[Year 12 IT Apps] (no subject)

[Jenny Gielb]

Hi,
A lot of IT people laugh at MS Access, they view it as puny and inconsequential. As someone who has made quite a bit of money out of developing MS Access databases for many different businesses, I laugh at them.
It is not as secure or reliable as SQL or MYSQL, or as relevant in terms of internet development but it is a very powerful tool. It has the benefit of being already available to anyone with Office, it has a fantastic GUI interface which PHP, .NET, VB, Crystal Reports and SQL do not have. It also has everything in the one package, which none of the others have. It is basically the best available software to train anyone in databases and system development. Once a student understands the concepts of database design, VBA code and front-end screen development, they can easily pick up any other database tool. 
I agree, it would be more beneficial to teach the students web-based coding and databases, but that is very complex, is changing constantly, and there is so many choices there that you can't decide what to use.
I think teaching them the basics of databases and websites is more important, they can take it further if they want later.

As an Access developer I have never ever, and wouldn't ever use drop-down boxes on tables. Drop-down boxes are for forms and data entry. Don't confuse the issue. Tables are for storing data, forms are for entering and displaying, reports are for displaying data. You have to set up basic forms for data entry anyway. 
Jenny