Convert .ADP to .NET?

[lauren quantrell]

I realize this might be a bit like asking the question "How big is a
mountain" but what's the possibility of converting an Access .adp (SQL
server backend) to a .Net database (using vb.net)without having to slit
my wrists in the process?
I have an .adp with about 50 forms and 300+ stored procedures and to
date don't know didly about .net!

[Larry Linson]

"lauren quantrell" <la*************@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:11**********************@o13g2000cwo.googlegr oups.com...

I realize this might be a bit like asking the question "How big is a
mountain" but what's the possibility of converting an Access .adp (SQL
server backend) to a .Net database (using vb.net)without having to slit
my wrists in the process?
I have an .adp with about 50 forms and 300+ stored procedures and to
date don't know didly about .net!

Sorry. You can create an ASP.NET or a WebForms or a WinForms application
with VB.NET that uses ADO.NET to access either a Jet database or, more
likely since you are using ADP, an SQL Server database, but there is no
conversion tool for ADP to .NET.

It would be a complete re-write, and an application of the size you describe
would be decidedly non-trivial. Also, the learning curve to learn VB.NET,
and the .NET Framework, and ASP.NET technology will be substantial.

Unless you have to need to put the application on the Internet, I would
wonder what you expect to accomplish with such a conversion.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

[MGFoster]

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If you don't know "didly [sic] about.net," why are you thinking about
converting your .adp to a VB.NET application?

You'd have to go through each of the 50 forms and manually convert them
to .NET Window Forms. You'd have to change from ADO to ADO.NET - and
they are similar but different - like the difference between a house cat
and a Siberian tiger. You could keep the stored procedures 'cuz they
are in SQL Server or MSDE & would still work the same, just different
access routines (using ADO.NET). Any VBA modules you have in the .adp
would have to be manually converted to VB.NET, which means you'd have to
learn the .NET library functions/objects/methods/events and how to use
Object Oriented programming (OOP), the real stuff, not that Alley OOP
stuff we have in Access.

Whew, get out the gauze and call the hospital.
--
MGFoster:::mgf00 <at> earthlink <decimal-point> net
Oakland, CA (USA)

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lauren quantrell wrote:

I realize this might be a bit like asking the question "How big is a
mountain" but what's the possibility of converting an Access .adp (SQL
server backend) to a .Net database (using vb.net)without having to slit
my wrists in the process?
I have an .adp with about 50 forms and 300+ stored procedures and to
date don't know didly about .net!

[lauren quantrell]

I have a client wanting a total web-based application based on an
existing access.adp, which is why I am trying to gauge the headaches
ahead...
lq

[Rico]

In article <11**********************@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups .com>, "lauren quantrell" <la*************@hotmail.com> wrote:

I have a client wanting a total web-based application based on an
existing access.adp, which is why I am trying to gauge the headaches
ahead...
lq

Are the forms' controls bound? If not take a look at ASP (as opposed to
.NET). Still a non-trivial task (actually major undertaking) but likely a
bit cleaner/easier then going to .NET. Also a consideration would be how
well the application was broken into discreate layers. If you have a data
access layer and a business logic layer, then you would just be faced with
screen recreation, again could be done in steps. But going to .NET would as
pointed out need an almost complete rewrite, ASP might under the right
conditions require slighty less then a full rewrite.

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

[lauren quantrell]

Rico,
Thanks for the reply.
I guess since I don't know squat about the whole .Net universe, I
should try to understand if you're talking about ASP.NET?
I get the idea VB.Net allows me to create forms that either reside on
the client side or web-based forms, and ASP.NET is pure web-based.
I was thinking since Access is VBA it would bear some resemblance to
VB.NET and therefore be a decent transition concept.
lq

[lauren quantrell]

Forgot to mention, some forms are bound others are not. If a form
involves data entry or data editing, it is not bound.
lq

[rkc]

lauren quantrell wrote:

Rico,
Thanks for the reply.
I guess since I don't know squat about the whole .Net universe, I
should try to understand if you're talking about ASP.NET?
I get the idea VB.Net allows me to create forms that either reside on
the client side or web-based forms, and ASP.NET is pure web-based.
I was thinking since Access is VBA it would bear some resemblance to
VB.NET and therefore be a decent transition concept.
lq

Conventional ASP can be written in VBScript which is basically VBA
without data types. Don't forget that not only will you need to learn
ASP, but you will also need a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, ADO and
probably Javascript if you want to do anything client side. There's
also the issue of a web server, either third party hosted or at your
clients site.

