Any database software to recommend???

[clevent]

Hello people,

i'm new here...

currently i m doin a project for my school and it involves setting up a smart and mobile database for materials characterization...

does anybody have any software to recommend like excel or visual c++???

are there any problems if i work on the pc and transfer the program over to the pocket pc later???

Thanks!!!

[famousdavis]

I use SprintDB Pro and like it very much. There are a number of database programs available, so you can download a trial of one or more of these programs and see if they suit you.

One important thing I've learned is to use Microsoft Access on the desktop to create the table structures, then sync with your PPC. Be sure you're specifying a primary key on each table! If you create table structures on the PPC firstly, then try to sync to your desktop it won't work because the PPC ADOCE database engine doesn't create primary keys (auto-increment is not the same as a PK).

I like SprintDB because form creation is very easy to do, yet amazingly powerful, too.

[clevent]

thanks!!!

anyway how compatible is access on the pocket pc???

from wat i know pocket pc dosent have a specific version for access right?

and one more thing, when an access file has been converted to a .exe file, does it require a pc with access installed to run???

Sorry for all the trouble but i'm really an idiot in this...in fact i tried to find my answers in the microsoft site but that site is like a maze...i can't find what i want... :oops:

[famousdavis]

anyway how compatible is access on the pocket pc???

Fairly compatible, but certainly there is room for improvement. And by that, I just mean the table structures in Access. Primary keys, relationships, and true OLE object embedding are strictly for the desktop Access. Your left with synch'ing table structures that make use of common datatypes like text, number, memo and not much else. (SprintDB has an OLE datatype, but that works only to capture "scribbles" in a scribble object -- you can't use it to embed an Excel worksheet, for example.

rom wat i know pocket pc dosent have a specific version for access right?

I'm not real clear on this, either. The ADOCE database engine in the PPC (ADOCE stands for something like Active Data Objects for Windows CE) is pretty limited. I use Access 2000 on the desktop. Once, when I created a database on my PPC and then converted it onto my desktop Access, the conversion process led me to believe that Access 2000 regarded the ADOCE-created database as something that was an earlier version of Access (Access 97-style, maybe?). I converted okay, but Access 2000 doesn't regard the ADOCE database engine as anything better than itself! :)

That said, as long as your Access files on your desktop conform to pretty rudimentary table structures, I'd guess you can use most any version of Access and synch correctly -- Access 97, 2000, or XP (though I only use 2000).

and one more thing, when an access file has been converted to a .exe file, does it require a pc with access installed to run???

Not sure I understand this question. You're converting from a desktop to a PPC database? Or vice versa? I don't know of any way to convert an Access database to an .exe on the PPC -- they're converted to .cdb files from .mdb files.

[clevent]

and one more thing, when an access file has been converted to a .exe file, does it require a pc with access installed to run???

Not sure I understand this question. You're converting from a desktop to a PPC database? Or vice versa? I don't know of any way to convert an Access database to an .exe on the PPC -- they're converted to .cdb files from .mdb files.

ok wat i'm talking about is when i used access on desktop some time back (i think its the 2000 version) it has a function to convert ur database to an .exe file. So wat i m trying to find out is does this .exe actually run on any pc even if the pc does not have access installed?

Thanks again!!! :oops:

[famousdavis]

wat i'm talking about is when i used access on desktop some time back (i think its the 2000 version) it has a function to convert ur database to an .exe file. So wat i m trying to find out is does this .exe actually run on any pc even if the pc does not have access installed?

I can't help you there. If that feature exists in Access 2000, I haven't used it. It doesn't sound reasonable to me, though -- how could you create an .exe that would be a self-contained database, including the database engine?

[clevent]

ok i guess u're right...

Thanks a whole lot!!!

[clevent]

thanks for the help famousdavis...

currently trying to do my access database on the desktop before transferring it to ppc...

:oops: i got another question...

is there anyway i can get access to perform the function square root in query mode???

Thanks again!!!

[famousdavis]

I've never had need to use a square root function, so I'm not sure...if I have some time, I'll try to find the answer for you. You're doing this on the desktop Access, right?

You do know that when you sync to your PPC, only the tables and data will sync -- not the queries, forms or reports that you may develop in your desktop Access application. E.g., you will have to create forms on your PPC using one of the database programs available. It's a pain to develop forms twice -- once for the desktop, once for the PPC -- but it's usually necessary. What's frustrating is the severe limitations imposed upon the PPC platform.

I'm learning new "gotchas" with the sync process, so let me know when you sync if you have problems...maybe you'll stumble upon something I've already stumbled upon, too.

[clevent]

ya i'm doing it on Access...

Thanks Alot!!!

Havent really tried out the ppc until my rough program is up and running due to the fact that the ppc belongs to my supervisor...

u mean i gotta recreate the forms and queries??? Oh man!!! 8O

[Sven Johannsen]

Couple of points. You can create a standalone Access application with the Office Developer addition. It generates an installable application (an .exe you run to install) that loads a run-time version of Access and lets the user use the application without having Access (per-se). It does not allow access to tables, queries, or any design. It allows access to that which the developer created..that's all. That said, it won't run on a PPC.

Yes you have to recreate all the forms, queries, code on the PPC. The only option that makes that a bit easier is HanDBase I believe. That is an independent DB solution that has both a desktop and PPC version. The desktop version can 'sync' with a desktop Access DB. While the Desktop version doesn't transfer to the PPC, they are supposed to have a desktop based development capability for the PPC. That is, you can create a PPC DB on the desktop, which makes designing forms, etc. much more convenient.

Not sure how well that works as I don't like their Access 'compatibility', and don't use it, but it is a very popular DB suite.

I support the SprintDB suggestion. It is a powerful application that is fairly consistant with Access in the way it does things, so the learning curve is not steep if you already know Access. One thing to consider is one of the remote display options like Pocket Controller (www.soti.com) which lets you have a virtual PPC on the desktop to do your work on. Makes it a little easier to work with, if a little slower. (P.S. it requires a PPC hooked up. You are controlling a real one, it is not an emulator)

The only thing that would give you more flexibility (than one of the third party DB apps that support the .cdb files) would be to go straight to eVB or eC++ or whatever the new stuff is for WM2003 (Visual Studio with CE.net?) and make use of the ADOCE stuff. You are really getting into coding at this point though and you need some familiarty with accessing DB structures from the language level.

[clevent]

Thanks for all the help!!!

but my supervisor in charge decided to go for excel...

so is there any programming language that is suitable for excel like visual c++ or visual basic???

:oops: sorry for all the trouble but i really noe nuts about ppc...