MS Access: a true RDBMS

[David W. Fenton]

Well, OK, but I would appreciate it if you would tell me where and
how I was wrong.

Are you saying Access itself is a database? . . .

Of course not. Access is a development platform that includes a
database engine, Jet.

Any questions about whether or not Access is an RDBMS are,
therefore, about Jet, not about the Access parts. Thus, the fact
that Access can be used as a front end to client/server database
engines is not an aspect of the database part of Access.

Thus, it's completely irrelevant to the original question.

. . . What is Jet then? . . .

In Access as client to a server database, Jet is only involved
trivially, as a data access layer, not as a database engine. Thus,
that scenario has nothing to do with the question "Is Access an
RDBMS?"

. . . I've
based my answers on comments and discussion I've read here over
the years. And that is that Access is a development platform that
comes bpackaged with the Jet database engine and that it uses Jet
as a means to manipulate records displayed, say in a datasheet or
form. IE, when I use a Passthrough query to bring Oracle data
from the server to a client screen and I use the excellent built
in filters that I am using Jet to manipulate data on the client.

Nope. In that scenario, you're using Jet as a data access layer, not
as a database engine. The actual data processing is not handled by
Jet in that case (well, that's not entirely true if you write your
SQL badly).

Actually, I hadn't thought about that -- Jet does take over what it
can't figure out how to pass on to the server. This is, perhaps, a
unique aspect of Jet, the way in which it works cooperatively with
the remote server.

In any event, that's an aspect of Jet, not of the server database,
so it's still not making Jet into a server db, which was the
question you were attempting to answer (even though it was
completely irrelevant to the original question about whether or not
Access is an RDBMS).

Thanks in advance to you or anyone that can straighten me out on
this. Actually, given the tremendous amount of negativity on this
thread, perhaps if you can explain my "hash" and what would make
it right, then perhaps something positive can come of things,
after all?

The original two questions were confused, and, I believe, designed
to provoke, so I'm not certain there's much to be gained from trying
to answer them.

As far as the original poster goes, you may note I thought the
question was a homework question. Nevertheless, I prefer to treat
new people by assuming they are genuinely curious (or at VERY
worst, frustrated) as opposed to hostile. It's actually the way I
try to live in all aspects of life and I've done well from it.
I'm a happy bird, at least.

I think sinister is another of Don Mellon's sock puppets.

 

[mnature]

Why don't they make Root Beer flavored ice cream? Wouldn't it be better

than root beer floats?

No, it wouldn't be better, because part of the fun of having a root beer
float is playing with the chunks of ice cream floating in the root beer.

Why do cats like to dig their paws into something before they lay down
on it?

When cats are kittens, they stimulate milk in the mommy kitty by kneading
her belly with their little paws. This act is carried over to the adult
lives, by the desire to knead anything they want comfort from (people, cat
beds, etc.)

Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs? Rabbits don't lay eggs.

Easter is derived from the Jewish holiday of Passover. During passover,
hard-boiled eggs are used as a symbol of life and prosperity. Not sure where
the rabbit comes from, unless it is a symbol of fertility (spring-time, and
all that).

Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables?

Fruits. They became vegetables because off tariffs being higher on fruits
than on vegetables.

Doesn't a lightning rod on top of church show a lack of faith?

Depends on who goes into the church, I suppose. It could show common sense.

What's a question with no answer called?

Why are you asking hypothetical questions?

"What was Captain Hook's name before he had a hook for a hand?"

Leonard Nimoy

Do bald people get dandruff?

Dandruff is dry skin on your head. Do bald people have skin on their head?

Why doesn't baking soda freeze?

It is frozen. It is a solid.

Can a person with no ears wear glasses?

Could wear a monocles

Do stairs go up or down?

Stairs don't go up or down. People on the stairs go up or down.

Why is there a top line on lined paper if we never use it?

I use it.

When French people swear do they say pardon my English?

French people swear!?!?!?

Why does the last piece of ice always stick to the bottom of the cup?

Because it has melted just enough to form a smooth surface, where the air
pressure is just enough to hold it in place.

Isn't Disney World just a people trap operated by a mouse?

That's what the people that work there say.

Why are people so scared of mice, yet we all love Mickey Mouse?

I love mice. They taste like chicken.

If a fork were made of gold would it still be considered silverware?

Gold is too soft to make into eating utensils. The fork would probably be
made of silver, with gold plating on the outside.

If something "goes without saying," why do people still say it?

I guess your thread is a good example of that, wouldn't you say????

 

[Tim Marshall]

Of course not. Access is a development platform that includes a
database engine, Jet.

I thought this was what I said, though?

Any questions about whether or not Access is an RDBMS are,
therefore, about Jet, not about the Access parts. Thus, the fact
that Access can be used as a front end to client/server database
engines is not an aspect of the database part of Access.

Fair enough, I think I understand where you're coming from... I tend to
think of Access in the development platform role against Oracle (my
major use of Access) and wanted to show him/her that depending on what
engine is used, it can be a seen as a client server arrangement versus a
file server.

Come to think of it, what the hell *do* my above comments have to do
with "a true rdbms"? I'm not sure, my wife tells me I talk too much
sometimes...

I think sinister is another of Don Mellon's sock puppets.

I don't think so. I really think it was someone trying to answer a
homework question or something perhaps from an Access unfriendly instructor?

 

[CDMAPoster]

And thanks to you for posting such a stimulating and intellectually
demanding topic that has been hashed and rehashed in this and other
groups no more than a thousand times.
When you are happy with your understanding of it I trust you will move
right on to:
"How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"
Hope this helps!

I know the answer to this one courtesy of Linus from the Peanuts strip:

Eight if they're skinny, four if they're fat.

So I guess the answer to the original question is:

It depends on the programmer!

James A. Fortune
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Larry Linson]

. . . It's like asking "how long is
a piece of string?"

'Bout 'leven.