Visual Basic vs. VBA/Access

[Darxion]

We are investigating the possible use of VB front end, "SQL" back end vs. Access and VBA (front/back or all-in-one). Does anyone have any information or know of any links to any information that would specifically address the pros and cons when determining which is better, faster, easier to use, etc.?

If you have personal experience with each, which is better and why/when?

Note: Currently using Access97. I would like comparisons of Access97 and/or Access2000 vs. VB6 and any type of "SQL" backend (MS Sequel Server preferred).

Thanks!

 

[Frink]

Hallo,

Not had much experience of VB, but the main differences, as I see them are:

VBA is interpreted, whereas VB is compiled, which means that VB will always be considerably faster

VBA has all the database handling operations all built in and so is much quicker to program.

Generally it's the design of the database and the hardware/network speed which govern the speed of the application.

- Frink

 

[hsitz]

Actually, I think whatever speed advantages VB has over VBA are just the result of VB apps not having all the overhead that an Access/VBA app has. VB apps are not compiled to native code, as far as I know. They're "compiled" to a compressed version that is interpreted in a similar way to the way VBA apps are compiled and interpreted. VB programs can be packaged in an executable, but that's a small advantage.

You don't need to compare a plain Access solution vs VB/Backend combination. You can use Access with any back end you want. So the real comparison would be Access paired with a SQL backend compared with VBA paired with a SQL backend. And there Access probably has the advantage in speed and ease of development. Access 2000 even has special support in the form of Access "Projects" (.adp files) for SQL Server that make things even faster to develop.

But VB app has advantage of being "lighter weight" since it won't have all the overhead of an Access app, smaller footprint, probably faster.

I know there are a few threads on this or similar topics. You might want to search for them. -- Herb