Consider MySQL for Windows as an Access alternative

The main issues moving from access are not the database engine itself but the application, forms and reports support built in. With Access (and Paradox) one can build a complete application and deploy it to end users. For many small businesses this is completely adequate and provides developers a rapid prototyping, checkout and deployment environment.

Rekall is making some steps to provide a forms, report and scripting support but is has a way to go. Star Office 7 support for connecting to mySQL is improving but it is not as stable nor is it tightly integrated as Access.

I have written several packages using Access Auction Management, Point of sale, Inventory Management, BOM tracking, etc. The only one that is now a hybrid is Auction Management where I had written the front end in C++ which included report generation.

Replacing the backend of Access with mySQL is feasible but leaving the front end as Access still requires MS components (even if run through Codeweaver - which is still buggy with Access or vmware - expensive deployment solution)

ted

I've been using MySQL and Access for quite some time. MySQL hass but recently added data integrity (4.0.2 I do believe), and that's not by default, you have to use InnoDB tables... for tiny apps Access is much more of a RAD, even if bloated with MS olde VBA document object model, even if again prone to spaghetti development of code and GUIs sitting atop the aging Jet engine.
That being said, I must say however that Access has nicer functions of formatting data and easier time to running app, not to talk about almost instant prototyping.
I developed myself a legacy framework that calls any old ODBC compliant db and serves XML as output, which is later usable through XSL. I must say that Access is faster to get with, especially when using wizards to spit out Jet SQL code with joins for the db newbie at an impressing rate (there are a plethora of other tools to do that but since you've mentioned MySQL CC... let's stick to what each package offers). Also, the almost-diagramming tool :-)) included with MSAccess is a nice to have add-on.

On the other side, if we're talking about multi-user, locking and more recently, transactions, that ends the comparison bluntly - Access technical k.o. Since any decent app does more than just perpetual reading by more than one user on more than one machine, I guess this is where MySQL just starts to make a difference. From here, scalability, performance and so on... with only one comparison term left, it's not worth benchmarking it anymore. As usually, the business need makes the decision.

Excellent this article, because MYSQL have one of the better benchmark speeds of the market.

This powerfull RDMS have an easy-to-learn language and excelent administration tools under Windows. The developing community is growing fast and the distributions could be better every day.

Try it and be surprised.