Why Use Microsoft Access?
- What Is a Relational Database?
- What Types of Things Can I Do with Microsoft Access?
- A Preview of the Database Components
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In this chapter, you learn what a relational database is. You then explore all the types of objects available in Microsoft Access. You are exposed to tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports, and modules. You then discover some of the exciting things you can do with Access. With that information under your belt, you will be ready to dive into the exciting world of working with Microsoft Access.
What Is a Relational Database?
The term database means different things to different people. For many years, in the world of the older database technologies, database was used to describe a collection of fields and records. Access refers to this type of collection as a table. In Access terms, a database is a collection of all the tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, and modules that compose a complete system. Relational refers to concepts based on set theory. These concepts are covered in Chapter 10, “Relating the Information in Your Database.”