I don’t know how it’s possible that someone at Microsoft decided that Access was still relevant in 2018. I can understand that at some point in the past, it could have been useful in some cases. But now that IT has evolved to what it is now, how can such aberration still exist?
Ok, I studied computer science a few years ago and worked in the field for a few years, so I consider that I have a respectable amount of knowledge and experience in IT, yet I still have a hard time doing the basic things with this software. I believe that Microsoft has great engineers that know a lot more about computers and programming than I’ll probably ever know, so how can something like Access even exist?
A little while ago, I had to get back into Access do to a few tasks that I would describe as “basic”, without getting into details about what I did exactly, let’s say that I had to build a database, and build forms and reports that made the data usable by the common mortal. And I almost failed at it! I would probably have done a better and faster job coding the whole thing in C# and SQL.
In the past, I also had to work with older versions, to as far as Access 97, and frankly, I don’t think anything changed in those 20 years, it just seems like the same software with a more modern user interface (mostly the top ribbon, the rest is just the same old gray color). The same old features and ways of doing things, without much improvement in overall usability.
I can understand that there is definitely a market for something in-between Excel and SQL Server, but why does it have to be this. If I can find my way into Excel and SQL Server, why would it be hard for me to understand how Access works? And I’ve never heard of any fellow coder having a favorable or even neutral opinion about that software, we all hate it.
There must be a reason, I guess it’s because it is a piece of s**t of a software. In general, as IT specialists, we can get around in pretty much any software, no matter if we have used it before or not. Because most applications follow similar guidelines when it comes to the features they provide. But Access seems to get away with doing its own thing and not caring about the rest. (not sure why I’m thinking of Internet Explorer at the moment…)
Maybe it still lives nowadays just to allow companies that are stuck with it to continue using their tools without investing in a real database server? But if it is so, why not scrap Access and do a user-friendly version of SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio? Like some kind of standalone application that manages its own local server (if they haven’t already done it) that can live on a standard PC/workstation and be passed around, just like Access, but with the features and predictability of a real SQL server. Or just make a front-end for SQLite, which does a pretty good job at managing server-less databases.
I don’t expect any business owner or any non-IT worker to learn SQL, but if a software provided a user-friendly way of using databases like Access does while also having a real SQL engine under the hood, wouldn’t it be nice for all of us poor coders that will inevitably have to help those people at one time or another?