Re: MS Access usefulness and size restrictions

"Larry Linson" <larry.linson_at_ntpcug.org> wrote in message news:<oOsV6.1627$v4.113842_at_paloalto-snr1.gtei.net>...

> It's been clearly stated that Microsoft has put Jet "in maintenance mode".
> It is not at all clear that "MSDE is as good and more scalable" -- it has,
> in my experience, always been a bit more trouble to create, maintain, and
> install client-server implementations than Access-Jet ones. MSDE (and the
> desktop edition of SQL Server) are limited to 5 concurrent queries, and the
> most (repeat _most_) concurrent users I have ever heard reported with MSDE
> was 25, far below the number that we've reliably heard for Jet.

With Jet in "Maintenance Mode" I hesitate to promote it as a backend for Access. Not that there is _anything_ wrong with it. It just doesn't appear likely that it will get any better. Yes, I'm aware of the limitations in MSDE. The 5 user limitation appears to be moot as you point out, the real world limitation is more likely 10-25. For most smaller applications, 10-25 concurrent connections is not really a liability.

>
> You can certainly "scale" your Access-MSDE application to Microsoft SQL
> Server, but that is a whole different ballgame. Even the low-end, Small
> Business Server, editions of SQL Server cost many times what Access (and
> whichever supplied back end you use). Just getting back to the 5 users that
> MSDE clearly ought to support will cost you over $2K.

Even at the inflated cost of SQL Server, for persons creating applications in larger institutions, it is a benefit to know that, if the number of users escalate, the ability to scale the program is painless (but pricey). I will reiterate: most _small_ businesses would never need to move from MSDE.

>
> I don't understand what you mean by "Access XP was just released this year
> which indicates it will probably survive far beyond the three years
> predicted." I particularly don't understand "survive far beyond the three
> years predicted" -- within the past year I have done maintenance work on an
> Access 2.0 client application for a Fortune 50 corporation. I first worked
> on that in 1995, but it was begun in 1994, and as far as I know, there are
> no plans to replace it with a later version or different applications even
> today.

I was referring to Dan's prediction that Access will be dead in three years. I believe that _new_ applications will not be developed using Jet in three years. Yes, older applications that were well developed will survive for much longer than that. But honestly, if someone were to ask you to develop a new application today, would you choose Access 2.0? With the release of Access XP I believe that Access will be around a long time, even if Jet is not.

Larry, you are one of the Access gurus I pay daily homage to as I work through my applications by utilizing your tips and tools. I was wondering if you are bothered by Access' identity crisis as much as I?  Would you like to see it renamed to "VB for DB's"? Dan is just the latest of a long line of very well informed IT types that can't seem to seperate Access and Jet in their minds. Just curious. Received on Wed Jun 13 2001 - 11:42:41 CDT