For years, the debate over which database manager is best for computer-assisted reporting was a tug-of-war between FoxPro and Paradox. Now, Microsoft Access has joined the battle in newsrooms.
Lured by its simple query interface, Access is winning converts. I'm using Access for stories about gun dealers, unsafe trucks and crime. At the Los Angeles Times, Ralph Frammolino used it to show how jurors were picked for the O.J. Simpson trial (Dec. 1994 Uplink).
Access does not use layers of dialog boxes to perform advanced functions, unlike FoxPro. Using a graphical query-by-example window, you design sophisticated queries on a single screen. In the upper half, you add the tables.
To join tables, you drag the name of the key field in one to the matching field in the second. Then, drag the field names you want into a grid on the bottom half of the screen. With a few clicks and keystrokes, Access can order records, calculate or pick records meeting certain criteria.
The pro/con of point/click
The interface makes it simple to fine tune, according to Dick O'Reilly, director of computer analysis for the Los Angeles Times. "It's easier to do an ad hoc kind of hacking project than with FoxPro," he said.
On the flip side, it's easy to goof during queries that use aggregate functions, such as counting, summing and averaging.
Jeff Kummer of St. Paul Pioneer Press said that the seemingly endless pointing and clicking can be a pain. He sometimes finds himself going back to FoxPro and writing a query in structured query language, which Access supports.
Under the hood, Access will push your computer's limits. "Run it on a fast machine," said George Landau of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
FoxPro vs. Access vs. dBase
Despite Access' shortcomings, O'Reilly and others like its new speed. For a column last year, O'Reilly stacked it up against FoxPro for Windows, and Borland's dBase for Windows. The test was a real-world situation: rummaging through 107,000 building inspection records. FoxPro ran his query the quickest. Access placed second, trailing by just a few seconds. That left dBase last.
However, as the database table sizes grow, Access slows. Queries did recently on a 350-mb table were noticeably slower in Access than FoxPro for Windows 2.6.
Microsoft has deployed aspects of FoxPro to improve Access' speed. Microsoft acquired FoxPro's parent company, Fox Software Inc., in June 1992. Access developers then took a key part of FoxPro - the Rushmore indexing technology to rev up Access, according to product manager Jeff Graff.
When Microsoft introduced Access three years ago, users complained about its heel-dragging. Also, many found it weak for database developers. The current version includes a grab bag of tools for everyone from end users to developers. Question and answer boxes walk the user through normally complex operations, such as creating a crosstab query or designing and printing a report. Also, Microsoft included quick import and export links to FoxPro, Excel spreadsheets and other programs.
With millions of Access sales, it's fair to ask what will happen to FoxPro. "We have no intention of phasing one or the other out," said Microsoft's Graff. "The strategy is to move them together into a tool that is better than any single one." Expect Access and FoxPro to share more features, he said. Though Graff declined to be specific, he said that within 3 to 5 years Microsoft wants the programs to have common elements, such as a form package and database engine.
Access 2.0 and the Access Developer's Toolkit, handy for building applications, is each sold for less than $300. Shop around for the lowest prices.
David Herzog can be reached at (610) 820-6584, or send e-mail to dherzog@mcall.com