Re: MS-Access as Fond End against Uniface to a Orcale database

Abulafia_at_pi.net (Edward Blom) wrote:
[snip]
>Now to my question is:
>Does anyone have documents in where the pro's and con's of Access used
>as front end are discused. I would be very glad to read them to get a
>better view at this problem.

No documents, but an observation:

The "problem" (or "challenge") with MS-Access as a front-end can be summarized into one "word": ODBC

ODBC have some performance problems that don't necessarily show up on a LAN, but can be a major problem on a WAN (or if your LAN load is heavy). This has to do with the way ODBC "packages" SQL-calls to the server. You might see a difference of from 2 - 10 times as many call from ODBC compared to a direct connect driver from a good front-end tool.

Also the trivial aspect of finding the right ODBC driver to use. The ODBC spec is vague and different implementations vary in conformance and stability. And you might run into problems when deploying it to PCs with a sligthly different setup (dlls etc).

I'm not saying that ODBC can not work, only that I've seen a lot of time wasted trying to get it to work. This time can be saved by using a product that supports a direct connection.

If you like VB, maybe Oracle PowerObjects would be OK?

Other products I've tried or heard good things about are Powerbuilder and Centura. No product is perfect, so YMMV.

OTOH, if your ODBC is working out fine and it's no problem with deployment there is no reason why you shoudn't use the tool that you know. Just remember that things that is "natural" (I'm quoting to much) to MS-Access isn't necessarly OK when used towards an Oracle database. This may affect performance.

Regards,
Haakon
hts_at_sasdata.no | htsoend_at_online.no | Haakon T. Soenderland Scandinavian Airlines Data Norway A/S

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