Re: Future of ADP's

Ok, this is one topic, that really is important for us, Ms Access
"Developers", that really started in Access and continued with Access
because it is real easy and quick to develop a solution, and enable us to
make a living deploying solutions to small to medium business.

I think that many of us are worried not about ADPs but how are we going to
continue to work, or if there is a future for us in the IT world.

Maybe that most of us are self learing and will take a lot of time to lear
something new and if it going to be time-cost effective as Access is.

Please, write your suggestion that we should lear, or start to use like:

Ms Access ADPs and SQL Server 2005 Express

SQL Server 2005 Express and ASP.Net, or see some web applications.

All your help and commerts are really important for all of us that fell our
work is about to end.

Thanks for your time and support.

Armando Vargas.

"Reese Watt" <reese@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> escribió en el mensaje
news:us4bRD8zHHA.1212@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here's a brief summary of my career:

I started out as an actuary using Excel spreadsheets.
I realized Excel wasn't a database, so I learned Access and VBA
I learned Access had limits, so I learned SQL-Server and ADP projects.
I became a developer and developed a really nice application using
SQL-Server/ADP that is helping lots of people be much more efficient.
Now, we're consider marketing this application to other firms and I want
to be sure I have a platform that will be good for the long-term
investment of future clients.

From what I'm reading, I feel like a cartoon character with my left foot
in one car and my right foot in another and straight ahead is a fork in
the road. The left fork is the VB.Net/SQL-Server road. The right fork is
the Access/ACCDB road. I want to continue to use Access for the front end
and SQL Server for the back end, but it may not be possible.

Here are my questions:

1) Is my perception correct, that Microsoft really doesn't have an
all-in-one application to design front-ends to SQL Server, other than the
ADP route? I know there is VB.Net, but even there you need Crystal
Reports to design your reports.

2) Are there things that I do in Access reports that can't be done in
Crystal Reports?

3) Is VB.Net really as slow to develop as it seems to me? I taught myself
Access, VBA and SQL-Server, so I have a fairly good idea of the pain that
is required to learn a new technology. I've also done a few projects
using VB.Net. It just doesn't seem like VB.Net is nearly as easy to use.
Here are a few examples:
There is no AfterUpdate event, nor a host of other easy-to-use events.
It seems like combo boxes are much more complicated.
Data*** forms (datagrid) are much more difficult to work with.

In other words, if I bite the bullet and take six months to really
learn VB.Net, will I even then be able to develop applications as fast I
can in Access right now?

5) Are there any third-party interfaces that make VB.Net more of a RAD
environment?

6) Is there any way for me to get in contact with a knowledgable person at
Microsoft to a) express my support for ADP's and b) get a better idea of
what the future may hold?

Thanks to all




.