Method for updating production backends with new tables/fields

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robert d - 13 Dec 2005 03:41 GMT

My application is beginning to interest prospective clients. This may be
wishful thinking, but if I have a lot of clients how will I update a
production backend when I need to add tables (for example, for new
functionality in the new release front end) or modify tables with fields.

The clients I talk to generally do not allow executables to be installed on
user PCs. So an executable to do this is out of the question. If by some
miracle I have 50 or more clients, how am I going to accomplish adding new
tables to the production backend or adding a field to an existing table. I
don't want to have to accept each backend one by one and do the changes.
Code is the answer, but how to best implement this.

Of course, before anything is done, backup, backup, backup.....

Advice, suggestions experience on how to best accomplish this is appreciated.

Thanks.

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BillCo - 13 Dec 2005 14:53 GMT

sounds like you are confusing your back end with your front end... be
very careful in the bathroom

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david epsom dot com dot au - 14 Dec 2005 00:52 GMT

DB.Execute

or

CNN.execute

you can get a DAO connection string from your linked tables,
and use SQL to ALTER TABLE or CREATE TABLE on the BE database.

Or you can create an ADO connection to the BE database, which
is only slightly more difficult, and use ADO SQL, which is
slightly more extensive than JET SQL.

(david)

> My application is beginning to interest prospective clients. This may be
> wishful thinking, but if I have a lot of clients how will I update a
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Thanks.

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robert d - 14 Dec 2005 01:57 GMT

Thanks, for an intelligent reply to my post, David. I'll have to read up on
Alter and Create, but this definately sounds like the way to go.

>DB.Execute
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>>
>> Thanks.

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David W. Fenton - 14 Dec 2005 03:59 GMT

> I'll have to read up on
> Alter and Create, but this definately sounds like the way to go.

For what it's worth, I've been programming Access on a near deaily
basis since 1996 and I've never once written a single DDL statement.

If I'm going to manipulate table structures, I'm going to use DAO
functionality, which works more fully with Access tables than pure
Jet DDL (which doesn't know as much about Access properties as DAO
does).

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David W. Fenton http://www.dfenton.com/
dfenton at bway dot net http://www.dfenton.com/DFA/

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david epsom dot com dot au - 14 Dec 2005 05:43 GMT

All my original code was DAO, but the fact is, I find
DDL lazier than DAO.

I copy a bit of existing DDL, and just use

db.execute("...")

For those common cases where DDL functionality is missing,
well, I'm trying to avoid database design changes...

(david)

>> I'll have to read up on
>> Alter and Create, but this definately sounds like the way to go.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Jet DDL (which doesn't know as much about Access properties as DAO
> does).

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