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  1. #1
    amentl is offline Novice
    Windows 8 Access 2007
    Join Date
    May 2016
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    2

    multiple problems with a "grown" access database application

    hello there,



    i am a .net programmer who now is responsible for the maintenance of a "historically grown" access database application.
    the application has a sql server backend where most of the data is deployed. that backend isnt a problem. its fast enough, stable and generally ok.
    the access application has mixed content (still data/backend AND gui/frontend) which means thousands of forms, thousands of queries, hundreds of tables that are not extracted to the sql server and a lot of macros. the whole accdb file has around 200mb.
    it was an access2000 database which runs on access 2007 now. with a few tweaks (/largeaddressspaceaware flag and a few registry settings like maxcachesize) and source code changes it is running relatively smoothly now.

    we had a lot of problems with this database (see the tweaks) which we could resolve. though i am not happy about these tweaks the database SEEMS to be running fine now.

    a big problem is the version control. up until now we used oasis svn. the export of the source code was painfully slow (i'm talking DAYS here) and now we try using dev tools plugin + team explorer + msscci on visualstudio.com. problem is: access crashes when we try adding the database to version control. it says "db has to be closed to be added" -> ok -> wait -> crash.
    oasis svn now is even slower when we open the export dialog. it used to take like 2 minutes, now it takes 10 minutes to just open the export dialog.

    now the first question:
    what can we do to make version control possible?
    my first thought was: completely divide backend and frontend that we have one fe and two backends (one accdb one sql server). would this help?
    what do you think about dividing the frontend in multiple accdb files? can this even be done?
    what are your suggestions for version control? why is it crashing?

    next problem:
    i was told by a coworker that a lot of the modules throw exceptions as soon as we say "debug->compile". now i suspect this whole thing to be a bigger problem than i first thought. what do you guys think about those messages about compilation errors?
    one example:
    "qdf.OpenDAO" throws method or data object not found (error because of opendao).
    how comes the application works though it can not be compiled?

  2. #2
    ranman256's Avatar
    ranman256 is online now VIP
    Windows Vista Access 2010 32bit
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    9,521
    yes DO split the db, tho you only need 1 backend, 1 db for access tables.
    1 front end
    the front end would have the link to the acc tbls db and the SQL tbls.

    versions, I keep a version # on the main menu screen, so all users know what they have.
    I run a lot of apps WITHOUT compiling. BUT if you want to make closed compiled accde version, you must compile.
    Since users don't know how to get into code, I often give them uncompiled versions so I can trap errors on their PC.

    don't use DAO, use queries.

  3. #3
    RuralGuy's Avatar
    RuralGuy is offline Administrator
    Windows 10 Access 2013
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    8300' in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
    Posts
    12,922
    I'm going to suggest that you will continually experience problems as long as you cannot get a complete compile. There may be areas within your db that are no longer executed but have compile errors. The compiler is trying as best it can to point you in the direction of problem areas. You should also have Option Explicit at the top of each module (Standard and Form) to aid in locating issues.

  4. #4
    amentl is offline Novice
    Windows 8 Access 2007
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Posts
    2
    Hey there,

    we repaired all the compilation errors. a lot of unused code there. also we tried dividing the database into frontend and backend but the assistant stops with the error message "operation is not supported for this type of object" (no more information, just an ok button ). before we try doing that manually i'd really appreciate suggestions how to fix the assistant (i think its more reliable and a lot faster than doing it manually)!

    also the versioning (dev tools, msscci, team explorer) still does not work. the msscci provider crashes after the login to visualstudio.com (before we can select the right project to commit to).
    has anyone ever experienced (and perhaps solved) that kind of problem?

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