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Thisiswherewetrytoconvinceyoutobuythisbook,tellyouwhatittriestodo, define a few terms and generally set the scene - all of which makes this more like an introduction than a first chapter, but no-one reads introductions so we called it a chapter. If you have already bought the book and know what it does, feel free to skip to Chapter 2 where the action starts. Whyshouldyoubuythisbook? TherearemanyAccessbooksonthemarket,whyshouldIbuythisone?Doesithavemore informationthananyotherbook? Errr, no, it actually has less than the big reference books you'll also find on the shelf. So,isitverycheap? Well, it isn't as expensive as some but, no, it isn't particularly cheap either. Tobebrutallyfrank,you'renotdoingagreatjobofsellingthistome. Right, time for the hard sell. Bill worked for Microsoft as the Development Manager for the first three versions of Access. I (Mark) work as a database consultant, teach database theory and practice at two Universities and have written the UK Personal ComputerWorld's database column for more than ten years. We met (at a database conference, not unreasonably, given our interests) in the summer before Access 1. 0 was launched and found that we shared similar views on how databases should be designed and built. Since then we have writtenabooktogetherabouttherelationalmodelthatunderliesAccessandall other relational database systems (see below for the inevitable plug). But why write a book about Access itself when there are already so many around? 3 1 Introduction Well, since Bill was in charge of the product's development, it was fair to assume that we had the technical side reasonably well covered.
List of contents
Getting started.- The Database wizard - or not.- Tables - for storing your data.- Queries - finding data.- Forms - viewing and entering data.- Reports - printing your data.- The story so far.- Creating hand-crafted databases.- Exploring tables in more depth.- Tapping the power of Access queries.- Forms again - design.- Forms again - controlling data entry.- Reports again - customizing printed output.- Where are we now?.- More complex databases.- Multiple table databases.- Tables - making multiple tables work together.- Tables - a complete multi-table database.- Queries - finding data from multiple tables.- Forms - your interface to multiple tables.- Reports - printing data from multiple tables.- Producing a user interface for your database.- Data Access Pages.- You mean there's even more?.
About the author
Dr. Mark Whitehorn has a boundless fascination for databases. He teaches relational database theory and practice at the University of Dundee, writes a monthly database column in 'Personal Computer World' and is a popular commentator on the computer industry. His enthusiasm, clarity of communication and devotion to real-world examples are much appreciated by students and readers alike. He is co-author of 'Inside Relational Databases - with examples in Access', also available from Springer-Verlag.
Summary
Thisiswherewetrytoconvinceyoutobuythisbook,tellyouwhatittriestodo, define a few terms and generally set the scene – all of which makes this more like an introduction than a first chapter, but no-one reads introductions so we called it a chapter. If you have already bought the book and know what it does, feel free to skip to Chapter 2 where the action starts. Whyshouldyoubuythisbook? TherearemanyAccessbooksonthemarket,whyshouldIbuythisone?Doesithavemore informationthananyotherbook? Errr, no, it actually has less than the big reference books you’ll also find on the shelf. So,isitverycheap? Well, it isn’t as expensive as some but, no, it isn’t particularly cheap either. Tobebrutallyfrank,you’renotdoingagreatjobofsellingthistome. Right, time for the hard sell. Bill worked for Microsoft as the Development Manager for the first three versions of Access. I (Mark) work as a database consultant, teach database theory and practice at two Universities and have written the UK Personal ComputerWorld’s database column for more than ten years. We met (at a database conference, not unreasonably, given our interests) in the summer before Access 1. 0 was launched and found that we shared similar views on how databases should be designed and built. Since then we have writtenabooktogetherabouttherelationalmodelthatunderliesAccessandall other relational database systems (see below for the inevitable plug). But why write a book about Access itself when there are already so many around? 3 1 Introduction Well, since Bill was in charge of the product’s development, it was fair to assume that we had the technical side reasonably well covered.
