Will Surveillance Really Help?

Once again, I will provide three separate overviews: one for the developer, one for the database administrator (DBA), and one for the IT manager. I do this because people in each of these categories will approach the chapter in a different way. The developer will want to know how to add these surveillance techniques to a database, the DBA will want to find out about users unless they can see all the users of the database from their desk, and the IT manager should be aware of who, when, and how people are using databases when additional development is requested or performance and stability are proving troublesome .

Overview for the Developer

Any Access 2000 or later database can import a form called frmJetUserRoster from the demonstration database. The user logon form and software demonstrated here are easy to add to your database and can provide you with a list of all the users currently connected to your database.

The functions provided in the demonstration database to log usage of forms and the reports complement the DoCmd object's OpenForm and OpenReport methods . The information that these functions gather provides you with an easy and practical way to assess which parts of your application are being used the most. The computer name and Windows user IDs functions are also handy if you want to set up customized security of your own.

Overview for the Database Administrator

If you administer a reasonably active multi-user Access database, it's a good bet that you'll routinely need to compact it. Less frequently, you'll probably also change objects in your database. Both of these activities require you to ask all the users in your database to log off. To help you with this task, you'll learn a number of different ways to view a list of computers that are accessing your database. You'll also learn how to stop additional users from opening your database when you're trying to shut it down.

Many DBAs will want to log access and changes to certain databases, a feature that allows you to monitor Windows users' IDs and the times when users opened and closed your database or forms and reports in your database.

Overview for the IT Manager

The IT manager has a lot to gain from Access surveillance. Viewing user lists and logs can give you quantitative information on database use. This information is useful for deciding whether you need to upgrade to an industrial-strength database, such as a SQL Server, or invest additional money in improving your Access database software and database design.

The object logging functions can provide quantitative information on the use of forms and reports in your database. This sort of information allows you to focus the development effort on the most used elements of your Access database. It may also allow you to decide whether you can remove under-used parts of the application, saving you money on long- term development and maintenance costs.

Note  

If the "S" word ”"surveillance" ”raises images of Big Brother, then I'm glad that I have your attention. You may want to refer this sort of data collection to a company ethics committee if you see any problem with the technology that is demonstrated in this chapter.