I've been looking at a similar scenario Here is what I've arrived at so far: There is little that rivals the ease of use of MS Access - but most alernatives offer different features (like security, performance improvement, and other database related functions) that make the loss of ease of use bearable.
The closest open source system to Access that I have seen is Openoffice - it isn't yet very well documented but there is a powerful database frontend system lying under the hood of that suite. You still need a separate database to store the info, but there is a form design tool and a query design tool similar to MS Access and something similar to reports can be made by using the mail merge function to pull info from the database. As for database backend, I've had trouble finding something that is as portable as MS Access. The main open source databases (MySQL and PostgreSQL) have replication functions to provide off-line access to the databases but they too have limitations (eg you have to set up the database server software, and maintin it, on the remote client as well as the central server). There are some db formats that save the data in a file that can be transferred to other systems, but then you lose some of the advantages as well (I haven't played with these systems) Keep us posted on what you find Brad ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote*: > >I am thinking of a move from a Windows network to Red Hat Linux at my work. I >am happy with OpenOffice for spreadsheets, word processing etc but the main >problem is replacing MSAccess. > >MySQL provides a replacement for the database component but that still leaves: > >A programming environment; >A database maintenance utility; >A database query tool; >A report builder > >Some of our users have had MSAccess training and are quite proficient in >producing simple but usable applications involving: > >The creation of a database and tables; >Forms to populate the database; >Queries and reports to display the data. > >All this in a graphical interface without needing to know SQL or doing any >serious programming. They would need to be able to continue doing this in the >new Linux environment - is there a suitable "Forms" utility? > >We also have some "serious" applications written in MSAccess by outside >professional programmers. This was partly done to allow the simpler changes >(eg reports and screen layouts) to be made by the advanced users in order to >reduce costs and delays. I would assume that a "Forms" utility would not >provide enough features to be used here. Does this mean that development has >to be done in the opensource equivalent of "VB" which may shut out the >advanced users from making changes? > >Regards, >Brad > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >Before posting, please check: > http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) > http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) > >To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
