how to analyze a database

[Janis]

If you were taking a look at a database for the first time that was reputed
to have data errors what would you normally do first? It is Access front end
and SQL Server backend.

Would you run the database documentor, analyze performance and analyze table
commands? Then would you just look at all the relationships one by one.
I've done this in other database systems but not in Access. Is there any
other proprietary tools or are the Access ones sufficient. I'm assuming the
database wasn't normalized properly but it could be anything.

thanks

 

[Jeff Boyce]

Janis

I'm not clear what the issue is...

When I talk about "data errors", I'm describing a situation in which the
values stored are not correct ("errors in data"). In my situation, the
structure of the tables and their relationships have little or nothing to do
with WHAT is stored in them.

How are you meaning "data errors"?

Regards

Jeff Boyce
Microsoft Office/Access MVP

 

[John W. Vinson]

If you were taking a look at a database for the first time that was reputed
to have data errors what would you normally do first?

Get examples of the data errors, and attempt to determine how they came to be
entered into the database.

32 and 320 might be perfectly valid values as far as the structure of the
table, the business rules, the table validation, the forms, etc. etc. are
concerned. One or other might be a "data error". The scope of the problem may
well extend beyond the keyboard from the computer.

John W. Vinson [MVP]