[Tom van Stiphout]

On 12 Apr 2005 12:08:29 -0700, "lauren quantrell"
<la*************@hotmail.com> wrote:

Don't take this on as your first .NET project, unless you have a VERY
patient boss.
Rather convert a very small app, which would teach you how much you
need to know about .NET, and how much time may be involved.

-Tom.

I realize this might be a bit like asking the question "How big is a
mountain" but what's the possibility of converting an Access .adp (SQL
server backend) to a .Net database (using vb.net)without having to slit
my wrists in the process?
I have an .adp with about 50 forms and 300+ stored procedures and to
date don't know didly about .net!

[lauren quantrell]

I'm getting the idea maybe I should learn to ski and join the Olympic
team first...
lq

[billmiami2]

Lauren,

Do you have any experience creating web applications? If not, I would
say that's probably as big a hill to climb as it is to learn .NET. You
will need to learn to think a bit differently than you do when creating
client/server applications. This would apply no matter which web
development platform you choose (ASP.NET, ASP, Java, PHP, etc.).

If you haven't done any work with web applications, I would recommend
getting some help.

Bill E.

[teddysnips]

As someone who migrated to .NET three years ago from an ACCESS
background - exclusively ASP.NET so far - I'd say you've got a very
steep learning curve ahead. There are no off-the shelf migration tools
that I know of (though on Monday I'm going to try a freebie that
purports to convert ACCESS reports into Crystal Reports). You might
get some added value from cutting and pasting your existing VBA into
the code-behind (stick to VB.NET, rather than C#) but it won't compile
first time and you'll really just be able to use it as pseudo-code.
However, while there are obvious similarities there are also "gotchas"
that get me even now (for example, if your form has a text box called
txtLoginName, you have to write txtLoginName.Text to get the value,
otherwise you get the text box object in all its redundant glory. And
it either doesn't build or doesn't run because you're inevitably trying
to save the value to a variable or write it to a database table.)

There are plenty of good books out there BUT you will probably benefit
from some background reading in OO as well. I should also mention that
..NET is an incredibly richly featured set of tools and it won't be
until you've immersed yourself a bit that you get a flavour of which
bits are of use, and which can be safely ignored for the time being.

In ASP.NET everything is "unbound" because browser apps are inherently
stateless.

Get used to using Try/Catch blocks instead of OnError.

However, if you manage to climb this wee hillock, you're probably onto
a good thing. Most of our clients for whom we have provided ACCESS or
VB apps over the past ten years are coming to us for rewrites in
ASP.NET. It's great for them because application distribution is such
a snap - you just expose the login form on the Intranet and give
everyone with access rights a username and password.

But try with a trivial example first.

Good luck.

Edward
--
The reading group's reading group:
http://www.bookgroup.org.uk

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit - Aristotle

Those heights by great men reached and kept
Were not obtained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night
- Longfellow

[Bob Alston]

lauren quantrell wrote:

I realize this might be a bit like asking the question "How big is a
mountain" but what's the possibility of converting an Access .adp (SQL
server backend) to a .Net database (using vb.net)without having to slit
my wrists in the process?
I have an .adp with about 50 forms and 300+ stored procedures and to
date don't know didly about .net!

Not exactly your situation but I recently looked into converting from
normal Access forms/jet database to .NET

This link is to info on what I learned.

http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/...20Internet.htm

and this one

http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/...onSoftware.htm

Hope these help some.

Bob

[lauren quantrell]

Maybe the help I need is with a Shrink to even contemplate this!
lq

[lauren quantrell]

Edward,
Thank you for your thorough repsonse. You give me hope!
lq

[jimfortune]

te********@hotmail.com wrote:

Those heights by great men reached and kept
Were not obtained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night
- Longfellow

The quote by him to boost our core
He must have written late at night
The words are lofty and do soar
But in the meter is the height

James A. Fortune