free software alternative to Access

[David Berube]

Hey all,

FYI, my clients have had problems  with Access=>MySQL or 
Access=>PostgreSQL ODBC connections. Going Access-to-PostgreSQL, for 
example, is not like going Access-to-SQL-Server - SQL Server is designed 
for that; MySQL and PostgreSQL are not. Part of this is due to how 
closely related  Access is with JET, and part of it is because none of 
the above - Access, MySQL, or PostgreSQL - are a strict, fully compliant 
SQL-89 or SQL-92 implementations.

 Access works great for running queries and returning the result, but 
relationships don't work properly, data bound controls don't work, and 
much of the user-friendly-ness of Access disappears. For example, you 
can usually edit a simple Access query - this is definitely not true of 
a PostgreSQL VIEW, and strange things and confusing things happen when 
you open a query in Access. All in all, it's a distinctly unpleasant 
experience for the user and for the developer.

I'm using the PostgreSQL ODBC connectors for several projects right 
now.  Much of ADO simply doesn't work - bound countrols and some of the 
ADO classes, for example. Generally, however, the broken technology 
doens't pose a problem - databound controls are bad. A custom front end 
can hide the clunkiness well, and if your code is well written, you 
should be all set.

Ignoring the problems with an end-user accessing the database directly, 
I'd recommend going with phpMyAdmin or phpPgAdmin as a replacement for 
Access. My clients who've wanted direct access to their data - for 
whatever reason - have been happy with both products.

Take it easy,

-- 

David Berube
Berube Consulting
djberube at berubeconsulting.com
(603)-485-9622
http://www.berubeconsulting.com/


Jason Stephenson wrote:

> Jeff Smith wrote:
>
>>
>> I should have used scalable instead of robust.  Ideally,the
>> Access design tools would have been designed separately
>> from the db engine. You plug in the db of your choice on
>> the back  end.  Alas, I'm told you can do that, but I
>> haven't met anyone who a) has done it, or b) can show /
>> explain how to do it.
>
>
> I've done it. It's relatively easy with ODBC. I've had an Access front 
> end application that I created talk to a MS SQL Server 2000 database. 
> You should be able to hook your Access front end up to any database 
> server provided that you have an ODBC driver for your database. I know 
> that they are available for MySQL, and most likely Prostgres as well. 
> I've not used MySQL with Access but have used ODBC to connect to a 
> MySQL server running on Linux from a Windows computer using a custom 
> front end.
>
> If you'd like some help with this, you can contact me off list.
>
> Cheers,
> Jason
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