Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is used to create simple database solutions. Access tables support a variety of standard field types, indices, and referential integrity. Access also includes a query interface, forms to display and enter data, and reports for printing. The underlying Jet database, which contains these objects, is multiuser-aware and handles record-locking and referential integrity including cascading, updates and deletes.

Simple tasks can be automated through macros with point-and-click options. Microsoft Access is very popular among non-programmers who can create visually pleasing and relatively advanced solutions on their own. It is also easy to place a database on a network and have multiple users share and update data without overwriting each other's work. Data is locked at the record level which is significantly different from Excel which locks the entire spreadsheet.

Microsoft offers a wide range of template databases within the program and for download from their website. These options are available upon starting Access and allow users to quickly use and enhance a database with pre-defined tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros. Popular templates include tracking contacts, assets, issues, events, projects, and tasks. Templates do not include VBA code.

Microsoft Access also offers the ability for programmers to create solutions using the programming language Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which is similar to Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6) and used throughout the Microsoft Office programs such as Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. Most VB6 code including the use of Windows API calls, can be used in VBA. Power users and developers can extend basic end-user solutions to a professional solution with advanced automation, data validation, error trapping, and multi-user support.

Database solutions created entirely in Microsoft Access are well suited for individual and workgroup use across a network. The number of simultaneous users that can be supported depends on the amount of data, the tasks being performed, level of use, and application design. Generally accepted limits are solutions with 1 GB or less of data (Access supports up to 2 GB) and 50 or fewer simultaneous users. This is appropriate for workgroup and department solutions where the total number of users number a few hundred.

Applications that simply view data or have simple data entry can support considerably more users. Applications that run complex queries or analysis across large datasets would naturally require greater bandwidth and memory. Microsoft Access is designed to scale to support more data and users by linking to multiple Access databases or using a back-end database like Microsoft SQL Server. With the latter design, the amount of data and users can scale to enterprise-level solutions.
Microsoft Access' role in web development prior to version 2010 is limited. User interface features of Access, such as forms and reports, only work in Windows. The Microsoft Jet Database Engine, core to Access, can be accessed through technologies such as ODBC or OLE DB. The data (i.e., tables and queries) can be accessed by web-based applications developed in ASP.NET, PHP, or Java. Many ISPs offer Microsoft Access as a data storage option.