When using software products with graphical interfaces, we
frequently focus so much on the details of how to use the
interface that we forget about the general concepts that
allow us to understand and use the software effectively.
This is particularly true of a powerful
database product
like Microsoft
Access. Novice, and sometimes even
experienced, programmers are so concerned with how
something is done in Access that they often lose sight of
the general principles that underlie their database
applications. Access Database Design &
Programming
takes you behind the details of the Access interface,
focusing on the general knowledge necessary for Access
power users or developers to create effective database
applications.
Unlike other Access books that take the long, detailed
approach to every topic of concern to Access programmers,
Access Database Design & Programming instead focuses on
the core concepts, enabling programmers to develop solid,
effective database applications. This book also serves as a
"second course" in Access that provides a relatively
experienced Access user who is new to programming with the
frequently overlooked techniques necessary to develop
successfully in the Microsoft Access environment. Anyone
interested in learning Access in depth, rather than just
scraping the surface, will enjoy and benefit immensely from
reading this book.
Contents
Preface
Pt. I Database Design
1 Introduction 3
2 The Entity-Relationship Model of a Database 11
3 Implementing Entity-Relationship Models: Relational
Databases 18
4 Database Design Principles 35
Pt. II Database Queries
5 Query Languages and the Relational Algebra 51
6 Access Structured Query Language (SQL) 81
Pt. III Database
Architecture
7 Database System Architecture 115
Pt. IV Visual Basic for
Applications
8 The Visual Basic Editor, Part I 129
9 The Visual Basic Editor, Part II 137
10 Variables, Data Types, and Constants 146
11 Functions and Subroutines 165
12 Built-in Functions and Statements 173
13 Control Statements 191
Pt. V Data Access Objects
14 Programming DAO : Overview 201
15 Programming DAO : Data Definition Language 241
16 Programming DAO : Data Manipulation Language 254
Pt. VI ActiveX Data
Objects
17 ADO and OLE DB 269
18 ADOX: Jet Data Definition in ADO 326
Pt. VII Programming
Problems
19 Some Common Data Manipulation Problems 337
App. A DAO 3.0/3.5 Collections, Properties, and Methods
361
App. B The Quotient: An Additional Operation of the
Relational Algebra 378
App. C Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) 381
App. D Obtaining or Creating the Sample Database 401
App. E: Suggestions for Further Reading 411
Index 413