Do I need SQL Server?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shell
  • Start date Start date
S

Shell

I just purchased, installed and dived into ACCESS 2007 (along with other
Office stuff). And finding it contradicts the sales pitches - I'm haveing
nightmares :)

All I need to do is build some small office applications to track sales,
customers, invoices and PO numbers - something i find tio be very daunting.

That aside, I picked up first Office 2007 Access Bible, now I have the
Office 2007 Tutorial and in Chapeter 26, it wants me to connect to a SQL
server! Do I need that just to create some forms to store, query, and manage
those I mentioned? Doesn't something like come with the $700.00 for MS
Office? I can't find it and even when installing the second CD, it failed.
It was optional Contact management thingy.

Should I have bought a bigger filing cabinet instread? :) or can I skup the
SQL server thing and get around it?
 
Do any of these apply?

a) Your system must operate 24x7.
You cannot log everyone out to do maintenance or backups.

b) You need hundreds of simultaneous users in the database.

c) Security is paramount. It is really important to keep people out of parts
of the database.

d) You anticipate that some of your tables will have many millions of
records.

e) The database must be used on an unstable network (WAN, VPN, WiFi.)

If none of those apply, just skip the SQL Server stuff and go ahead in
Access. You will find it to be an amazing product, integrating the storage
and querying with the interface, reporting and programming. A well-designed
and implemented Access database is perfectly suited for an office on a LAN
(split of course) with a couple of dozen users.

Even if some (such as (e)) apply, there may be workarounds, such as running
Access under a Citrix/Terminal Server, or developing a web interface that
connects to the Access database (ASP/PHP/.NET etc.)
 
hi Shell ,

Here is a very loose guide to store on SQL Server:

- if you have > 20 concurrent users
- if your database is > 2 gig (limit with Access)

Warm Regards,
Crystal

*
(: have an awesome day :)
*
 
Shell said:
I just purchased, installed and dived into ACCESS 2007 (along with other
Office stuff). And finding it contradicts the sales pitches - I'm haveing
nightmares :)
Click to expand...

You already have some good advice on the SQL server issue, and of course the
answer is no, you don't need to purchase sql server at all.

You only want to purchase SQL server if your intention is to use SQL server.

Furthermore there are several versions of SQL server that are available from
Microsoft for free download. However don't confuse how to use MS access with
SQL server as opposed to you developing an application using ONLY ms-access
as the database. For the most part there's really no special difference
in terms of how your applciaton will function. in other words choosing SQL
server does not give you additional special features that allow the sun a
lousy to develop further parts of your application.

to keep in mind there's two ways that MS access can work with SQL server
should you in the future after some study of time decide that you actually
need SQL server.

One approach to use to create what is called an MS access project. The term
access project has a *specific* and special meaning in MS access. this
option
is generally for users that from day one who want to use SQL server.

The other choice is a standard MS access database file, and that's what most
people use.
All I need to do is build some small office applications to track sales,
customers, invoices and PO numbers - something i find tio be very
daunting.
Click to expand...

development of an overall application of that nature will take quite a bit
of software skills on your side to develop. I would suggest that you give
the sample application(s) that ships with MS
access a try. When you launch MS access, on the left side try clicking on
local templates, and then from the template list choose the the northwind
database (and, don't use/check the sharpoint option).

That north wind template is a simple example of what a product order
type system could look like, but it will give you tens of ideas, and you
might use it as a starting point...
 
If you've got a book/tutorial which wants you to use SQL Server without
telling you why/how, blame the book/tutorial, not Access.

However, if this is in Chapter 26, I would suspect it is getting into the
advanced stuff (such as using SQL Server), so if you don't want to do this
just ignore it and stick to the earlier all-Access stuff.

I have no idea whether SQL Server is included on the Office 2007 CD's (I
haven't looked) but it doesn't matter because anyone can download it for
free:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/express/bb410792.aspx

Personally I *always* use SQL Server as the back-end to my Access
applications, but if you are struggling already then you should avoid it
like the plague.
 
Thanks to everyone that responded. Whew - what a relief. Since only one
person will be using the database - maybe two in 6 months or so.

As for it bei8ng Cpt. 26, the book covers all of Office and Chapter 26
begins with Access.

Thanks again.

S
 
Out of curiosity, who's the author of the book, who published it and what's
its exact title? (the ISBN number might be the best way of making sure we
can correctly identify the book in question)
 
Hi Douglas,

Here is the info you asked for on the book.

You can review the book at Microsoft through this link
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9470.aspx

Other info about it is:

Author Joyce Cox, Joan Preppernau, Steve Lambert, and Curtis Frye
Pages 752
Disk 1 Companion CD(s)
Level Beg/Int
Published 01/17/2007
ISBN 9780735622784

It's about "How to use Microsoft Office Access 2007, Excel 2007, Outlook
2007, PowerPoint 2007, and Word 2007."

S
 
Should I have bought a bigger filing cabinet instread? :) or can I skup the
SQL server thing and get around it?
Click to expand...

As noted elsethread, SQL is optional and certainly not necessary (though I'm
getting to like it for some things). It's certainly not needed for a project
as you describe it. Aaron Kempf may post to this thread arguing for SQL; do
check up on his previous posts, though, and you'll see that it's his answer to
any and all questions.

You can check for some more specific Access resources at

Jeff Conrad's resources page:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

The Access Web resources page:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/index.html

A free tutorial written by Crystal (MS Access MVP):
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

MVP Allen Browne's tutorials:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials
 
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