This is a discussion on Access vs SQL within the SQL Server forums, part of the Microsoft SQL Server category; --> hi there, a while back i got into a bit of ASP programming and needed database access. since msAccess ...
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| hi there, a while back i got into a bit of ASP programming and needed database access. since msAccess was installed on the system i was using at the time i used that and have used that since. but then i heard something about sql and that it's better to change to that as early as you can because it's hard converting access databases and all the code that goes along with it. i would like to know what advantages the sql holds over access. thanks in advance Dan. |
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| I guess the major different is that the speed, stability , security and stored procedure. MSSQL is the strongest DBMS on Microsoft Product line. There is no doubt in its speed and stability. stored procedure make you simplify your asp procedure and centralize in to the DB. It also can speed up your development time. how to choose the suitable database, which depend on what's your project size and how complex of it. sai. "Dan." <no@ddress.fr> wrote in message news:<c8hugi$sv6$2@news.tiscali.fr>... > hi there, > a while back i got into a bit of ASP programming and needed database > access. since msAccess was installed on the system i was using at the time i > used that and have used that since. but then i heard something about sql and > that it's better to change to that as early as you can because it's hard > converting access databases and all the code that goes along with it. i > would like to know what advantages the sql holds over access. > > thanks in advance > Dan. |
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| Hi Dan, I guess the biggest difference is that Access is single-threaded. If two users hit it at the same time, it has problems. My org wanted to use a single-threaded postal address scrubber a few months ago. I ran scripts from two different machines that looped through 50 addresses. I killed it every time. |
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| jmshaw@weir.net (John Shaw) wrote: >I guess the biggest difference is that Access is single-threaded. If >two users hit it at the same time, it has problems. But the Access back end is on a file server? It's a shared file. Multiple users can update it at the same time just fine. >My org wanted to >use a single-threaded postal address scrubber a few months ago. I ran >scripts from two different machines that looped through 50 addresses. >I killed it every time. What do you mean by killed it? Was this postal address scrubber written in Access or what? Tony -- Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can read the entire thread of messages. Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm |
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| "Tony Toews" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> wrote in message news:mvsfb09o57hbku3cv9f6lnaclhnm8gllpe@4ax.com... > jmshaw@weir.net (John Shaw) wrote: > > >I guess the biggest difference is that Access is single-threaded. If > >two users hit it at the same time, it has problems. > > But the Access back end is on a file server? It's a shared file. Multiple users can > update it at the same time just fine. > > >My org wanted to > >use a single-threaded postal address scrubber a few months ago. I ran > >scripts from two different machines that looped through 50 addresses. > >I killed it every time. > > What do you mean by killed it? Was this postal address scrubber written in Access or > what? Ultimately my experience is that while SQL Server will scale better, etc... one can write poorly written apps on a SQL Server that will kill it and one can write well written apps on Access that will fly. I found out the local ITT school has a teacher teaching students that Access has a hard limit of something like 24 users. I confirmed this with two students. Note the teacher wasn't suggesting that as a soft limit to use as a rough guide, but taught it as a hard limit. Fortunately I was able to correct at least two students. > > Tony > -- > Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP > Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can > read the entire thread of messages. > Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at > http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm |
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| Access is not single threaded. In fact, one of the many problems that users have with Access is that some applications (eg IIS) have problems dealing with a multi-threaded process such as the Jet database engine. Jet was designed to operate as a partially distributed database engine. If you need to operate Jet as central database engine you should increase the number of threads. If you need to operate Jet as a central database engine in a context that can not handle thread creation, you should reduce the number of threads to 1. (david) "John Shaw" <jmshaw@weir.net> wrote in message news:91422298.0405281610.6f22a1a3@posting.google.c om... > Hi Dan, > > I guess the biggest difference is that Access is single-threaded. If > two users hit it at the same time, it has problems. My org wanted to > use a single-threaded postal address scrubber a few months ago. I ran > scripts from two different machines that looped through 50 addresses. > I killed it every time. |
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| It's difficult to say exactly which is better as it depends on the task you want to do. I've been using both Access and SQL for several years and generally use Access for smaller applications (one off's) with low numbers of users. (such as the one on www.ryan.dial.pipex.com - my own stuff which I'm working on at the moment - as you will see, you can do quite a lot with it) This isn't because of any limitations of Access, but a preference to keep our main apps (at work) consistent. SQL is used for anything likely to be a permanent release and with lots of users. For instance SQL handles record locking better IMHO. Access is easy to develop in very quickly with limited knowledge (and powerful if you know what you are doing). Access queries will provide you with SQL statements which are almost right for using in SQL itself. It doesn't take long to learn what changes you may need to make as they are only subtle differences. I prefer SQL as I can lay out the code in a neater manner, but Access has a better graphical front end. SQL is your back end and Access can be both the front and back end or you can use a mix (Access front end, SQL back end). This is a nice compromise if development costs are low (ish). I found Access to be very useful in learning about database programming and coding in VBA. It's all in one package so easy to work with. SQL can be a little harder, but it's well worth the effort. Once you get up to speed and comfortable with it, you should find it better than Access, but will still need a development language. I use Delphi as my main development language and the two work well together. The good thing about SQL is that there are a lot of people willing to help out on this forum. The Access one seems to have been taken over so I don't bother with it any more. |
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| "Dan." <no@ddress.fr> wrote in message news:c8hugi$sv6$2@news.tiscali.fr... > hi there, > a while back i got into a bit of ASP programming and needed database > access. since msAccess was installed on the system i was using at the time i > used that and have used that since. but then i heard something about sql and > that it's better to change to that as early as you can because it's hard > converting access databases and all the code that goes along with it. i > would like to know what advantages the sql holds over access. > > thanks in advance > Dan. > > SQL is not a database it is a language. (Structured Query Language) SQLServer is a database. Don't confuse the two. Jim |
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| These articles may be helpful. http://www.aspfaq.com/show.asp?id=2195 http://www.aspfaq.com/show.asp?id=2214 -- David Portas SQL Server MVP -- |
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| (non existant groups removed from x-post) David Portas wrote: > http://www.aspfaq.com/show.asp?id=2214 From that site: <--- SQL Server handles NULL values differently. Access assumes NULL = NULL, so two rows where a column is <NULL> would match a JOIN clause comparing the two. By default, SQL Server treats NULLs correctly as UNKNOWN, so that, depending on the settings within SQL Server, it cannot state that NULL = NULL. If you are trying to determine whether a column contains a NULL value, the following query change should be made: -- Access: [...] WHERE column = NULL [...] WHERE column <> NULL -- SQL Server: [...] WHERE column IS NULL [...] WHERE column IS NOT NULL ---> WTF? Where on Earth did that information come from? That is totally incorrect. Access has never treated a null as equal to another null. -- This sig left intentionally blank |