Ron Hane
Ron Hane
Nov 1 · 4 min read

Wow, that title. If that won’t draw you in, you just don’t care about databases or development. And the article makes some great points. But far more pointed to me are the responses… They show that there is still a very great need for database applications that don’t reside on the web, and they say far more about why Access won’t die than the article itself. Here’s what I compiled with a few of my own observations.

THE GOOD

1. Access continues to free up “Big IT”. This is no small matter.

2. Access still allows departments to have new applications they need without getting stuck in the corporate IT priority vortex. This is no small matter.

3. Access is far less expensive than most of the rapid development systems on the web.

4. Access is more flexible and complete than most of the rapid development systems on the web. Again, no small matter.

5. Access empowers smart people. Low code / no code systems have been around for a long time. Access is one of them. Yep, no small matter. And the comment list keeps going…

6. Access remains useful for ad-hoc analysis.

7. Access is a RAD tool. Before the silly early arguments began about the “dangers of agile”, insightful developers were interacting with customers, making prototypes and even cranking out small applications with this crazy tool. One can quickly build something TRULY useful with Access. And btw, contrary to what the article suggests, it can still link to SQL databases just fine.

8. Access is a SINGLE complete environment. You can assimilate requirements, design tables, link to external data, define relationships, create event driven forms and reports, write any necessary code, load and transform data, and yes, for the less skilled, create macros. And all those definitions, even VBA code, are stored in the database. As much as pros are ashamed of writing in VBA, it took the Microsoft compiler tool guys MANY YEARS to get Visual Studio in par with this environment. THAT would make another interesting article.

9. CASE. That was the idea of having a graphical environment to define and database to store the definition of a system and use the definition to generate the software and its tables. It was wildly expensive, out of reach of all but the big companies, and it didn’t deliver very well. But of course, there is Access.

10. The Access Report writer can crank out complex reports faster than most web-based tools.

11. Access can be used for development.

12. Access is still great for manipulating data. A few years ago, Microsoft even positioned it as the ultimate tool for transforming data as they tried to distance Access (successfully, I think) from “real” development tools and shame anyone who would continue using it for such. Indeed, I’ve used it to develop, test, and deploy processes to draw in data, transform it, and load the replacement system, for testing and then for production.

THE BAD

1. The “occasional irretrievable lost database”. That is no laughing matter. SQL Server rocks. When it comes to backups, paranoia is your only friend.

NOW MY OWN TWO CENTS

Since few professional developers (admit to) know and use Access, let me list a few features of this obsolete product not listed above. It could do multi-nested transaction processing with rollback. It supported database replication. It uses SQL. Its dialect of SQL supports true updatable views, as originally envisioned in the ‘80’s. It does so by automatically recognizing what sides of a query can be editable. You have to do little to nothing to get data into and out of its forms. It can store SQL scripts and submit them to a database like SQL Server and Oracle. It can use nearly all of the .NET functions available to other Windows languages. It could be used to create modules — extensions to itself. In fact, parts of Access were written in Access. It could tie to a version control system, and generate stand-alone packaged executables with their run-time environment. That’s why a few people aren’t ashamed of using it even though it lacks curly braces.

Microsoft has been after Access for a long time for a couple reasons. It was an embarrassment to their compiler tool folks, and it cut into their profits. As they added more and more worthless over-the-top features, they made maintenance and future enhancement even more burdensome. They never figured out how to get it on the web and frankly, practically NO ONE wanted to invest in a SharePoint site to do it — especially with a very different and limited flavor of Access. And Visual Studio is very mature. So, Access is a drag and they just want to start over with something with better margins.

I work for a ministry to kids. With this tool in the front end and SQL Server in the back, I was able crank out and maintain apps to meet the requirements of our headquarters at very little cost back when they desperately needed some help. Now Access IS obsolete and it isn’t cost effective for Microsoft. But as the comments bare out, for those who know the product, it’s a valuable ally that they don’t want to walk away from as long as it’s available.