Customer Reviews

Mastering Microsoft Access 2000 Development

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I learnt VBA with this book and was very pleased with the clear style presented. Having done some IT training and writing myself, I can attest that Alison's style is very easy and enjoyable to read.

I thought the sections on Queries and Forms - and their integration with each other - were particularly powerful. e.g. being able to specify a call to a VBA function in a query design page is something that's really neat as far as I'm concerned.

I reserved one star because: - I would have liked to have seen a detailed chapter on Jet SQL. MS Access allows one - by and large - to avoid directly writing SQL, but a serious developer needs to know it in detail. - Although the chapter on ADO was excellent, and a very clear introduction - as far as it went, I would have preferred to have seen more ADO and ADOX examples.

My main reasons for purchasing the book were: - to learn Access VBA - to become a 'power developer' of Access queries and forms - to develop Access GUIs - to introduce myself to ADO

This book satisfied those requirements to the extent that I don't think I need another Access 2000 book.

The book is complete and covers every possible type of Access activity, including issues like replication, using Access as a GUI to SQL Server, Active Data Pages, security, even doing version maintenance with Visual Sourcesafe.

I would be interested to see a comparison between this book and its main competition - "Access 2000 Developers Handbook, Volumes I & II"

This book is an excellent reference book for any aspiring Access developer for all levels of experience.

The book has 5 main parts. Part I the Basics Of Access Development covers all the essential stuff but with enough depth to be of real use, eg Report events was particularly useful. It gives the right amount of attention to VBA, and objectively discusses the key differences between DAO and ADO. The focus is rightly with ADO for the rest of the book.

After giving critical coverage to subjects such as debugging, error handling and optimising applications in Part II, the author deals with more advanced development, notably advanced programming techniques (which she neatly refers to as "black belt programming"), multiuser & enterprise applications, and excellent material on security and using Microsoft Office Developer to package and distribute applications.

It's all there! A highly readable and highly recommended book.

The main strength of this book is Balter's ability to explain both the specific technical details of Access as well as the more philosophical principles that underlie the design decisions you have to make when you build a database. It's a very long book, which is often a sign of poorly chosen or organized information, but she does a good job both of selecting what to talk about, and presenting it clearly. Although I wouldn't say I couldn't put it down (as another reviewer here did) I do agree that it's a very well written book that is about as easy to read as any technical book dealing with a complex subject. To put it another way, if all tech books were written this well, my life would be a lot easier.

To begin with "It is a really great book". I have bought several books on Access 97 and 2000. Alison's book is not intended for beginners who will not like it. But If you have a prior good experience in Access 2000, and start reading this book, you will never leave it. Alison starts with you on the ABCs of VBA and goes steadly and slowly deeper and deeper, she makes you know What is SQL, DAO ...etc. The language of the book is easy to understand. If you are trying to be a developer and intend to, read this book, practice and do hard work, you will never regret it.

Advice: Do not jump chapters, read a chapter after another, read each and every line. Practice the examples more than twice, and most important of all, be patient and don't rush results.

This book is great and necessary for each developer to be.

I'm a certified Access Developer and just read Alison's book cover to cover. I own 12 MS Access books and while I like Ken Getz' book for in-depth coverage of difficult topics, this book is by far my favorite. The flow of subject matter from one topic to the next is so smooth it's actually enjoyable to read. Concepts are layered perfectly throughout the entire book. This would be a great classroom instruction book even for those with little experience. I look forward to more books by my new favorite technical author.

I've read countless software books over the many years that I've been in this business and this one is one of the best. It is incredibly thorough and very well organized. Everything is explained in detail, yet it is written in an easy-to-read style. There are many examples (code is on the CD) and numerous screen shots. In addition to the standard text, the book is filled with sidebars entitled "Tips," "Cautions," and "Notes."

So many recent computer books seem to be just thrown together so that they can get it on the shelves while the version of the software that they are covering is still current. They are filled with typos, errors, and leave out important information. While I'm sure a book of this size may have some errors or typos in it, I haven't run across a single one yet.

A word of caution: This book is not for beginners. Although some basic concepts are covered, the book assumes that you are already familiar with ACCESS and database programming.

If you're an ACCESS developer or just someone that want to go beyond the basics with ACCESS then this book needs to be part of your library.

I am an MCP (Access and the Developer's Toolkit) who used the previous version of this book as my primary study source. Due to the success that I experienced with that book I decided to purchase the 2000 book. Allison is truly a remarkable author. She takes a fairly complicated subject (i.e. key differences between DAO and ADO) and explains it in a way that even a novice can understand.

Like many other developers, I have a little library of books covering subjects such as VB, Visual InterDev, HTML 4.0, SQL Server 7. Out of all of those books (15 in all) this is my most valued reference. My only lament is that she has not published a more advanced Access 2000 book (although this gets fairly advanced in places).

As an aspiring MCSE, I recently came to a point where I felt that programming knowledge would be key in advancing my career. Leery of most 5-inch-thick programming references, I hesitantly purchased Mrs. Balter's Mastering Access 2000. As long as she is writing technical books, I will no longer be hesitant to purchase again. She has a way of making the daunting seem elementary, and for technical information, this is not just difficult, but nearly impossible to do and refreshing to find.

No one likes the process of learning new information, we just want or need to have it, so we do what it takes to get it-mostly by having to read 5-inch-thick technical novels. Mrs. Balter removes the arduousness of learning, and makes learning Microsoft Access a paletable task. I found the lessons to be the most help. For most people, "learning by doing" is the best way to retain information. Most books give lessons, but they are shallow and impractical. The lessons provided here help convey a real understanding of the processes in question, and impress the importance of strict adherance to proper rules of database design.

If anyone is interested in REALLY learning Access, then this is the book to purchase.

Where praise is most deserved is that in a male-dominated industry, Mrs. Balter has written a book whose quality surpasses most like-subjected texts by male authors, and proves that sex doesn't dictate technical ability, but drive, hard-work and dedication do.

This book is a pleasure to read, it covers everything you need to know in depth. The author's writing style is easy to follow and she knows her subject. I am now half way through it and haven't been able to put it down. She assumes you know something about Access which is refreshing. She still goes over basic points but doesn't dwell on them. This allows her to cover subjects in more detail than other books.

Mastering Mircosoft Access 2000 Development is more than just a
book, it is a valuable tool that every user of MS Access should have available to them. Alison Balter's book is the equivalent
of a carpenter's hammer, it is that good. If you are building an
application in Access, this is the best tool available for the job.

This is also a tool that can be used effectively by both the novice and the experienced Access developer. The book effectively details the basics as well as advanced topics. The
beginner is exposed to what Access is, its strengths and weaknesses. Advanced topics, such as Client/Server applications,
are demystified.

This books greatest strength is the way in which topics are discussed. The author gets right to the heart of the matter and
does not bore, or confuse the reader with minute detail. It is a
real How To book.

My best tribute to this work is that after an hour of reading,
I was able to deploy a very useful application to one of my users. This book is a great tool, get it, read it, keep it in
your tool box.