Subtitles of the Movie

There is one more bit of terminology that we need to acclimated to prior to going into Microsoft Access and that is a split database. If a database will be used by multiple people at the same time, processing over a network can be very, very slow. We will use a database splitter to allow multiple people to access our data at the same time. Access works better if the application code is stored locally and the data is stored on a network file server. This way Access only needs to send data over the network, not the entire application such as the forms, reports and queries. It's important for you to understand this for the examination. The code is local and the data is on the network file server. If you simply store the database on the network share, when your users open a form or a query or a report, the objects would have to be sent across the network to each individual user. This would tremendously increase your network traffic and would definitely slow down your functionality. If you split the database, each user has their own copy of the forms. The queries and reports. As a result, only data is sent across the network. Only the tables have to be actually accessed. When working with a split database, there are many benefits. First, remember, all users share one common set of data. We're all updating exactly the same file. Next, all users can update this data at exactly the same time. We don't have to worry about somebody locking a file or not having shared it. By definition, the split database will allow for multiple users. Also keep in mind that when the administrator needs to update the applications, they will not need to worry about interrupting the processing of data nor will they have to worry about corrupting that data. The functionality of the split database is to ensure performance, productivity and convenience. It is important to know a few terms when discussing split databases. First, we refer to a split as a front-end and a back-end. Notice at the bottom of the diagram on the left-hand side we're talking about the front-end as the client side. This is what the users store on their machine. These are the forms, the reports, which we refer to as the application. On the right-hand side of the screen we have the back-end. This is the server. The server stores our data, which is primarily our table. So keep in mind, the back-end stores the table, which is our data. The front-end stores our forms and reports, which is the application. These two sides are actually linked together. You will note that the file names are slightly different also. Notice on the front-end; customers.accdb. Accdb stands for Access database. This is a new extension from prior years. Remember, as with all the applications, those items that have changed are the most probable to show on the examination. Notice on the back-end that the database name is the same except after customers there is an underscore BE. This is how we can tell the difference between the front-end that is stored on the client's machine and the back-end that is stored on the server. In an upcoming movie you will see exactly how we link these two tables together. For now, it's important to understand all the terminology that is involved. Again, remember when working with the split database, we have a front-end and a back-end. You will notice here that's I've showed you an example of the two files being stored. What I'd like you to be aware of in this particular case is that the back-end is very small compared to the front-end. It is not necessary to have the front-end be in the same version as the back-end. For example, the front-end in this case is 2007. The back-end is 2003. I would like you, however to keep in mind that the best practices from Microsoft say always keep the same database in the same version. You can not have a back-end in a earlier version than the front-end. Keep in mind that your front-end is your forms, your back-end is just your data. There is not as much formatting on data as there is in your forms. When you split the database, you create a front-end and a back-end. The back-end is your table and it's usually placed in a shared folder on the network. The front-end is your forms, queries, reports, et cetera and it links to the data, which is referred to as a data access page. The front-end file is distributed to individual users for their particular workstations. The back-end stays only the server. Again, remember, you will not need to know how to specifically split the database on the examination itself but you need to be aware of the concepts. You may be asked where is the wizard? In an upcoming movie I'll show you exactly where it lives.