- Why This Chapter Is Important
- Understanding the Client/Server Model
- Deciding Whether to Use the Client/Server Model
- The Roles Access Plays in the Application Design Model
- Learning the Client/Server Buzzwords
- Upsizing: What to Worry About
- Proactively Preparing for Upsizing
- Using the Upsizing Wizard
- Defining an ODBC Data Source
- Connecting to a Database Server
- Summary
Understanding the Client/Server Model
The client/server model introduces a separation of functionalities. The client, or front end, is responsible for presenting the data and doing some processing. The server, or back end, is responsible for storing, protecting, and performing the bulk of the data processing.
With its tools that assist in the rapid development of queries, forms, and reports, Access provides an excellent front end for the presentation of back-end data.
For years, most information professionals worked with traditional programming languages to process and maintain data integrity in the application. With traditional programming languages, data-validation rules were embedded in the programming code. Furthermore, these types of applications are record orientedthat is, all records are read into memory and processed. This scenario has several drawbacks:
If the underlying data structure changes, every application that uses the data structure must be changed.
Data-validation rules must be placed in every application that accesses a data table.
Presentation, processing, and storage are handled by one program.
Record-oriented processing results in an extraordinary amount of unnecessary network traffic.