MS Access – Overview

Microsoft Access is a Database Management System (DBMS) from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and softwaredevelopment tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications, included in the professional and higher editions.

• Microsoft Access is just one part of Microsoft’s overall data management product strategy.

• It stores data in its own format based on the Access Jet Database Engine.

• Like relational databases, Microsoft Access also allows you to link related information easily. For example, customer and order data. However, Access 2013 also complements other database products because it has several powerful connectivity features.

• It can also import or link directly to data stored in other applications and databases.

• As its name implies, Access can work directly with data from other sources, including many popular PC database programs, with many SQL (Structured Query Language) databases on the desktop, on servers, on minicomputers, or on mainframes, and with data stored on Internet or intranet web servers.

• Access can also understand and use a wide variety of other data formats, including many other database file structures.

• You can export data to and import data from word processing files, spreadsheets, or database files directly.

• Access can work with most popular databases that support the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard, including SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2.

• Software developers can use Microsoft Access to develop application software.

Microsoft Access stores information which is called a database. To use MS Access, you will need to follow these four steps −

• Database Creation − Create your Microsoft Access database and specify what kind of data you will be storing.

• Data Input − After your database is created, the data of every business day can be entered into the Access database.

• Query − This is a fancy term to basically describe the process of retrieving information from the database.

• Report (optional) − Information from the database is organized in a nice presentation that can be printed in an Access Report.

Architecture

• Access calls anything that can have a name an object. Within an Access desktop database, the main objects are tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, data macros, and modules.

• If you have worked with other database systems on desktop computers, you might have seen the term database used to refer to only those files in which you store data.

• But, in Access, a desktop database (.accdb) also includes all the major objects related to the stored data, including objects you define to automate the use of your data.