Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Application Databases & Query Databases

In my short exposure to Access databases I noticed something that is somewhat troubling.
In my opinion you can look at an Access database in two frames of referrence:1) As an application2) As a area for obtaining information from data
What normally happens is people use the application database for both. So what's the problem? You get an application database that is cluttered with queries and temporary tables. The major problem with this is that no one can tell what the dependent tables and queries are and what the temporary ones are.
A small suggestion to the Beginner Access community: if you plan to use your database for more than just an application (which is basically the case 99% of the time for people who are not developers) create 2 databases. Create one solely for the application with only the tables, queries, modules, macros that you need to run the application. Create another (with linked tables) for your querying and research. This way, whenever someone else comes in contact with your database (and if it's of any value, someone eventually will.) They will not be confused with all the excess un-dependant stuff that goes along with daily activity.
Thanks,
Your Friend Chris

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