Not true.
Office XP Pro DOES include MSDE. It is not installed by
default along with Office, but it is included on the CD.
You just have to run the setup program in the MSDE2000
folder.
Whether MSDE will solve your problems depends on several
factors, including:
1) Do you have any database administration tools?, MSDE
does not include Enterprise Manager or Query Analyzer, and
Access has only limited capabilities for Access projects
(.adp files) and even less for Access databases (.mdb
files).
2) Are you proficient with SQL Server? MSDE is just a
stripped down version of SQL Server, and if you want to
move an Access database to MSDE or SQL Server it will
require a lot of conversion and redevelopment effort, and
a steep learning curve if you do not know SQL Server.
3) Are you familiar with ADO vs. DAO? Access 2002 and SQL
Server use ADO for programmatic interactions with the
database, and there lots of quirks and watch-outs in the
use of Access's implementation of ADO.
If you are uncertain that you can make use of MSDE (or SQL
Server), you may want to try out the free 120 trial of SQL
Server before you buy Office 2002 just to get MSDE. This
is available at the following url:
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/evaluation/trial/
Another benefit with the trial version is that it includes
Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer, which may help you
decide if you can get by with the limited SQL
administration tools available in Access.
HTH,
Tom
