[GRLUG] Access or Base?

[L. V. Lammert]

On Mon, 8 Apr 2013, Eric Beversluis wrote:

> We've got a guy who needs to migrate his financial analysis DB from old
> FoxPro (6.something) (which M$ has killed).
>
How complicated? Any chance of moving to a standard progeram like
QuickBooks?

> One option would be to develop an Access FE and SQL Server (free
> version) BE. But I'm not clear about where Access is going (are ties to
> Sharepoint for Access and SQL Server going to be essential?
>
That's a question to which there is no firm answer presently. We have been
using Access as a development platform for 15 years, however we still have
apps on Access 2K [XP], and have updated to Access 07 for newer OSs (e.g.
W7).

> Can Access still be used w/o all that web stuff?
>
I would recommend staying with Access 07, however, .. as all the new crap
they are adding just pollutes the simplicity of the current system and
it's usability as an IDE.

The best tools in Access are the table manager, query designer, form
designer, and report designer. Anything else is fluff (who wants
Sharepoint, anyway <g>!).

Access 07 is a big learning curve over previous versions, but once you
figure out a few tricks (like hiding the darn Menu bar) it is actually
more productive.

> Would Access/SQL Server still be a good FE choice 10 years from now so
> he doesn't have to re-do it again?)
>
A better solution would be to go web-based, however there could be issues
with complex forms & reports.

It would be simpler (and more 'compatible') to use MySQL for the backend;
there is a MySQL ODBC connector built for just such operation, and, if you
have an old DB (you can import your FoxPro tables into Access, I believe),
you can migrate them directly to the backend.

> Am considering building a LO FE using Base with MySQL. Is it "healthy"
> enough for him to use, esp if he's no computer whiz? Would he be able to
> find someone to update/maintain it down the road without too much
> trouble if we're not available?
>
"Base" has matured in recent years, and a lot of the core functionality is
now there for doing a lot of simple applications. The major component
missing is a scripting language - with Base, it appears that you can
assign a macro to form events, but not objects themselves.

> Does anyone have experience migrating FoxPro to MySQL? Is it reasonably
> straightforward?
>
*That* is simple - configure the FoxPro app as an ODBC data source and you
can pull the data from anywhere else.

As far as the application itself, no. If it can be done with simple forms
(i.e. CRUD - Create, Report, Update, Delete), Base might be usable; for
anything more sophisticated, Access would be better (again, < 07).

	HTH,

	Lee