I'm concerned. I reserved one star because: - I would have liked to have seen a detailed chapter on Jet SQL. MS Access allows one - by and large - to avoid directly writing SQL, but a serious developer needs to know it in detail. - Although the chapter on ADO was excellent, and a very clear introduction - as far as it went, I would have preferred to have seen more ADO and ADOX examples. My main reasons for purchasing the book were: - to learn Access VBA - to become a 'power developer' of Access queries and forms - to develop Access GUIs - to introduce myself to ADO This book satisfied those requirements to the extent that I don't think I need another Access 2000 book. The book is complete and covers every possible type of Access activity, including issues like replication, using Access as a GUI to SQL Server, Active Data Pages, security, even doing version maintenance with Visual Sourcesafe. I would be interested to see a comparison between this book and its main competition - "Access 2000 Developers Handbook, Volumes I & II"
Rating: 
Summary: Seems a little disjointed
Review: I purchased this book because it received so many positive reviews, and appeared to cross the bridge between a novice user and a power user. I clearly am a novice user in Access, although I am a power user in Excel. However, Excel won't work for the application I want to develop. This book seems a little disjointed, in that it touches on things at the beginning and tells you that it will cover them in detail much later in the book. However, the items that it pushes towards the back of the book appear to me to be core skills and knowledge. I am beginning to feel that I need to read the entire book before I start working on building my database rather than building it in stages while reading the book. I am also finding that key functions are missing completely from the index (and I cannot find them by looking through the book). I'm a little disappointed in this book.
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Summary: Thanks for the broad perspective along with how-to details
Review: I really value Alison Balter's writings on Access, especially this book on "Access 2000 Develoment". For me as a technically-inclined person and development manager but not a hard-core programmer, the book makes things understandable and puts them into useful perspective. Instead of dwelling entirely at the level of "Here's how to ...", it includes perspective on what is possible, what alternatives are available, when one might choose one path over another. Then it goes on to provide clear instructions on "Here's how to... wisely and skillfully." It's what I call "outside-in" presentation -- her writing takes me from being "outside" of understanding to "inside". This is contrasted with "inside-out" presentation, in which one can learn every detail about how to do something but have no perspective on why or when to do it and when not, and no overview of alternatives. I recommend the book highly, and look forward to using its contents more completely as I develop in my understanding.
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Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: I usually buy books and keep them by my side when I'm working. If I'm stumped by a task, I open my book and look at how to do it. This book by Alison Balter is very impressive. There is a well designed index, a great summary and it is very easy to find what you are looking for. The explanations are very clear, almost everything is covered. I'm working on a database for internal use by many people. I managed to make it user-friendly and very powerful. Alison's book helped me all the way. This might not be a good book for beginners. As a reference and a "how to", it is just a wonderful, easy to read, book.
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Summary: For beginning programmers only
Review: I would not recommend this book if you already know how to use a programming language. If you can understand the Access help system, this book will add virtually nothing to your understanding of Access.
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Summary: The absolute best!
Review: I'm a certified Access Developer and just read Alison's book cover to cover. I own 12 MS Access books and while I like Ken Getz' book for in-depth coverage of difficult topics, this book is by far my favorite. The flow of subject matter from one topic to the next is so smooth it's actually enjoyable to read. Concepts are layered perfectly throughout the entire book. This would be a great classroom instruction book even for those with little experience. I look forward to more books by my new favorite technical author.
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Summary: Great book for intermediate to advanced developers.
Review: I've have been looking nearly everywhere for a MS Access book that bridges the gap between new users and absolute power users; this book has exceeded all expectations. I found the section on security especially helpful. It is nice to actually see and understand what the wizard is doing rather than "click, click, I think it worked...". Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a format we all can understand. I look forward to a MS Access 2002 version of this book.
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Summary: Well-written and thorough. Highly recommended.
Review: I've read countless software books over the many years that I've been in this business and this one is one of the best. It is incredibly thorough and very well organized. Everything is explained in detail, yet it is written in an easy-to-read style. There are many examples (code is on the CD) and numerous screen shots. In addition to the standard text, the book is filled with sidebars entitled "Tips," "Cautions," and "Notes." So many recent computer books seem to be just thrown together so that they can get it on the shelves while the version of the software that they are covering is still current. They are filled with typos, errors, and leave out important information. While I'm sure a book of this size may have some errors or typos in it, I haven't run across a single one yet. A word of caution: This book is not for beginners. Although some basic concepts are covered, the book assumes that you are already familiar with ACCESS and database programming. If you're an ACCESS developer or just someone that want to go beyond the basics with ACCESS then this book needs to be part of your library.
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Summary: Essential reference for professionals
Review: It covers all the aspects that you need to develop robust applications.
Security and Client Server Techniques are deeply covered.
I learned so much with this book. I bring it with me, every time I have to travel to implement or update a system.
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