Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a database management system (DBMS) that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools.

Uses of MS Access
MS Access can be used to develop application software and is generally used by data architects, software developers and power users. Following are the major uses of MS Access:

• Manage accounts and bills
• Store data in the form of tables and edit or customise them later as per the requirement of the user
• It can be used to make our websites
• Comparing data or finding a relationship between the existing data can be done using Access

The major components of MS Access are as follows:

•     Tables
•     Queries
•     Relationships
•     Macros
•     Forms
•     Reports
•     Module

There are two types of database in MS Access:
Flat File Database: When the data is stored in the form of a plain text file and cannot incorporate multiple tables.
Relational Database: When the data is stored in a form that the data items are related to one another. It supports multiple tables which organise the text in rows and columns.

Components of MS Access

The main usage of MS Access is for accounting. Since it is Microsoft’s primary accounting database, it can be used to manage invoice/bills, manage accounts, keep an eye on credit and debit, etc.

When we create a document of Access, data can be stored and accessed easily through multiple components. There are seven major components of MS Access database. Discuss below are the same in brief:

Tables: A table in Access is similar to any other tabulated data in the form of rows and columns. However, when adding data to a program to create a table, all the information entered must be correct as if any incorrect data is entered the processing may become slow or may not give the correct answer. The appearance of the table may look similar to the one formed in Excel with column heading and titles
Queries: Once a table is created and the user or programmer is looking for a calculated output, then it is called queries. This may include filtering, calculating, sorting, updating, etc.
Relationships: As the name suggests, when more than one table is added, the relation or connection between them can be achieved. There three ways in which the connection between the tables can be determined:

• One to one
• One to Many
• Many to Many

Macros: The tool using which predefined actions which can automate tasks on an Access report is called macros. Multiple tasks can be assigned and they will function whenever the macros option is selected on a report
Forms: A user interface for a database application can be created using forms. Forms can further be divided into two: bound and unbound forms
Report: Once all the information is entered into the database, it can be reviewed or analysed using a report. A report can then be customised or modified as per the user’s requirement
Module: This allows a set of pre-defined instructions to be created by a programmer in the database. They can be used throughout the database

Benefits and Limitations of using MS Access
It was Microsoft’s first database software, and came along with a lot of advantages and convenience for its users. At the same time, there were limitations to it. Discussed below are the benefits and limitations which came along with MS Access usage.

Benefits:

•     Easy to create database within lesser time duration
•     Used a very comprehensive programming language which made it user friendly
•     With each revised version, new options and features were made available to the users for their convenience
•     It is easy to install and then easy to understand its working
•     Importing data was easy
•     Graphical user interface made it easy to use

Limitations:

•     Not too many people can use the same database at a single time. This may affect its speed and efficiency
•     The same database was tough to use with different Operating systems
•     Better database systems can be used for confidential data

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