Access any good to a structural desiner 1

[ijr]

My great pals

I am going into access, and I will appreciate if someone here tells me how an engineer who does a lot of calculations, saves data in tables, loves to draw conclusions from data, can do some VBA, can take time to understand built in functions, WILL benefit from using MS ACCESS

I use finite element programs that can output a lot of text files and can also save output in access format.

Any comment is welcome

regs

IJR

 

[MichaelRed]

For a start, you can have the database do many of the calculations. You could even consider the possability of setting up the database system to NOT store the calculations - but to re-do them dynamically through queries each time the 'problem set' is displayed.

My experience in calculation intensive work included the issue that in many cases a minor change to some 'component' of the process was not recognized as having an impact on other parts of the problem - when in fact it did. These issues often caused the overall soloution to either be JUST PLAIN WRONG or at least cast doubt on the final soloution to the extent that a lot of re-checking was necessary. Setting up a database to rely on individual data items and doing the various intermediate calculations via queries could minimize this.


MichaelRed
redmsp@erols.com

There is never time to do it right but there is always time to do it over

 

[ijr]

Thanx Mike for the great compact info

You implied something I was actually looking for. A database with lines of data, each line of which contain inputs for some formula or procedure to use. This is what you call dynamic data processing, right

Does this mean I will have to do some VB coding, and spend time to learn objects and properties and methods unique to Access the way I do in Excel? Or any faster?

How easy will it be to produce a report for every single output?.

Regs
IJR

 

[MichaelRed]

WEll, you will need to do VBA, but the general syntax is quite similar to the Excel "Macro" language and the "Formulas" in Excel are usually quite easy to translate to MS. Access either as 'procedures' or - in many cases just as 'derived' fields in a recordset. In the latter instance, the relative "cell" references usually translate to 'fields' in a table (recordsource) and the absoloute reference to constants. Wheather these are done directly within a query or within a module called by the query is somewhat a matter of 'choice'. the syntax is a bit different, of course. My general preference is to make almost any calculation a procedure (Function) in a module, as that lets me get right once - and use it more-orless forever (as long as I rember the function name and keep from changing it for some other purpose). I end up w/ a LOT of procedures and probably more modules than most Ms. Access Progrmmers, but I find it is also easier to document the apps.


Reports are, in my opinion, The strength of Ms. Access. the are suprisingly easy to generate and as versitile as the are easy. In switching from Excep to Ms. Access, I would expect you to spend much more time learning and applying SQL (& / or the "query builder) than any other single part. Next would be the Reporting tool. Everthing else is really quite similar to any programming process (including Excel).


MichaelRed
redmsp@erols.com

There is never time to do it right but there is always time to do it over

 

[ijr]

Higher status held for you Mike

Keep hanging around. I might need your help. By the way I have turned on the e-mail notification, so in case of any good tip, I will be able to benefit from you

Regs
IJR