Future of Access

  • Thread starter Thread starter StuJol
  • Start date Start date
S

StuJol

I keep hearing people say around my office that access is no longer
supported? is this the case now?? have read some threads but are a few years
old. I like access and will be disapointed if it is on the way out....
 
Of course it's not the case. Office 2010 was just released, and Access is in
it, with brand new functionality.
 
I keep hearing people say around my office that access is no longer
supported? is this the case now?? have read some threads but are a few years
old. I like access and will be disapointed if it is on the way out....
Click to expand...


FWIW, the death knell has been ringing for just about anything. Everyone
always think there's something that's about to end. They same just about
same thing regarding Apple Macintosh computers and IBM as a company and
then few more. None of those, including Microsoft Access are actually dying.


But that's a generalization. Here's specifics for Access:

They just released a new version of Access in Office 2010. If you don't
know what they have added to it, you're missing out on many features:

1) Support for table level "triggers" and "stored procedures" AKA data
macros

2) In conjecture with Sharepoint, can now publish database to web and
use a web browser instead of having to have Access to use the database.

3) Revamped Macro Designer. Now, for those (myself included) that didn't
look like much of a feature - professional developer use VBA! However,
after using it, I can see cases where using macros in some place would
be beneficial especially in regards to navigation, and I would make the
case that it'd be faster to use macros to drive some of those logic than
to write the same VBA. This is just my opinion, though, and I'm aware
others are not as big fans of the new macro designer, but that's one of
new features.

4) 64-bit support. Now has both 32-bit and 64-bit version of Access.

There may be more but I think those should be sufficient to show that
Access definitely is not dying as many people were wondering back few
years earlier when the development languished.

Just one more thing. There's already a blog post asking about the _next_
version which should show you that they are also planning this so
there's also long range future plans:

http://blogs.msdn.com/access/archive/2009/12/03/access-15-and-sql-server.aspx

HTH.
 
Every once an a while a post such as yours pops up in this forum. Based on
the fact that I joined this forum back in 1999-2000, the end of MS Access was
supposed to be upon us 10 years ago! The simple fact of the matter is that
people either are talking about something else or they simply don't knw what
they are talking about when they make statements like that.

As the other posters pointed out, Access 2010 was just released! Dead I
think not.

It is possible that what the individual was referring to was the fact that
an older version no longer is being actively supported by microsoft, but that
has little to no impact on the usage of the software itself. I have clients
still running Access '97 and support for that was discontinued years ago.

For the time being, Access is here to stay and is a great option for a
multitude of applications that other databases cannot (should not be used to)
perform.
--
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.
 
StuJol said:
I keep hearing people say around my office that access is no longer
supported? is this the case now?? have read some threads but are a few
years
old. I like access and will be disapointed if it is on the way out....
Click to expand...

Considering that Access most likely has more users than all other databases
combined, it is highly unlikely that it will ever go away. Microsoft just
release Access 2010, and are actively working on the next version. Bet the
people in office that it will be around in 5 years, and if you bet enough,
you'll be able to retire at that time. AAMOF, I'll be happy to back that
bet, if you like.
 
thank you everyone for your comments, its nice to know access has a future
and i'll gladly correct the rumars in my office. Many thanks...
 
OH THAT IS JUST BULLSHIT DUDE SQL SERVER HAS TEN TIMES THE USERS OF
ACCESS AND YOU KNOW IT!

re: Considering that Access most likely has more users than all other
databases
combined,
 
only a dumb ****, stuck in the 80s would use Access (jet) for
anything

on the other hand.. using Access Data Projects (keep all the queries
and tables in one spot where they belong - a db server) is a great
option.

Access has great forms.
Their reports just flat out suck

For starters, you can't even run Access reports against Olap, and
that's a feature that Crystal Reports has had for the past 15 years
 
I keep hearing people say around my office that access is no
longer supported?
Click to expand...

The people around your office seem to be extraordinarily
misinformed. The last two versions of Access (2007 and 2010) have
gotten more development resources than any version since perhaps
Access 2000. MS is investing a lot in it and it has a great future.

Don't listen to the morons and Access bigots. Ask them for a web
page that supports their contentions. They won't have any. You can
point them, instead, to the Access team's blog:

http://blogs.msdn.com/access/default.aspx
 
Banana said:
4) 64-bit support. Now has both 32-bit and 64-bit version of
Access.
Click to expand...

This includes the Jet/ACE database engine, which is a big win for a
lot of users of it who aren't actually using Access itself.
 
Please clarify for us if the people in your office are saying that Access is
no longer supported by Microsoft or that it is no longer supported by the IT
department in your company.

Some large companies where I have worked do not allow the use of Access.
Their IT departments seem to be overly concerned about data security, IMHO,
and Access is their target. Yet any disgruntled employee can download all
the Excel and other files on their servers onto USB drives and walk out the
door day after day. These folks don't know how to secure Access and they
won't learn.

Some folks don't like Access because you would then be able to develop your
own applications and bypass the IT department's people. If your actions take
out too many of these people, the CIO may also be out of the door. In other
words, your use of Access can be a threat to your IT department and the CIO.

And these folks don't like people knowing how to write a query or do all the
sophisticated operations that Access can do. Soon you'll want to program
SharePoint yourself and retrieve data directly from Oracle.

I actually left a job a year ago because of this mentality. Now I ask
prospective employers before I interview.

David
 
This includes the Jet/ACE database engine, which is a big win for a
lot of users of it who aren't actually using Access itself.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Excellent point. Same point is true of VBA itself as well.
 
I spent part of the day yesterday helping a colleague install a new update
to an Access 2000 application, which I was told has been running for 10
years on that site.

As Access developers we celebrated the release of Access 2010 only a day or
two ago.

Yep, Access itself is HERE TO STAY.

Now, as for being SUPPORTED, that's a different and slightly more complex
question. SUPPORT for a particular VERSION of any software application ends
eventually, but essentially what that means is the company will no longer
provide updates for that version. Just because MS has ended SUPPORT for a
specific version, that doesn't mean every application built on that version
will suddenly go up in flames.

Whenever someone trots out the hoary old "Access is ending" canard, you can
rest assured they are either confused, ignorant, or malicious.

George
 
a a r o n . k e m p f @ g m a i l . c o m said:
Jet is obsolete and it has been for a decade
move to SQL Server, kid
Click to expand...

"Whenever someone trots out the hoary old "Access is ending" canard, you can
rest assured they are either confused, ignorant, or malicious." George
 
"Whenever someone trots out the hoary old "Access is ending" canard, you can
rest assured they are either confused, ignorant, or malicious." George
Click to expand...

.... or all three.

 
Back
Top