50,000 Ft Question

[NoEd]

I am thinking of developing an application for a small workgroup, say
anywhere from 5 - 25 users. There probably will not be more than 5-10
concurrent users of the application. They may not be in the same physical
location but will be on the same network. They will have to enter data into
the application. I have had a lot of experience using VBA and Office 2000,
but have not in a multi-user environment. Here are my questions:

1. Is there any good reason to upgrade to Office 2003 Professional? It
appears that most of the new features allow workgroups to better
collaborate.

2. This maybe related question, but what basic functionality does XML
provide?

3. Should I use MSDE instead of Jet?

4. Should I use forms or use Data Access Pages or some other Web
approach? I prefer forms.

5. Using Access 2000, is there anyway to programmically compress and
repair a DB?

Thanks in advance.

[Steve]

1. Office 2k3 has the capability to use .NET as the programming
language. .NET has some great functionality that you can't get with
VBA. I have Office 2k3 but I don't use the Access portion, so that's as
much as I can tell you about the differences. Oh, and 2k3 is prettier.
Maybe someone else can elaborate more usefully.

2. XML is a flat-file database. One main draw of XML is the fact that
it is really just an organized text file, which means EVERYONE can
access the data. No platform issues. It's also easy to transport and
free to create, and pretty easy to use. The syntax is simple and the
format is very powerful to use. Three of my websites are completely
XML-driven using ASP.NET.

Data Access Pages use XML to store the data you put on the server (I
believe - it's been a while since I've done anything with them).

3. Can't help you there. Realize, though, that the new Access will use
its own proprietary database engine instead of Jet. If you plan to keep
using your application for a long time, you might want to look into
that further.

4. Data Access Pages require a webserver. There are some small security
issues you'd need to work out with that (allowing only the proper users
to access the pages). What my company usually does is create an Access
backend and place it on the server to hold data, and then put an Access
frontend on everyone's workstation. We link the tables programmatically
and voila. Realize that any way you go about this, you are going to
require a server of some sort to centralize the data.

5. Yes. You can call DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdCompactDatabase.

[Saintor]

"NoEd" <bs******@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11*************@corp.supernews.com...

I am thinking of developing an application for a small workgroup, say
anywhere from 5 - 25 users. There probably will not be more than 5-10
concurrent users of the application. They may not be in the same physical
location but will be on the same network. They will have to enter data into the application. I have had a lot of experience using VBA and Office 2000, but have not in a multi-user environment. Here are my questions:

1. Is there any good reason to upgrade to Office 2003 Professional? It
appears that most of the new features allow workgroups to better
collaborate.
A few less bugs, but not really compelling.

2. This maybe related question, but what basic functionality does XML
provide?

More in the future, not much for now in Access world. Somebody more
knowledgeable can detail.

3. Should I use MSDE instead of Jet?
Having been there; no! Jet is perfect for 5-10 concurrent users, IMO.

4. Should I use forms or use Data Access Pages or some other Web
approach? I prefer forms.

Another loss of time. DAP are not working very well.

5. Using Access 2000, is there anyway to programmically compress and
repair a DB?

Of course. I use the switch at start-up.

If you want to save time, once your app is ready to be deployed, I suggest
that you use remote sessions (thin clients) with Terminal Services
technology.

Thanks in advance.

[BillCo]

>3. Should I use MSDE instead of Jet?

Jet is better documented and should you run into difficulty will be
easier to get help on. I dont know much about MSDE so can't really help
beyond that.

4. Should I use forms or use Data Access Pages or some other Web approach? I prefer forms.

If all users have (or can get) access installed on their machines, then
there is no reason to use a web interface or XML stuff - it would be
like taking the bus when you have a BMW in your garage. You would be
far better off sticking to an access database with the traditional
front-end / back-end split.
5. Using Access 2000, is there anyway to programmically compress and

repair a DB?

There's a bunch of different approaches.
-last to logout triggers a compact on the back-end
-scheduled event runs a script that checks for a lock file and uses the
/compact switch
-vb code that runs on open, checks the size and sets the compact on
close option if over a certain size

are the most popular. i work on site so i prefere to do it manually,
and i use the last option to keep control over the size of front ends
as they.

[salad]

NoEd wrote:

I am thinking of developing an application for a small workgroup, say
anywhere from 5 - 25 users. There probably will not be more than 5-10
concurrent users of the application. They may not be in the same physical
location but will be on the same network. They will have to enter data into
the application. I have had a lot of experience using VBA and Office 2000,
but have not in a multi-user environment. Here are my questions:

1. Is there any good reason to upgrade to Office 2003 Professional? It
appears that most of the new features allow workgroups to better
collaborate.

Do you have O2003 or some other version? If you and the others have
O2K, I'd recommend staying with it for a little bit longer. My
reasoning is that the next version of Office is in the pipeline now.
You can read about it at MS's web site (under Office products). It
appears that there will be a radical change in the interface, perhaps a
radical re-write in some areas. It appears that XML will be even more
integrated than earlier versions.

I have no idea when it will be released. I don't think it's in beta
yet. However, by the time you have designed your app and gotten it into
production it may be ready for release.

I would sooner work with something now with what you have and then port
it over to the new version.

Currently I am satisfied with my current version but I am looking
forward to the newer version.

[Lyle Fairfield]

BillCo wrote:

3. Should I use MSDE instead of Jet?

Jet is better documented and should you run into difficulty will be
easier to get help on.

I doubt that very much. MSDE is MS-SQL. MS-SQL has millions of lines of
help and references. Books On Line, which is freely downloadable tells
one everything there is to know about MS-SQL and hence, MSDE.

It can be difficult to find complete information about JET 4.0 and its
newer capabilities. TTBOMK, the outing of these has been so minimal that
some experienced and capable developers who have been using JET for
years, don't even know that they exist.

--
Lyle Fairfield

[Larry Linson]

"Lyle Fairfield" wrote

It can be difficult to find complete information about
JET 4.0 and its newer capabilities. TTBOMK, the
outing of these has been so minimal that some
experienced and capable developers who have
been using JET for years, don't even know that
they exist.

I agree that _complete information_ about the new features of Jet 4.0 is
difficult to find. And, to use all the capabilities, it may be necessary to
use both DAO and ADO/ADOX. Few Access developers of my acquaintance actually
use both in a given application. On the other hand, some developers consider
that some of the enhancements to Jet are not all that helpful except in
special circumstances or environments, and they are not widely used for that
reason.

It will be interesting to see what the future brings.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

[BillCo]

>MSDE is MS-SQL

oh. I see... Well aren't I a proper gobshite?! I retract the advice....
[dooh!]

[Albert D. Kallal]

> They may not be in the same physical
location but will be on the same network.
The above issue could very much hold the keys as to if you use JET.

You can read the following:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal//Wan/Wans.html

--
Albert D. Kallal (Access MVP)
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
pl*****************@msn.com
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal