Customer Reviews

Access 2003 For Dummies

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've taught database theory at university Master's level, used MySql in a
UNIX/Linux environment, and have a Ph.D. in computer science. I don't need to
learn SQL or how to program, but I did need to know how to get something done
with this MS Office product, and quickly. This book was a perfect fit. It's
not strong on VBA or other programming hooks, or what Microsoft calls database
projects, and it's no substitute for learning the fundamentals of database
design and use (though it does have some very good introductory material), it
is quite comprehensible and thorough as a tutorial, guidebook, and reference
on the user interface that is unique to MS Access. Access is a big
application and this is, appropriately, a big book. Again, it was just what I
needed. Regarding another reviewer's dislike of the cute jokes, it's really
not bad at all, a real relief compared to the otherwise excellent O'Reilly
`animal series' computer books.

Though I've not worked all the way through the book yet, it appears to offer what I expected. Sometimes the "cute" remarks that the "For Dummies" series seems to expect of all their authors get a bit old, but by and large the book appears to be a good reference for a first-time database writer. I previously wrote a fairly complex business database in Paradox, and so much of the information I'm looking for is "how" rather than "what" or "why" with respect to writing databases in Access. I've always found the "For Dummies" series of books a good value, and this one is no exception. I'm sure there are levels of depth that this book is going to skip over -- I've seen little reference to VBA programming, for example. Still, a person writing an application requiring those degrees of depth and security is probably not working in Access to begin with. Such a person is probably not self-taught. Nor are they likely to be affordable to a small company such as I work for.

This is a quick and dirty guide to using Access to get information into and out of a database. Access is part of Microsoft's Office Suite. It's designed for small, personal use database applications. This book fits that philosophy quite well. It uses the front end philosophy that Microsoft has done so well to enable a database to be designed, an input form to be created and an output report to be generated.

The list of things that this book (and to a lessor extent Access itself) doesn't do is long. There is very little theory on database design. There isn't much on SQL, the language of databases.

The idea here is to get a fairly simple, desktop you might call it, database up and being productive very quickly. And at this task the book does quite well. I also think that this is a good way to get started in learning about databases. If you subsequently find that your needs are more than you can get out of Access, you'll have a bit of background that makes the jump to a real database like Oracle, DB2, or SQL Server that much easier.

I am not an extreme power user of Access but I use it everyday and maybe build a query or two every week. However, I find this book so hard to use and not very efficient. It never really comes out and TEACHES you anything--most of it is just fluff. If you wanted to learn how to build a very simple table and build really simple queries, it could probably help you do that but so could most Access websites or just a good co-worker. But if you have ANY questions that go outside of that box, like how to add grouping, sums, totals (things people really need when looking at huge tables) or if you wanted to use a formula/create criteria/build something a little more "complicated", this is not the book for you. I think you would be better off using a book that can show you a few things. I imagine most people buy this book to get some of the basics but also get something they could use as a reference guide when you get stuck--
If you're like me and you do get stuck, you might not find the answers you are looking for in here.

We had already begun to create the database so much of the book was not necessarily helpful. But there were many tips and hints that helped us improve on the database. I would reccomend this book especially for those who have never opened Access before and for those want to tweak and improve their current database to be more user-friendly or professional looking.

This book is poorly designed and poorly presented. It starts out by assuming you know something about Access, or about databases, and only after a few chapters addresses the needs of beginners. The author's style lacks conciseness and clarity, and at times reading this book seems to get in the way of learning. And then there are (yawn) the endless attempts at humor. A light approach to a technical subject can be fine, but when you have to wade through it to get to instructional material it's a little much. Microsoft has free on-line tutorials for Access 2003. After giving up on this book, I used them, liked them, and learned from them. And, they're FREE.

The major drawbacks to this book are 1)too much "chat" -- non essential verbage that doesn't contribute to the understanding of Access, 2)It talks about some features that are possible but doesn't explain how to use them -- it would have been better to not even mention them as it just led to frustration on my part as a new Access user

This book is very introductory. If you need more than the basics I wouldn't suggest this book.

I spent one weekend with this book (originally borrowed from the library) I read 185 pages and went from a complete Access noob to designing databases for my job. I am now using Access to simplify my life and the lives of my team members. I never realized what I was missing until my boss pushed me to learn Access and I took him up on the challenge with this book. I have to buy this book just so I can now have a copy to reference from time to time. However it gave me the base line knowledge I needed to get up and running and I can supplement the rest with other sources on the Internet. At least now I know what they are talking about.

this book is very helpful for a class or if you are learning how to use this system... i bought it for my boyfriend and he loves it!