Take a Database to the Next Level

[GKJR]

Does anyone have a recommendation to build a standalone application to replace an Access database? I have my bookkeeping software I developed in Access that I would like to make available to other small businesses, but I want it to be independent from Access. From my own research it seems like I need to learn many different languages such as SQL Server, C++, C#, html, and maybe also master .net framework. It seems like a daunting task but I wouldn't mind doing it. I want to have a primarily desktop app but definitely a mobile interface, and host it on a server.

[NeoPa]

Excluding Access from your thinking makes that extremely difficult.

Access as a front end to a cloud database (Azure SQL being probably the most obvious) with a PowerApps interface for the simpler tasks but with the main management & higher-level work being done on a desktop, is a perfect solution, as well as being :

1. Cheapest by far.
2. Easiest by far.
3. Quickest by far.

On the other hand, there are people with experience in other expertise who have, and would, do this using various other technologies. It is no exaggeration to point out that the success rates are considerably lower - IE. that many fail ever even to get produced; the time invested is generally increased by a factor of 300% (Access is a famously competent tool for RAD (Rapid Application development)); the costs are obviously much higher than doing it in Access + PowerApps.

Feel free to assume that I am biased in favour of Access. As a long-term Access MVP that could be assumed. Nevertheless, you may also want to consider the reams of content available that says pretty much what I do here. It's not an accident that I agree with so much of what is generally known. You may not know that I have personal experience of working in other languages - including but not limited to c, c++ & even Intel Assembler back in the day. I also loved working in those languages. Nevertheless none could produce product as quickly & effectively as Access can with VBA (Not my favourite language by far but so effective when twinned with Access).

Nor do I lose sight of the unfortunate fact that the reason for your choice may not be entirely in your own hands. There are many IT departments who conflate some internal Access apps with the concept of using Access properly in a fully protected environment. If you need to find a solution where Access isn't included then there are answers. You should understand they will not be comparable in many ways as producing them will be slower & more expensive by a fairly chunky factor, and also that asking in this particular forum (Not site - Bytes.com - but this Access forum) is unlikely to yield the most positive results.

Ultimately, whatever you decide, & I can only provide information for your consideration, I/we wish you the best in your endeavours.

[cactusdata]

> it seems like I need to learn many different languages such as SQL Server, C++, C#, html, and maybe also master .net framework.

That is correct. Go with Visual Studio and C# and be prepared for a learning curve.

[GKJR]

Hi NeoPa, thanks for all your help, including all the previous posts you helped me with over the years. Don't get me wrong, I love Access and it will always have a special place in my heart. I want to advance my skills in developing and I feel like I hit a ceiling in Access. I like the challenge of learning new daunting skillets, which is why I took a liking to Access in the first place.
Cactusdata, I met with a software developer buddy of mine to get some advice and he also said C# as well as SQL Server would be the best place to start for the back-end, then maybe Blazer for front end.

[NeoPa]

You're welcome GKJR :-)

My days of using languages other than VBA are decades behind me now, and the software development landscape has changed a great deal since then.

All that said, I would probably concur that c# makes the best sense because (and please understand this is from a perspective that is absolutely not current in what's out there and available) :

1. When I was a whizz c developer I found the language so elegant & powerful that I just loved working in it.
   
   I was just migrating across to c++ when that stage of my career came to a premature end & I switched roles to a software house working in a form of BASIC that had a ground-breaking ability to work beyond the 1MB barrier prevalent at that time in the DOS world. A dead-end obviously, even though it survived more than a decade after Windows arrived and made it easy & automatic for ordinary languages.
2. The language has strong typing & requires (& enforces) discipline to use. Very good experience for anyone interested in developing code.
3. c# is a Microsoft product so will be around for ever. It also comes with their libraries as well as access to so many others. You won't need to re-invent the wheel unless you want to.
4. That dovetails into the point about it being a mature language as well. One that has withstood the tests of time.

Drawbacks include that working in a proper OOP language will be a struggle for you (& most coders who go there from a procedural background). This is somewhat akin to working with databases for intelligent coders. Both use completely different types of understanding that are generally foreign to your average coder (One without OOP experience - Many start with that nowadays of course).

Do bear in mind that, as a learning experience, it may be great. As a way to earn your keep, charging for what will very likely be a steep learning curve should be handled with both parties understanding what they're letting themselves in for. Even as an expert you will struggle to be able to produce what the client needs in a comparable time-frame.