Yes, Microsoft Access was a recalcitrant beast, but the first step is to turn the computer on
- Reference: 1609147806
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/12/28/12boc/
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Today's instalment takes us back a few decades to the 1990s, when Bros had ceased to be and Take That were chewing up the charts (the first time around).
"Joshua" (not his name – there are no Christmas breaks for the Regomiser) was one of the many who, during the decade, discovered the delights of Microsoft Access. He'd put together a system for sales support at a small roofing materials retailer, running atop Windows for Workgroups. The database ran from the office manager's PC.
It is hard to believe that Access is nearing the 30th anniversary of its first release. Arriving in 1992, it was Microsoft's first crack at a mass-market database for the Windows desktop. Version 1.1 in 1993 gave the world the Access Basic programming language, but it was version 2.0 in 1994 that really cemented the product's dominance.
It also inflicted the Jet database engine upon the world, but we'll draw a veil over that for the benefit of those still bearing the scars. Access (and Jet) served a purpose and had their place, but were frequently abused by the sorts of people that want to build a database fit for an enterprise but on a shoestring budget.
As for Joshua, on the day in question he "got a frantic call from one of the salesman's PAs that the database was totally dead."
Not an uncommon occurrence for Access, although Joshua was curious as to why the call had come direct to him rather than the office manager.
When even a power-cycle fandango cannot save your Windows desktop [5]READ MORE
"Oh, she's off today," came the cheerful response. The PA went on to explain that everything had been working perfectly yesterday. But today, well, it was like Access had upped sticks and left the building.
Before embarking on a lengthy bit of Access database fault diagnosis, Joshua started with the basics.
"I asked her if the PC in the manager's office was powered up," he told us.
There was a lengthy pause.
Somewhere a penny dropped.
The response: "You mean her PC needs to be on in order to read the hard drive?"
"Sorted," said Joshua. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/27/12BoC/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/26/12BoC/
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Re: I'd be shocked if ...
... Joshua didn't realise that he had constructed a Single Point of Failure and promptly done something about it.
Re: I'd be shocked if ...
Meh. For some SPOF is a business strategy not a problem. Hello Google Authentication and Azure Active Directory.
And several of my clients.
In the 90s, it was a way of life for most.
Re: I'd be shocked if ...
I bet the list of stories relating to lack of angry pixies, fuel, uncharged batteries etc, if printed in one go, would break the interthingy.
I always worry
That someone will forget to turn the Internet Box on one day
Re: I always worry
I did something close once ... In late 1977 I managed to take down all the PDP10 kit at Stanford and Berkeley with a software upgrade. Effectively split the West coast ARPANet in half for a couple hours. Not fun having bigwigs from Moffett and NASA Ames screaming because they couldn't talk to JPL and Lockheed without going through MIT ...
still bearing the scars
Jet love the Paul McCartney song... Not so much the database.
I'd be shocked if ...
... anybody involved in PC support in the early '90s didn't have a similar tale. Or six ... teen.
Or the early '80s, come to think of it. Or the early 00s, 10s, last week ...