To make a website Database, choice SQL server is better than Access
or not? You may say that: the best is select MySQL . But now is discussing
the choice in IIS+ASP, not the situation of Apache+PHP. If the software
is used in intranet, and the cost of software is not been consider,
SQL server is the best. It sounds that it is no need to discuss. But
it is not the same to use in internet, because the entire person to
make website is to renting visual server. So the familiar combination
is PHP+MySQL, ASP+Access or ASP + SQL server. So we can compare the
SQL server and Access as flow:
Cost
The cost of vistual server of SQL Server will be 1.5 to 2.5 times to
ACCCESS.
Performance
Compare to SQL sever, ACCESS is not better in capability and stability
.But pay attention please, and it is not the same to use SQL Server
on internet and on intranet. If your SQL server is open, please open
"SQL query",connect to SQL server, then execute "EXEC
sp_who",you will see thousands of rows return. That means that
your SQL server is dealing with hundreds of connection. Then you execute
"select count(*) from master. Sysdatabases ", you will see
the result will be over hundreds. According to this parameter, it can
not think that SQL server is better than ACCESS.
Development
ACCESS is not same level to the SQL server in development capability.
ACCESS has no foreign key and Stored Procedures, and the SQL function
is not too much as SQL server. And that the interface designs capability
of ACCESS is no use in web database design. Further more, ACCESS not
provide the SQL sentence write tools such like "SQL query".
Maintenance
SQL server can use "enterprise manager" or "query analyzer"
to maintain the database on internet. But first the SQL server must
open the TCP/IP and you can connect internet or your proxy server open
port 1433 .And when ACCESS translate files to website ,if you have no
assistant tools or you can not write ASP script ,you can not maintain
it online. The only way is maintain offline by FTP the files to local.
From upwards, I t is advantage in cost when you use ACCESS, the capability
is not too worse than others. But the capability of maintain after put
into production and capability develop is not enough. And you can use
"Web DB Explorer" to make up it. This software can upload
the ACCESS files to website and do the function of query, insert, update
and delete online in ACCESS ,this capability is not in other database
assistant develop tools base on ODBC.
Author: Xiao Peng