Microsoft Access was theapplication that we were told to explore within Rapid Development Tools, a program that I have used many times before in the past, for both my own personal reasons, and also for academic reasons. Unfortunately though, Microsoft Access 07 is an application that I havent used before, and throughout previous uses I have only used the 03 version, which meant that when I opened up the application, I had no idea what I was doing.

Once I got started within Access 07, the similarities did start to become a little bit more obvious, and it was generally only the menu bars along the top of the screen that were cauing me to become confused with the entire user interface. Simple tasks like setting validation rules and choosing the input methods sprung back to me once I had accessed the right form of view. Entering data into the database was another task that became very easy to complete once I had grasped the basic layouts and views that were available within the application. Even forming the relationships between the table became a very easy task once I found out how to open the Relationships view, however I did still struggle to complete the relationships to a high level first time round, as I managed to enable various errors.

Creating forms and queries was another task that I soon managed to recall and complete to a high standard once I had reminded myself of the wizards and tools used within the production process, and eventually managed to produce some advanced and precise queries and forms. The layout for the query was another aspect that I had to remind myself of prior to completing the actual search process, due to the fact that I hadnt used the application for around 3 years, and also the overall basic layout was slightly different due to this version being more up to date. Once I had reminded myself though of how the query works, I was able to find all the right results that I was hoping for and successfully manage the task within the tutoriall. Similarly, the report and uses interfaces were both tasks that I was able to complete to a high standard, once I had reminded myself of the buttons and features that were avialbale within each of these sections of the system.

Comparing this application against the others I have used so far, it is without a doubt the easiest application to use, despite the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to use the piece of software when it first opened. If I had to choose between the applications Access Zoho and DabbleDB, I would instantly choose Access, due to the user interface and also the way in which the application is laid out, that allows me to complete my work without having to worry about the consequences of needing to worry about coding, due to the fact that there is no/very little coding used with Microsoft Access.

Comparing features within all of the applications I have used so far, Access has easily got to be the easiest to grasp, due to the fact that most of the production process is done via wizards and tutorials, which mean that I can simply select the options from the wizard that best suit my needs and create the button/form to my own personal standard. Also, as mentioned earlier in this write up, there is no coding eneded in order to complete any of the basic features within Access, therefore this gives me confidence that I can use the application without having to worry about being stuck in a dead end trap due to the fact that I cant understand coding terms.

Microsoft Acecss also allowed me to create a professional user interface form today, that performed tasks that any professional system would need to be able to do in order for a company to meet professional needs. I was very happy with the mini user interface that I was able to create, via the use of the buttons and previous queries that I had created, and the simplicity of reaching a professional standard was a very easy task.

If I had to choose one of the applications to base my case study on, I would definitaly use Microsoft Access with no other considerations made, due to the simplicity of the application, and also the fact that it requires no coding in order to complete. I am happy with the work that I completed within the tutorial assigned to this blog, and feel very confident using this application now that I have reminded myself of the basic features within the piece of software. I think in order to reach a highly professional standard in the future, I will need to take some time within my free leisure to remind myself of some more of the features within the piece of software, if I want to complete my work to a very high standard.