Developing Microsoft Access applications involves using Microsoft Access, a relational database management system, to create and manage database applications. These applications can be designed for desktop use or as web applications, depending on the version of Access and the intended deployment environment.
One of the important MS Office packages for database management is MS Access, which allows users to build and develop an infrastructure for storing and retrieving information without much programming experience. What sets Access apart from other platforms is the (SUBP) Database Management System that easily implements activities such as designing, modeling and implementing a database at the logical level.
Key features of MS Access application development:
- Database design: Users are enabled to create tables with different types of fields, modeling relationships between tables, creating queries, forms and reports.
- Creating applications: Access allows you to create a user interface based on an already created template or according to your own idea. Regardless of which option you use, it is important to define the name and location of the server, create a table with its properties, and the system itself has modules that enable the automatic implementation of the display for each table.
- User interface design: Access is very flexible when it comes to the appearance of the user interface, whether it is functional forms or reports. Due to its rich set of design tools, Access is more usable than other platforms.
- Automation and customization: Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) enables the automation of repetitive tasks through macros and programming code that lead to improved functionality of forms and reports.
- Data connection: Access allows connection to various data sources, such as Excel, text/CSV files, SQL Server, SharePoint lists and ODBC sources, primarily through two methods: import or connection. This approach fulfills the principles of scalability, integrity, reliability and security.
- Web application capabilities: Although no longer supported (both Access 2010 web databases and Access 2013 web apps)), Access can be used to develop web applications, especially when integrated with SharePoint or SQL Server. These web applications can be accessed and used on a standard web browser, expanding the range of application functionality.
