> I was not, and am not, convinced that an MDE made with Access 2002/3 can
be run by an earlier version.
Larry, it would clearly be unsafe to assume that an MDE from any version,
would run in any earlier version. The later version would have new
constructus, requiring new opcodes (or whatever) in the MDE interpreter.
Those opcodes would not be recognized by earlier versions. There's no future
in wondering whether later version MDEs will ever run in earlier versions.
The question is, will >earlier< versions always run in >later< versions?
Personally, I have never seen any good explanation of why they should not.
However, I recall from A97 help, a clear statement that MDEs >will not< run
in later versions.
I gather that now, an A2k MDE will run in AXP. But is that by chance, or
does it represent a change of policy, or is it that no relevant changes were
made between the two versions? No-one seems to be asking that question.
When I create a new build of my product, I include a seperate MDE for each
version of Access that it supports: currently A97, A2k and AXP. My
installation program checks the version of Access on the user's PC, &
installs the corresponding MDE.
If the new rule is that MDEs will >definitely< run on future versions of
Access, then clearly, I only need two MDEs - one for A97, another for all
versions thereafer. But if that is >not< the new rule - and it only happens
at present "by chance" - then I'll stick with having a seperate MDE per
version.
It surprises me that this doesn't seem to have raised any interest. I design
my product based on what I know (or think I know!) >for sure<, not on things
I notice which might just be coincidence, or random hapennings.
So I am looking for a definitive statement, from someone, as to whether
there has been a change of policy regading upwards-compatibility of MDEs.
There can only be three answers to that:
- Yes, they are guaranteed to be upwards compatible from A2k onwards
(barring "acts of god", of course);
- No, they are >NOT< garanteed to be upwards compatible at all; it just
happens that A2k ones will run on AXP, but no-one should jump to conclusions
from that; or,
- We neither know, nor care. (A strange response, IMO, for anyone who
distributes a professional product.)
Cheers,
TC
"Larry Linson" <bo*****@localhost.not> wrote in message
news:Eu******************@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
I'm relatively sure that neither Microsoft nor any other corporation would
make such an open-ended promise. Access 2002 and Access 2003, by default,
save in Access 2000 file-format, so can run it.
I was not, and am not, convinced that an MDE made with Access 2002/3 can
be run by an earlier version.
Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP
"TC" <a@b.c.d> wrote in message news:1069121262.704056@teuthos... Thanks Steve, I didn't know that. So just to be sure: is it now >policy<
that an MDE created with or after A2k, will >definitely< run on all
future versions of Access? Or is that just what happens at present, with the
current versions > 97? Is there anything in the online help on that?
(Sorry to ask, but I do not have A2k+ available, at all, at present.)
TC
"SA" <~f***********@nspm.com> wrote in message
news:bp**********@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com... TC:
If you've opened a copy of Access 2002 or 2003 lately you'll find that
they know how to read A2000 formatted dbs, mdb, or mde. Heck you can even
reference an A2000 mde from an A2K2 mdb without problem.
--
Steve Arbaugh
ACG Soft
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/attac-cg
"TC" <a@b.c.d> wrote in message news:1069030712.627435@teuthos...
> But I believe the policy is, an MDE will not >necessarily< run on every > higher version of Access.
>
> The issue is surely not the version of Jet; it is the version of the
> compiled sourcecode.
>
> No? Yes?
>
> TC
>
>
> "SA" <~f***********@nspm.com> wrote in message
> news:bp**********@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com...
> > A2000 mdes are able to be run currently in Access 2002 (Xp) and in
Access
> > 2003; they all use the Jet 4.0 engine....
> > --
> > Steve Arbaugh
> > ACG Soft
> > http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/attac-cg
> >
> > "Peter Russell" <ru***@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> > news:me**********************@russellscott.btinter net.com...
> > > wolftor previously wrote:
> > >
> > > > 1) Is there a free runtime version of Access available that
is more > > > > recent
> > > > than the one for Access 2000?
> > >
> > > No version of the Access runtime has ever been free.
> > > If you are using a 'free' version then you are using an
unlicensed > > > version.
> > >
> > > > 2) If I create an application (MDE) in A2K, will it run on all
later > > > > versions of Access?
> > >
> > > Probably, if it doesn't include references for other products.
> > > (All can only be 2002 and 2003 - who knows what will happen
after that)
> > >
> > > Regards
> > >
> > > Peter Russell
> >
> >
>
>
