Chapter 2: Designing anAccess Application


Overview

In Chapter 1 we saw how Access grew from a personal database package to a sophisticated database development environment that can be used in some enterprise situations. This growth has meant that a more sophisticated approach to the development process is called for. In all but the simplest of applications, you must follow a well-established and systematic approach to development. It is my experience that not following this approach almost guarantees failure.

Many years ago I had the honor of building a close friendship with the famed twentieth-century artist, Pablo Picasso. He never realized it, but he taught me about the software development process through his discussions of art and creativity. He said that as a painter, he needed to stand before the blank canvas and see the finished work as vividly as if it was already painted. He would then need to decide on the tools and techniques necessary to realize his vision.

The process of developing a software application should be exactly like this. We need to “see” the finished work and then decide on the tools necessary to realize it.

I know you are probably anxious to dig into the program and code. That is the fun stuff. However, as a beginner, I want you to learn the process correctly because this is just as important as learning the code itself. For this reason, I ask you to pay close attention to this chapter. In many ways, it may be more important than learning the code itself; without it, the code will have no meaning.

In this chapter we examine the development process. Along the way, you are introduced to the first important topic of VBA development: setting up the database properly. In Chapter 3 we see how to set up the database in detail.




Access VBA Programming
Microsoft Access VBA Programming for the Absolute Beginner
ISBN: 1598633937
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 214
Authors: Michael Vine

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