I'm always hearing stories about Access being phased out, discontinued, no longer supported etc. Any feedback on this? I have a lot of Access databases I've programmed over the years that are still in use, both at the office and at home. I'm using Access 2010.
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The Future of Access
- Thread starter Bill6868
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There has been talk of Access being phased out for over a decade. I have seen a little more support from MS for the Access desktop in recent years. Not a lot more, just a little.
Duane
Minnesota
Hook'D on Access
MS Access MVP 2001-2016
Duane
Minnesota
Hook'D on Access
MS Access MVP 2001-2016
There is always talk of it but what is Microsoft going to replace it with that offers the same functionality, is easy for the Access Programmer to learn or has a process to convert to a new platform? Nothing. So that means they alienate a lot of people to dump it.
While I do not think Microsoft has intentions of bettering the product to expand the user base, there is a lot that is right with Access that makes it hard to replace.
I think they want it to die a quiet death. Fact of the matter is that it will be a very slow languishing death. As long as a lot of people only buy office with Access, it will stick around, even if it is without many updates.
While I do not think Microsoft has intentions of bettering the product to expand the user base, there is a lot that is right with Access that makes it hard to replace.
I think they want it to die a quiet death. Fact of the matter is that it will be a very slow languishing death. As long as a lot of people only buy office with Access, it will stick around, even if it is without many updates.
Nothing?
SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, etc. as data base plus C#,, C++, VB.NET, Java, etc. - you choose.
As far as "easy [..] to convert to a new platform" take VB6 in early 2000's. MS dumped it, presented VB.NET and said: "Deal with it."
Have fun.
---- Andy
There is a great need for a sarcasm font.
>So that means they alienate a lot of people to dump it.
They alienated a lot of people when they discontinued VB6. Didn't stop them doing it. And VB6 to VB.NET was far from an evolution. They are quite different languages that have superficially similar syntax
They alienated a lot of people when they discontinued VB6. Didn't stop them doing it. And VB6 to VB.NET was far from an evolution. They are quite different languages that have superficially similar syntax
MS has done two awesome things. Programming IDE's and Xbox.
So yes VB6 to VB.NET was as much of a revolution as it was an evolution. Basic to VB to VB.NET, all big leaps. Can they kill VBA? I don't think so. I think Word and Excel users would go mad if they killed it or replaced it without a automatic migration tool. And I doubt they could get something 90% effective on that front. IF they do, Access may be in trouble because I doubt MS would invest in that for Access or to revamp it. But I don't see office jumping up on the IDE / programming language front. So then the question is, is Access profitable in its own right? Again I say as long as there are enough people who buy Office because Access is in it, it will stick around. It will stick around because at big bureaucratic corporations, Shadow IT is the only way to get your job done. What office product are you going to turn to for your Shadow IT database needs? Access. Is it going away? I doubt it. Could it? Sure. Unless there is some secret Access killer project in the works, I think Access will be around for a long time. What would Shadow Box do? Shadow box is my fictitious code name for the MS project that kills Access.
Shadow box would blur the lines between database, cloud, sharepoint, security administration and web forms so that things can be handled simply by business users seamlessly and be as easy to extend programmatically as office is today. Would that also put programmers out of work and reduce market share of .Net? Sure. So somewhere there is a tipping point. I could be wrong but I do not see it on the horizon. It will come though. And It may not be Microsoft. I would sit tight for 5 years and then assess whether anything has materially changed then. On the flipside, professional Access programmers are a dying breed and there is better money everywhere else for anyone starting out.
So yes VB6 to VB.NET was as much of a revolution as it was an evolution. Basic to VB to VB.NET, all big leaps. Can they kill VBA? I don't think so. I think Word and Excel users would go mad if they killed it or replaced it without a automatic migration tool. And I doubt they could get something 90% effective on that front. IF they do, Access may be in trouble because I doubt MS would invest in that for Access or to revamp it. But I don't see office jumping up on the IDE / programming language front. So then the question is, is Access profitable in its own right? Again I say as long as there are enough people who buy Office because Access is in it, it will stick around. It will stick around because at big bureaucratic corporations, Shadow IT is the only way to get your job done. What office product are you going to turn to for your Shadow IT database needs? Access. Is it going away? I doubt it. Could it? Sure. Unless there is some secret Access killer project in the works, I think Access will be around for a long time. What would Shadow Box do? Shadow box is my fictitious code name for the MS project that kills Access.
Shadow box would blur the lines between database, cloud, sharepoint, security administration and web forms so that things can be handled simply by business users seamlessly and be as easy to extend programmatically as office is today. Would that also put programmers out of work and reduce market share of .Net? Sure. So somewhere there is a tipping point. I could be wrong but I do not see it on the horizon. It will come though. And It may not be Microsoft. I would sit tight for 5 years and then assess whether anything has materially changed then. On the flipside, professional Access programmers are a dying breed and there is better money everywhere else for anyone starting out.
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