Hi I used the \decompile switch

[orna]

Hi

I used the \decompile switch with Access97 and the reduction in size was dramatic.
When done the same with 2002 the result was increasing DB size.

Is it not right for 2002 or is it somthing else?

TIA

 

[RickSpr]

Actually, it's not "right" for any version.

When you decompile the database, you make Access throw away all the compiled VBA code. But the next time you run any given piece of code, it will be compiled again, so your "savings" are only very temporary.

As for why your Access 2002 database got larger, I don't have 2002 installed, so for all I know this may be normal. But it could also be because you didn't compact the database after decompiling it.

Rick Sprague
Want the best answers? See faq181-2886
To write a program from scratch, first create the universe. - Paraphrased from Albert Einstein

 

[orna]

Thanks Rick

I did Compact after decompile.

What you said about decompile is not the whole thing,
it gets rid of garbage that Access holds and
it keeps the DB really compact, at least that what it does in 97.

 

[RickSpr]

Thanks, Orna. I have never had a large enough database to run into those peculiar problems, or else I used methods that avoided this bloat (I often create a new database and import everything, for example) so I had never run across this technique before.

I tried it against A97 and A2000 versions of something I'm currently working on, and it reduced them each about 600K (about 30%).

Thanks for teaching me something new.

Rick Sprague
Want the best answers? See faq181-2886
To write a program from scratch, first create the universe. - Paraphrased from Albert Einstein

 

[psemianonymous]

Everything you could possibly want to know about the undocumented /decompile switch:

http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/decompile.htm

As for the original question, my first answer is "I don't know"; my second answer is "there are situations where decompile will grow your database." It's certainly nothing to worry about; I'm sure the performance gains are still applicable for newer versions of Access as they are for the older versions.


Just for the curious, here is what happened when I decompiled a database front-end:

(size in KBytes)
1. Compacted/not decompiled:    2612
2. Immediately after decompile: 3520
3. Immediately after compile:   3520
4. Compacted again:             2484

 

[orna]

Thanks Foolio12

I'm familiar with that site but it's dealing with 97.
I tried to convert from 2002 to 2000 and then decompile
this time it reduced the FE size.