MS Access vs VB6

Hello all,

I recently took a class on MS Access offered by the city I work for. In the morning before class started I engaged in some small talk with the instructor concerning Access and VB6.

He asked me why I even used VB6 when Access could do the same thing and is easier to work with. I (being a newbie) could not come back with a good answer.

I spit out a few reasons why I thought VB6 was better, but he always came back with "Access can do that".

I'm just looking for your thought's on the subject.

I dont really understand..Access is database editing software. VB6 is programming software. Its like saying a boat can do everything a car can.

provided the car has fins and the boat has wheels .

That's what I tried to explain to him, but he kept on insisting that I was wasting my time and that Access was capable of doing most of what vb could do.

Technically, you could probably set Access up to do pretty much anything, since the macro language is VB. Anything you can write in VB, you could probably write in the Access version of it. But why would you bother working in that fashion? You have the overhead of Access just to give you the functionality of the IDE. Sure you can do it, but why? The same could have been said about Excel, too.

I think it goes back to what you know best and he knows Access; so he's sticking with it and everyone else's way is not his way.

You see this syndrome ("My way is better than your way") all the time in everyday life.

Only thing is; I didnt have enough ammo to go up against him. I'm just a lowly(not sure of the spelling) newbie.

Oh well I have some time to prepare for him the next time we meet; I am taking some more classes in May.

Ok, here is the truth:

Access can do 99% of what VB 6 can do but in reality VBA can do other things that either cant be done in VB 6 or is really complex and too much work.

One of the main reasons to use VB 6 is because it can compile exe's and create setup packages for deployment. Access can not compile exe's but it can create mde's. Still not the same as mde's and adp's still depend upon the Access Object Model and Forms 2.0 which is not legally redistributable. You could purchase the Access Runtime Engine and license it from MS but then again its allot more money and allot more work.

So it comes down to the old phrase:
Use the best tool for each job.

You should talk to a Foxpro guru, a Delphi fan, or a Powerbuilder expert. Everybody has their favorite. :D

In my experience, Access applications work well for quick, data-centric, applications. I’ve written a number of “one off” applications for users with requirements that could not be met by existing VB apps within the organization. However, they tend to be maintenance nightmares when they become complex. The way that Access encourages a programmer to write code makes it easy to take shortcuts and to make design errors that don’t scale up well. Also, if you need to do things outside of the Access ‘sandbox’ the trickier things get and stability becomes a larger issue. And, you never need to repair and compact a VB app.

Probably the worst thing about Access programming is that it doesn’t get much respect in the marketplace, even less than a VB programmer gets. It’s kind of unfair but you’ll typically see an Access programmer making 80% or so of what a comparable VB or ASP programmer gets in salary or contract rate and probably about 60-70% of what a C# or C++ programmer gets. I avoid mentioning much about my Access application development experience on my resume to avoid this ‘ghetto’.

As Rob says, the main difference is that you can run a VB6 program on an access .mdb file on a computer that doesn't have Access installed. Office costs money. Writing the code in VB (or C is even better) makes the program portable to not only other computers, but other computer types. Let's see him run an Access .mdb file on a Mac or an AS-400.