Microsoft Access Developer's Guide to SQL Server

I have been an Access developer since 1.1 (1993). I have bought many a book over the years. Some good, some bad. This book, however, is super! It is designed totally with the Access developer in mind. All of the questions that popped into my head seemed to be answered in practical terms chapter by chapter. The organization is terrific and the flow is second to none. The topics that are worth repeating are repeated while others are left for a one-time only view. The writing is easy to digest, powerful and very explanatory. The pictures are all also very helpful. You can tell the writers paid attention to every line they wrote. But they also inject a human kind of writing style which keeps things interesting throughout.In addition to a thorough discussion on SQL Server security vs. Access security, data conversion, upsizing, etc., the book covers the differences among MDWs, MDEs, ADPs and ADEs beautifully and it addresses scenarios for when to use stored procedures, server functions, views, etc and with great attention to detail. The chapters ADO vs. DAO and on T-SQL are well written too. Later the book even goes into simplifying building multi-tier apps with Access as front end, VB-based COM+ components in the middle and of course, SQL Server sitting in the back. And just when you think the last chapter will be a letdown as many last chapters are, it wows you with an incredible amount of insight into how to optimize, backup and perform other settings in SQL Server. If you are a serious Access developer like me, and are timid about moving full force into SQL Server, then this is the book for you! I recommend it highly!

In the last 18 months I have spent time and money reading a dozen of books in order to acquire the necessary knowledge to migrate from Access to VB/SQL Server. I've tried the enclosed code and learnt many things.However, until three days ago I didn't know "how" and "when" migration would happen.I've read this book in 3 days and only now I know I will start tomorrow!In every book I read I found something helpful, but this one is simply a highway leading you to the right place.Chapter 11 is impressive. Only after reading those ninety pages I can say that I know the difference between MDBs and ADPs. I mean when and how to use each of them, which problems I'll encounter choosing MDB or ADP, which limitations, etc.When and how to use DAO, ADO or ODBC, how to mix them in the same application using stored procedures at the server level.Chapter 14 on n-tier apps is just a bible to me. This is not a reference on SQL Server or Access, but if you want to know how to migrate from Access to SQL Server, what are the differences that you, as a programmer, must know, when and how to use remote data or local data, how to build a 3-tier app, you can't miss it.I don't know if I'll switch to VB or I'll continue using Access as a front-end.What I know is that also if I decide to switch to VB I will keep this book on my desk all the time. Thanks to both for this wonderful job.

In October 2000 I had to create a reliable Access / SQL-Server project but I did not find any useful documentation. A few months later I found this book and gladly it shows the same techniques I developed. If anyone tells you to migrate Access tables to SQL-Server read this book first !!! One remark though: the authors suggest to use Stored Procedures wherever you can. Using Views for Select queries is faster and you can put the SQL-statements in your VBA-code.

If you are an Access developer and you want to start writing professional database programs with SQL Server then this is the book to get. Even if you're already writing programs with SQL Server as your database, believe me, you need this book, too. You are sure to learn enough in the first 15 minutes to justify the price.

They pulled no punches: from the very beginning of the introduction to this book, Mary and Andy hit the very first point that every Access developer has to deal with -- Access is dead, Access is a toy, etc. etc. Of course, 800 pages later they have proven that all the people who thought this were not very bright (or at least did not know much about Access!).Especially cool are the huge chapters on views, stored procedures, and Access reports. I usually am pretty proud of the fact that I do not ever learn very many new things from books. But Mary and Andy ruined that one pleasure for me because I learned things that I did not know about, even when I was working on the Access team, in the source code!I mentioned the chapter on stored procedures, but I wanted to emphasize that these 52 pages are one of the most impressive intros to using them that I have come across. It is at the perfect level for an experienced Access developer who does not want to have feel dumb for "starting over" in SQL Server. In fact, the whole book is designed that way: you can leverage all your existing knowledge to help you learn about another, more powerful platform -- and the long term direction of Access itself.This book is a must have for anyone who wants to make that jump from Access to SQL Server: whether you are using MDBs or ADPs, traditional forms or DAPs, stored procs/SQL or ADO recordsets, if you are doing anything that go between Access and SQL Server then THIS is the book that will take you there.