Web Resources > Developing Your Site > Do It Yourself > Databases > Access
Since its introduction in 1992, Microsoft Access has become one of the most versatile applications in the Office suite. This versatility is evidenced by the rich set of tools that even the most experienced database user can take advantage of, while offering the same level of simplicity as the other Office applications for first-time database users.
|
Key
Points - Access
|
 Inexpensive |
| Easy
to learn |
| Unreliable
for heavy web use |
Access
comes with an integrated development environment (IDE), including incremental
compilation, a fully interactive visual debugger, breakpoints, and single
step-through. These capabilities combine to
make Microsoft Access an extremely powerful platform for developing client-server
database solutions.
Unfortunately, MS Access is very limited compared to MySQL and SQL Server. Access does not support many multiple connections to the database and does not perform as fast as MySQL and SQL Server. For very small web applications, Access may be perfect, especially given its low price, but for large numbers of database calls from multiple users visiting your web site, Access can be unreliable and slow.
Resources For Microsoft Access
http://www.microsoft.com/office/access/evaluation/guide.htm
