REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

I am well versed in MS Access. I now want to set up a SQL database on
my company's server. However there are some pretty basic questions
that I have starting out...I did a bit of searching but didn't see the
direct answers so that is why I am asking here:

In Access, there is a switchboard and forms and reports for a user to
interact with. I don't believe the same exists in SQL. What does one
do in place of those items. For example, what would I need so that a
user can double click on an icon and get an option with 2
buttons......one would start a form to enter data and the other would
take you to a screen that has 2 or 3 options for reporting. Can this
only be done with code such as VB?

I guess fundamentally I am wondering how a user interacts with SQL?
Are there any programs that can be used or is it all custom made?

And along that line, how does one ENTER data if no form function is
available? How does one get reports without the report feature?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And just to be clear, I am not
looking for someone to write code for me. I am interested in
understanding how it is used. I'll do my own research to get whatever
interface is needed based on your responses.

thanks again

re: REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

Access is a complete package, with both a database (of sorts) and the
tools to build a front end for the user.

SQL Server is just a database engine. It stores data, and accepts SQL
commands (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SELECT, etc.) against that data. It
has NONE of the front-end features that allows Access to provide the
user interface. There are no buttons to program in SQL Server, no
grids or pull down lists. SQL Server is strictly the back end
database.

So, to use SQL Server you need another tool with which to write the
front end. That tool can be Access, VB, C#, or any number of other
programming languages and systems, including web-based tools that
don't put anything at the client.

So what does SQL Server buy you? The freedom to use those other
languages. Improved salability both in database size and number of
users. More robust integrity. A far more powerful implementation of
SQL, though with limits that will sometimes frustrate an Access
programmer.

Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT

On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:47:41 -0400, BURL ives <e_rotic@hotmail.com>
wrote:

re: REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

"BURL ives" <e_rotic@hotmail.comwrote in message
news:msovf452joka9dlfqdlhh1uiq7np3nk83i@4ax.com...Access is an application development tool, not a DBMS. SQL Server is a DBMS.
So you'll need to choose an application development tool or language and
presentation tier. Could be Access, .NET, C++, php, ...

--
David Portas

re: REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

BURL ives (e_rotic@hotmail.com) wrote:
: I am well versed in MS Access. I now want to set up a SQL database on
: my company's server. However there are some pretty basic questions
: that I have starting out...I did a bit of searching but didn't see the
: direct answers so that is why I am asking here:
...
: I guess fundamentally I am wondering how a user interacts with SQL?
: Are there any programs that can be used or is it all custom made?


The most basic tool is probably the program "sqlcmd".

It connects to the database, it prompts you to type SQL commands, and then
it displays the output of the commands.

The SQL language has many commands, the most basic are SELECT, INSERT,
UPDATE, DELETE, and before you can enter data you need a table to put it
in, and the command for that is CREATE TABLE.

You need to read a book on how to use those commands, they are very easy
to use, just like DOS commands are very easy to use - in other words a
child can do it once they know how, but you can't guess how to do it if
you don't already know.

No matter what tool you end up using, all they actually do is exactly the
same as what you do with sqlcmd. For example if you enter data into a
form then the form converts that into an INSERT command and sends that
insert command to the database, exactly the same as if you had used sqlcmd
and typed the command by hand yourself. (I simplified slightly, but
basically this is true).

Since every tool uses SQL to interact with the database, it is useful to
know how to use it yourself, therefore it is useful to know how to use a
program like sqlcmd.

re: REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

Thank you to all who responded so quickly. It truly is appreciated.

With my involvement in Access queries, I became familiar with SQL
commands so it seems like that will be of benefit to me.

I guess I need to decide what to use as the front end to the SQL
database. If I go with an Access interface, I'll have the familiarity
and convenience that I know. Using the web browser. the advantage is
everyone has it and for me personally it will open up new areas of
development I have not dealt with before. However it seems like my
programming skills will need sharpening with the web interface.

Now at least I know what the scope of this project will be. I will
spend the next few days researching both Access and a web interface.
I'm sure I'll be back with more question later.

Thanks again everyone


On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:01:58 -0400, "Roy Harvey (SQL Server MVP)"
<roy_harvey@snet.netwrote:

re: REALLY REALLY FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION....Response would be greatly appreciated

On Oct 23, 4:29*am, BURL ives <e_ro...@hotmail.comwrote:In your research, be sure and take a look at MS's Visual Web Developer
2006, Express version. It lets you develop a web-based front-end to
any one of a number of back-end data sources (including SQL Server and
Access mdb).

If you are considering web-based approaches you will need to get your
arms around the notion that the web client is "stateless", i.e., you
must programatically preserve the state of your application each time
you make a round trip to the server. Also, in Access you are
accustomed to being able to enter a value into a field and it that
field is automatically and immediately updated in the database. In
the web-based approach, the pattern is to collect all of the relevant
input data for a transaction into the appropriate fields in the client
and then send them via a single transaction transaction to the db for
update.