Forum Discussion
Moving Away from MS Access
This is probably the discussion that will never end
The case is that from time to time several attempts were made to easily migrate Ms Access applications to either .NET(Winforms) or Web.
Probably older would remember MUST the application that would undertake this migration semi automatically....it failed, vanished into thin air due to lack of interest.
Personally some years ago I was doing PHP and I simple loved it...so at this time I was all fired up to create an application that would the application, time of involvement estimated around 1 - 2 years....did a market research , well nobody cared, so I simply let it go.
Now I am on the Python boat, especially with the help of AI it would be a breeze to create such an application, time estimated around 6 months (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7224720653944287233?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop) ,but again who would pay for that.
So the problem is not that it cannot be done ,but that pretty much everyone is expecting that it would be a free feature, just because they paid for the license for Ms Access they anticipate that it would be served on a plate free of charge.
Probably if nothing else drags me , I will go on with the development just to have something to keep me going when daily work load is minimum but I will only provide it as a paid service.
So its perfectly doable ,its just a matter of commitment and reward.
Why reinventing the wheel?
The time spent was just a few hours with this framework for the above apps.
This IS Python/JS SPA, so nothing beats the speed of the SPA.
As mentioned, we are getting hundreds of databases to migrate. Any user can "migrate" it on their own in the matter of minutes for the Web presentation.
So really, no need to reinvent the wheel, but to join us if u wish.
In reality, if someone is into developing something similar, look 5 years plus. The AI does not cover for upgrading DB schemas, or importing metadata into a different OS.
This solution works on RasPi or a Samsung mobile phone as a server. Yes, it is possible to have the Samsung phone as a complete development environment.
But sure, many ways to skin the cat. I'm showing here what is possible in the matter of hours with minimum coding. And this is not the Access migration tool at all. It is the RAD framework specifically used in the health sector where the security is a must.
Where I work, most of our applications process data with a lot of VBA functions and dynamic SQL and so forth, which would be a real chore to convert to work with a web based front-end. Our users have to import loads of data from SQL Server, text files and Excel files, too. It would be a huge hassle to rewrite everything for that. Also none of our data needs to be on the web, everyone logs into the network via VPN and uses remote desktop to run our data processing and reporting applications. We have about 150 fairly complex MS Access applications in production.
- We are in a similar boat as you. We have 12 DB's, no need for internet based apps on our phones, and love how simple Access is to develop, maintain, and program - esp for prod releases, so simple. The problem is we now have WFH (work from home) users where if everything was on the cloud and sharepoint we could avoid having to use on-prem VM's for Access files. But that means a complete redesign of every internal process and DB plus our TSQL based SOR from the late 90's from VS6 does not work on Azure. Replacing Access with anything will cost millions in pay roll and licensing, its just not worth it.<br><br>With that said I am currently researching using Blazor or WPF just to get a real-life dollar cost for converting off of Access just so I am not fooling myself one way or the other.
- SharePoint will cost millions. I would know, we are paying approx $120 000 per month.
I would just love to see those apps guys. And believe me, I've seen more than 300, and of that 300, one or two were sort of good. And that's only the FE, the BE was not that great.
Take for example the Northwind Traders app. Now, compare this with the online one we created in just about 10 hrs.
The technology is there. What you are looking for is a magic wand. Unfortunately, the time is just passing, and while you are looking for one, half of the job could be done.
If not all of it.
My company is running Oracle Forms/Reports which are 20 years old. You know what? Oracle is gladly taking 20 000 000 dollars for the support of the monster we created. So yes, it's not uncommon to look for a magic wand indefinitely.
The team of 5 developers could replace this in 6 months. This is a political question, not a business or the technology one. Blame the managers and "powers to be" for the mess they created.
