Alternatives to MS Access?

Alternatives to MS Access?

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Having had to re-load Windows onto my computer, I've now lost my old MicroSoft Office which had Access.

I've never used the program, but of course this would be the summer that my son is doing a project about Access for his ICT A-level. Is there a cheap alternative that works in the same way as Access ?

Kind regards,
Liz
Elizabeth Large

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By User deleted
16th Aug 2007 21:20

Thanks for both of these replies. They've given us something to think about over the week-end. And as to what he's actually got to do - who knows? - I'm only his mother!

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By User deleted
14th Aug 2007 16:11

Try M$ student pricing ...
The real shocker with an ICT A-level is that any project completed to attain this standard does not actually have to work to get you a pass

That said I am afraid that you may well have to obtain a copy of Access in order to complete the assignment as required; you don't state whether a particular version of Access must be used

There are alternatives but they are generally out-and-out database engines that do not have the inbuilt code functionality; which means that they would not really be suitable. Presumably the complete project (coding & Db structure) will need to be completed in Access as part of the course and with this in mind you are probably stuck with needing to acquire it.

An alternative is Visual Studio Express 2005 (not 2008 which is beta). This is a free download from M$ (Visual Basic version) and also includes a free copy of SQL Server Express. However, one would assume that it is not appropriate for your sons present requirements; although it would provide a greater insight into IT than purely Access

Also bear in mind that M$ do student pricing http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/buy/licensing/buying.mspx

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By User deleted
14th Aug 2007 16:09

Open Office?
Hi Liz,

I've recently downloaded Open Office, which is an open source office suite of programs alternative to Microsoft.

It has a database utility with it but I haven't used it yet.

The program can be found here: http://www.openoffice.org/

I'm sure that it will be similar but as I also use access a lot I'll have a look, see how it compares and post the results.

Are there any details on what the project entails?

Has anyone else used this?

Thanks,
Gareth

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