Access - Web-Based?

[Gary S]

I have been using Access and Sql Server for intranet database
applications for sometime now. They work great. But now
many times intranet applications don't make sense for various
reasons.

My question is, can Access really be a good web-based solution?

 

[Daniel Pineault]

You will get different answers on this one.

It depends on your website. Sadly Access cannot handle a 'large' number of
concurrent users and this can cause issues especially with online systems.
If you google this subject you will find numerous discussion on the subject
with a multitude of views. See

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread4740.html

Personally I would move towards a larger scale solution such as MySQL/PHP or
SQL Server/ASP or combination thereof.

A lot of it comes down to your application and of course of your skillsets.
Give some more information on the exact nature of your site and we may be
able to guide you better.
--
Hope this helps,

Daniel Pineault
http://www.cardaconsultants.com/
For Access Tips and Examples: http://www.devhut.net
Please rate this post using the vote buttons if it was helpful.

 

[Gary S]

Daniel, thanks so much for the input.

The first application is a application that
helps manage a home school coop. There
will be a few administrators and many people
needing to be able to select classes and fill out
information, and inquire on things. There
are probably 20 tables involved and
10 forms and numerous queries, ect.

Was that enough information?

 

[David H]

I'd look at doing something in ASP.NET. I've been playing with for a couple
of months and its not to difficult if you have prior experience with
developing for the web. Even then, things are pretty straight forward for the
basic stuff.

MS Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition is available at no charge.

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

I have been using Access and Sql Server for intranet database
applications for sometime now. They work great. But now
many times intranet applications don't make sense for various
reasons.

My question is, can Access really be a good web-based solution?

You meant the "JET" database engine.

When you use jet + an mdb file, you are not using ms-access anymore.

If you looking to story some data on a web site, you can use a mdb file or
sql server.

However, you not using VBA code, you not using forms, you not using reports,
and in fact you using ZERO ZERO part of ms-access to create your web based
application. the ONLY part you can use is your data tables, but since you
using NOTHING else of ms-access, then ere is ZERO advantage to using
ms-access over something else to "just" store you data.

You taking about JET and a mdb file...you are NOT talking about ms-access
the development tool. You would not ask can c++ or vb6 be a good web based
solution. These are developers tools just like ms-access is.

You can choose ms-access as your devotement tools, and then choose sql
server, Oracle etc as the database storage system to use with ms-access.
And, you can choose develop using a web based system like asp.net, and AGAIN
you choose a data storage system.

So, don't confuse ms-access the development system with that of a database
you choose to use with ms-access.

If you going to build a web based solution, you WILL NOT be using ms-access,
nor will ms-access EVER have to be installed on the web server. Ms-access is
not a web based tool and has absolute no relation to web based development
tools. It is the wrong tool and wrong technology, just like vb6, or c++ is
the
wrong tool if you looking to build a web based solution. So, no, ms-access
is of no use at all here.

So, you are really taking about using JET here, and not ms-access. There is
really very very little reason to build a web site based on the JET database
engine when you have so many other alternatives (free ones) in the
marketplace...

Simply put, ms-access is no more of a web development tool then is c++ or
vb6, or Pascal is.....

 

[David H]

It may be just be, but I got the impression that the original poster isn't as
advanced as the rest of us. While you're response may be dead-on, I think it
runs the risk of being too much information.

 

[David W. Fenton]

So, you are really taking about using JET here, and not ms-access.

While everything you say is true, Albert, to be fair, Microsoft is
the worst offender in confusing Jet and Access. Certainly someone
who has never used Access could still be familiar with using Jet
through ODBC or OLEDB, both of which have "MS Access" in the connect
string. And, of course, MS certainly uses the two almost
interchangably in its documentation.

So, while I think your response is good for explaining the
difference, I think it would be good to acknowledge that the
confusion comes directly from Microsoft.

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

So, while I think your response is good for explaining the
difference, I think it would be good to acknowledge that the
confusion comes directly from Microsoft.

Sure, I agree with the above. And, it's been that way from day one.

Most of the time the lack of distinction between
jet and access really does not matter.

Knowing "when" to point out that difference I think is what really is MORE
important.

I am here to give good advice. I can't give the advice
every time that distinguishes between jet and ms-access.

And I don't think it would be productive or really an act of charity
on my part to point out the jet/access difference each time either.

Everyone here (including me) usually does not make any kind of real effort
to distinguish between jet and ms-access. And for 99% of the posts and
contexts it not a an issue. (at least not for me in my humble opinion).

However in this case I really do think it is significant and important that
2 things needed be pointed out:

1) JET is not ms-access when you talking about using ms-access on a web
site. To not explain this distinction **WHEN** talking about ms-access on
a web site is VERY important.

2) As per issue #1, it thus follows that ms-access is NOT a web development
tool. Again, in the context of this question it is significant to
point this out. That poster is wondering about how to use ms-access for
web development.

I can only continue to use my sound judgment on this matter and figure
"when" is good time to point out that jet and ms-access difference.

However I have two posts questioning my judgment and advice here. And
in fact the two posts are NOT directed to helping the person out but in fact
are directed towards me then I must have hit a nerve or simply put my post
was off base and not considered helpful. perhaps my post was simply not a
good post.

I can't recall the last time that I had "two posters" responding not to the
question but in fact responding to my advice I given here (I think this is
a first for me).

Perhaps my response was too harsh here or not worded in a way that was
not considered charitable to the community here. Perhaps my post was not
really useful advice for the poster. I guess I have to work a bit on my
"judgment" made here. When one gets "two" posts questioning my advice, then
it time for me to look at how to change my game here a bit.

And, to the original poser if my post seemed harsh or off base or simply
confused this issue for you, then please accept my apologies...

 

[David W. Fenton]

Everyone here (including me) usually does not make any kind of
real effort to distinguish between jet and ms-access.

Hmm. Are you sure about that? I, for one, am *very* careful to
maintain the distinction -- I will *never* say "Access" when I'm
talking about a Jet datastore. One of the reasons for that is
because I'm very sensitized to it because in non-Access forums like
StackOverflow.com, it's an endemic problem. 90% of the questions
there that are tagged "MS Access" are about Jet, but the questions
are frequently wrongly answered because the ambiguity leads
respondents to think that the programming environment is VBA hosted
in Access. This leads to lots of non-productive discussion, and so I
make a point of making the distinction any time any poster fails to
be clear.

I'd be surprised if you could find very many examples of the
regulars in the Access newsgroups mixing up the two terms.

 

[David W. Fenton]

I can only continue to use my sound judgment on this matter and
figure "when" is good time to point out that jet and ms-access
difference.

Albert, I wasn't criticizing you for making the post. I was only
suggesting that, to be fair, you should include the observation that
one of the sources of the confusion is, in fact, Microsoft itself,
so it's quite understandable that a lot of people fail to recognize
the distinction.

I'm not sure why you thought my post was a criticism of you.