Microsoft press microsoft access projects with microsoft SQL server jan 2002 ISBN 0735610029

Copyright © 2002 by Microsoft Corporation PUBLISHED BY Microsoft Press A Division of Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 Copyright � 2002 by Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data pending Printed and bound in the United States of America QWE Distributed in Canada by Penguin Books Canada Limited A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide For further information about international editions, contact your local Microsoft Corporation office or contact Microsoft Press International directly at fax (425) 936-7329 Visit our Web site at www.microsoft.com/mspress Send comments to mspinput@microsoft.com Microsoft, Microsoft Press, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious No association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred Acquisitions Editor: David Clark Project Editor: Lynn Finnel Part I Microsoft Access Projects and Microsoft SQL Server This section describes the basics of setting up Access projects Access projects differ from traditional Access mdb databases in that data and queries are managed and run with SQL Server and MSDE This section will explain in detail how SQL Server and MSDE manage data in tables and how they differ from Access mdb database tables The SQL Server database diagrams correspond to the relationship diagrams in Access mdb databases for creating and documenting key relationships Queries are created with SQL Server or MSDE in the Transact-SQL programming language Select queries can be defined as views Entire program processes and action queries are implemented as stored procedures You will learn how to create, edit, and run views and stored procedures from an Access project and will be given an overview of programming with Transact-SQL Chapter 1 Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server and Access Microsoft Access is the most commonly used product for desktop databases among beginners and professionals alike However, Access has limitations when it comes to the administration of large amounts of data that many users access through a network Microsoft positions Microsoft SQL Server as a database server that can make large amounts of data available to many users at the same time In addition, a SQL Server version is included with Microsoft Office Developer suites and Microsoft Visual Studio as a Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) with limited functionality One goal of this book is to describe how Access and SQL Server or MSDE work together Since the release of Microsoft Access 2000, it is possible to create Access projects Access projects provide users and programmers with the usual Access development environment that includes queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules, with the data being saved on a SQL Server Because this book focuses on creating Access projects (adp) and describing its new options and functions, the book does not cover the options of accessing SQL Server tables using Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) and so on using regular Access databases in mdb format Access is a comfortable, high-performance development environment for the implementation of user-friendly applications The second goal of this book is to demonstrate how you can retain Access as a development environment while using a high-performance server database at the same time Access is often ridiculed as a “toy,” with its usefulness limited to the implementation of a few small applications on desktop systems However, by now, many Access programmers have proven the program’s capability for handling medium-sized and large applications This book is based on working with software projects that utilized Access projects and SQL Server to replace existing Access solutions and original project developments that took advantage of SQL Server’s performance features Several version changes occurred while this book was being written: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is the successor of Microsoft SQL 7, and Microsoft Access 2002 as part of Microsoft Office XP is the successor of Access 2000 SQL Server 2000 and Access 2002 feature a large number of improvements, particularly for tasks that require programming with Access projects We have incorporated information about both new versions in the book and we discuss the problems related to version incompatibilities For example, some Access 2000 project functions do not work while accessing SQL Server 2000 Who Should Read This Book? This book was written for readers who are familiar with Access, who have experience creating forms and reports, and who know how to program with Microsoft Visual Basic This book does not cover the basic options available for creating forms and reports Instead, it presents the differences between Access adp projects and traditional Access mdb applications Chapter Overview The book’s individual chapters are organized into parts for a clearer overview The following summary introduces the topics covered in each chapter Part I: Microsoft Access Projects and Microsoft SQL Server Part I teaches you how Access projects are structured and how to use an Access project to access SQL Server or MSDE databases We explain the components of SQL Server or MSDE databases, such as tables, views, and stored procedures Chapter 2, “Access Projects,” describes the basic properties of Access projects We point out how conventional Access databases differ and introduce the various SQL Server and MSDE versions Chapter 3, “Installation,” covers the SQL Server or MSDE installation process, both for version 7 and for 2000 We