Is there any Web-based alternative to Access?
I have recently read an article that told the story of Microsoft Access, discussed whether it's still relevant in 2022, and proposed some alternatives to Microsoft Access.
The article contained a huge number of comments from many MS Access enthusiasts who told interesting stories about how they used it and somehow complained that Microsoft failed to create a real Web-enabled version of Access and that no good alternative to this software exists.
That article gave me the idea of writing some content on this topic, discussing whether DaDaBIK could be a good replacement for Access.
Is DaDaBIK a good replacement for an Access database application?
The answer is yes, I think so. But let me explain why in detail.
To answer this question correctly it is important to first understand what MS Access is exactly. Access has two main components: a database engine (called ACE) and a RAD software.
The RAD tools provided by Access allow you to build a (desktop) application based on a database by creating forms, reports, queries, ... and adding, if necessary, additional logic in VBA language.
The Access alternatives typically proposed belong to two categories:
1) Desktop applications (like OpenOffice BASE for example), which are very similar to Access in terms of approach
2) Cloud-based services offering RAD / no-code tools for building web database applications, along with cloud storage
Both solutions, however, may have problems:
1) Those applications probably aren't as feature-rich as Access is
2) MS Access enthusiasts generally don't like them because they force you to store data in their clouds
With DaDaBIK I think you can get the best of both worlds. You create modern Web database applications and you can store applications (and data) wherever you want: on your laptop, on a cheap hosting server, on a dedicated server in your LAN or in any cloud you trust.
DaDaBIK is On-Premise software and can be hosted on any computer / server that meets these requirements and for using the applications you build, your users just need a Web browser. This means you are not forced to store your data in a cloud you don't trust.
Can DaDaBIK replace both the database engine and the RAD tools provided by Access?
DaDaBIK provides low-code / no-code features that you can use to create a database application with little or no coding, like Access does, but the application you produce is natively a modern Web application that you can run using any browser, from a desktop computer or a mobile device.
DaDaBIK does not directly provide a database engine, you can archive your data using a DaDaBIK compatible DBMS: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server or SQLite, as you like.
In other words, MySQL (or any other supported DBMS) + DaDaBIK is a good Web-based alternative to Microsoft Access.
If you come from the Access world, which DBMS should you use with DaDaBIK? It's really a matter of preference and I think you can get used to any DBMS after a while. I think MS SQL Server and SQLite are, for two different reasons, the ones that developers coming from Access might feel most comfortable with.
MS SQL Server because it comes from the same software vendor (Microsoft); SQLite because, like MS Access, it is serverless and a database is usually contained in a single (.sqlite) file on disk.
How to Convert a MS Access Application to a Web Application Using DaDaBIK?
There is a specific page discussing this, so instead of repeating the same content here, here is a link to the page.
Is DaDaBIK also a good Microsoft Access alternative for Mac?
This is a (last) question that may also arise. The answer is yes, it is, for the same reasons explained above.
MS Access doesn't exist for Mac OS, but Mac OS (like Windows or Linux) can run DaDaBIK. DaDaBIK is Web based and the applications you create can be used from any modern Web browser.
Questions about DaDaBIK? Do you want to know if a specific Access feature you are using is available in DaDaBIK? Contact us, we'll get in touch very soon.
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