Yea, I agree to all of that...and I know there are different types of SQL (you would hope I would ). Oracle, Sybase et al. target much larger deployments...Access isn't meant to replace any of that. I dunno, I've used it quite a bit and it just 'feels' clunky, but like you said, it's a RAD, not a full on DB package. I just can't stand VB . I much prefer a LAMP platform, but that's not always feasible.

 

to clarify, it is both vb and sql,. Access will let you do it any way, really. The code I wrote is in the follows the HAVING section of the sql code, but the code also sits in in VB...it just depends on how you view it.

I love Access myself. It has its limitations, of course. The real limit is no one knows it. Everyone at my work claims to be a database expert, but when it comes down to it, all they know how to do are run canned (predefined) queries and reports. Ask them about writing an ad-hoc query and they start breathing through their mouths.

I've just started in this new position (intra-company move) and they do everything in Excel. In fact, many of their models are several hundred sheets, much of it with redundant data, and when one of the mouth-breathers decides to "make one of the sheets pretty" it screws everything up. Also, they have to use multiple sheets due to Excel's 65000 row maximum. This new database I'm doing will shave time and complexity from this task. My job now is to look at the way they do things and figure out better ways. I'm sort of like an internal consultant. My experience as a financial analyst and my computer skills keep me realistic rather than implementing new technologies just for the sake of it.

 

mouth breathers

I know there is an ODBC <--> MySQL connector available, but I don't know if that will help you much. I've heard of tables getting corrupted in Access quite a few times...I would personally go with the MySQL stuff. But that's what I'm comfortable with, YMMV. SQL statements are easy...getting all the damn VB shit to play nice is the nightware (for me anyway). Of course I'd just write everything in PHP and have some excel templates that pulled data from HTML tables (if we even need Excel...). But that is a big step for the mouthies.

Good luck on your project whichever route you go!

 

yea, i've heard of access tables being corrupted, but it'll be in a place backed up daily, so that's less of an issue (and they store multiple days).

I know that my bosses are gonna love this. The way they do it now is just AWEFUL. This is for our >$1Billion annual operating plan, so the numbers have to be right. My reasoning is you can only guarantee accuracy if the numbers are all in one place.