also discuss the different configuration options for transferring data between the Access client and SQL Server over the network Chapter 4, “Databases,” provides an overview of SQL Server or MSDE databases and illustrates their structure In addition, we introduce preinstalled sample databases, followed by a description of how to create new Access projects that access new or existing SQL Server or MSDE databases Chapter 5, “Tables in Access Projects,” teaches you how to create tables in a SQL Server or MSDE database We introduce the SQL Server data types and column properties for tables available in SQL Server or MSDE The chapter also covers the creation of indexes, the definition of constraints, and much more Next, you learn about how to work with tables in the Access datasheet view At the end of the chapter, we briefly describe the system tables used by SQL Server and MSDE that can be found in every database Chapter 6, “Database Diagrams,” is devoted to the definition of relationships among database tables A database diagram lets you create well-organized graphical models that illustrate the tables in a database and the relationships among them Chapter 7, “Views,” focuses on views A view is based on a SQL SELECT command and corresponds to a select query in Access mdb databases The chapter describes the query designer options for interactively creating views Chapter 8, “Stored Procedures,” is an introduction to programming stored procedures Stored procedures are routines written in the Transact-SQL programming language that you can use to query, add, edit, or delete data We demonstrate how you can use variables and parameters in stored procedures and introduce the Transact-SQL Syntax This chapter also covers how to create fundamental triggers, which are specialized stored procedures assigned to tables that are executed during the process of inserting, editing, or deleting the table’s data We address the process of debugging stored procedures in this chapter as well We then move on to describe the user-defined functions that are new features in SQL Server 2000 Chapter 9, “Transact-SQL,” focuses on the Transact-SQL programming language This chapter provides you with an overview on how to program with Transact-SQL and includes information about subqueries, temporary tables, and error handling Part II: Forms and Reports Part II is devoted to forms and reports in Access projects Note that the chapter does not cover all options available for creating and programming forms and reports Instead, the focus is on those Access project form and report issues that are new or different from Access mdb database functions Chapter 10, “Forms,” describes special circumstances related to working with forms in Access projects Chapter 11, “Reports,” presents the changes and new functions available for creating reports in Access projects Part III: Programming with ADO Part III is an introduction to programming the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) data access interface With conventional Access mdb databases, you could choose between the Data Access Objects (DAO) data access interface and ADO In Access projects, however, you can only use ADO Chapter 12, “Connection Objects,” teaches you how to work with Connection objects that specify connections between the program and the database server We describe how to create new connections, particularly in Access projects, and how to use the Access project’s connections Chapter 13, “Recordset Objects,” details how you can edit, add, or delete data and introduces the most important Recordset object methods and properties ADO uses Recordset objects to return a query’s result sets Chapter 14, “Command Objects,” is devoted to Command objects The primary purpose of these objects is the execution of queries that edit, add, or delete data Chapter 15, “ADO Events,” outlines the process of programming Connection and Recordset object events Many of the objects’ operations initiate events that you can capture and process with your own routines Part IV: Upsizing Part IV consists of two chapters that provide helpful information on the conversion of existing Access mdb applications to Access adp projects Chapter 16, “Upsizing Wizard,” presents the Upsizing Wizard that supports you during the conversion of Access mdb applications to Access projects The Upsizing Wizard helps you transfer data from an mdb database to a SQL Server or MSDE database On your request, the wizard attempts to transfer forms, reports, macros, data access sheets, and modules to an Access project Chapter 17, “From DAO to ADO,” contains tips on how to use ADO to convert existing Access Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programs that use the DAO data access interface to Access projects Part V: SQL Server/MSDE Administration Part V covers the different administration options for SQL Server and MSDE ... Several version changes occurred while this book was being written: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is the successor of Microsoft SQL 7, and Microsoft Access 2002 as part of Microsoft Office XP is the successor of Access 2000 SQL Server 2000 and Access 2002 feature a large number of improvements,... The following summary introduces the topics covered in each chapter Part I: Microsoft Access Projects and Microsoft SQL Server Part I teaches you how Access projects are structured and how to use an Access project to access SQL Server or MSDE databases... Project Editor: Lynn Finnel Part I Microsoft Access Projects and Microsoft SQL Server This section describes the basics of setting up Access projects Access projects differ from traditional Access mdb databases in that data and queries are