Comments on: The Case Against Teaching Access

By: Jay Godse

Jay Godse — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:39:40 +0000

SQLite is actually the most widely deployed database. It is in every Firefox web browser, every installation of Adobe Air, every iPhone, every Android phone, many Blackberry phones, every installation of PHP and Ruby/Rails, and many other places.

I personally find that dealing with data sets is far easier than trying to figure out what those query grids do.

For learning SQL, SQLite is the best. Check out my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/Jaynonymous1 if you want to see.

By: aidian

aidian — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:11:06 +0000

Funny, I learned access at mizzou, and we were taught nothing but SQL. I later learned how to use the GUI query builder on my own. The one and only merit to access as a teaching tool for people just getting their feet wet is that it’s easy to import datasets into… .xls, .csv., etc. files. I wish I’d learned a “real” DBM program in class, would have saved me a lot of time later, but I don’t know how much the unfamiliar interface and concepts would have slowed me down (“what do you mean ‘insert into’? Why can’t I just copy and paste?”)

By: Rob H.

Rob H. — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:12:16 +0000

With almost any database software you use to teach, you can easily show the basics of data management – tables, queries(SQL), data relationships, etc. As Gregory mentioned though, I actually learned the majority of SQL that I know by using the Access query builder and then switching to the SQL view to see the actual language used in the query.

The strong points of Access, in my opinion, are the graphical interfaces for building forms and reports and the ability to link and use multiple data sources (Excel, other databases, etc.). Access is a great database for small datasets, and works well as a front-end when using Oracle, SQL server, etc. as a back-end.

Although Access does not have a SQL export/import, I never found this to be an issue. If you have an entire database you want to share, you are normally going to put it on a network server that others can access. You do have the capability to “upsize” to a SQL Server database should you outgrow a standalone Access database.

You’re right in the fact that you probably don’t want to use Access if you are a company or business with several different locations that is going to want to transfer data between locations. You’re eventually going to want to transfer data via the web. However, if you are a small “mom-and-pop” business and you’re not worried about being able to transfer data around the globe, Access can easily provide the data management you will need.

By: Kate G.

Kate G. — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:55:49 +0000

I find what you’re teaching them interesting – as a current student, there has been little debate on stuff like this, mostly because getting the professors computer-literate beyond “ooh facebook” has been frustrating. Working with databases could lead to endless, marvelous stories – but the tools need to be taught. And I think that making it so it’s top-down, instead of us wondering why we’re not being taught … whatever … would be a marvelous turn of events.

By: Adam Verwymeren

Adam Verwymeren — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:38:54 +0000

Thanks for this. The way technology is taught at Medill is pretty busted, but this was very helpful. BTW the cross-platform argument will likely do little to change their view. Medill’s official position is that everyone should use Windows, a point of contention with Medill’s many Mac users.

By: Aron Pilhofer

Aron Pilhofer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:30:10 +0000

@derek I thought you were nuts for attempting this. I still think you’re nuts, but not for this. You convinced me: there’s no reason to teach a single software package (Access’s QBE Grid) when you could be teaching a skill (SQL) that is used almost universally across all databases.

By: Bob King

Bob King — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:00:08 +0000

Interesting post. I’ve actually used SQLite in the past month to handle Florida’s standardized test scores for a big chart we were doing (I used Perl to insert the data and run the queries). I had no idea about the Firefox extension, though — will definitely need to check that out.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:49:40 +0000

Everything you read here is true. Also, FoxPro for life. That’s how I learned too.

By: Derek

Derek — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:25:31 +0000

The Medill faculty, both in Evanston and Washington, saw the merits, I think. I don’t delude myself in thinking that overnight this will change, but I think the combination of students with Mac laptops, an increasing focus on the Web and SQLite’s accessibility could win out eventually.

By: Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:40:28 +0000

Well stated, Derek. We’ve long argued in favor of the learn-to-drive-with-a-stick-shift approach. What did the faculty at NU say to your suggestion?