Access Discontinued? Jet is Dead?

By Dan Haught, VP, Product Development, FMS Inc.
October 14, 1998

Recent trade press articles have put forth some truly bizarre ideas about the future of both Access and Jet. For example, a recent InfoWorld article has the following interesting interpretations:

Microsoft this fall will ship a database for handheld systems as well as a long-awaited desktop version of its SQL Server database. The company also is expected to make a move that could signal a gradual phase out of its popular Access database for PCs.

Microsoft's Pocket Access for Windows CE database will be announced at the Professional Developers Conference in Denver this month. Also due is the SQL Server 7.0, Desktop Edition, database for Windows platforms.

And as part of its long-term goal of one common data store, Microsoft plans to offer an embedded version of SQL Server 7.0 as a replacement for the Jet database engine in the Access database, according to company officials.

Analysts concluded that these moves mean that Jet and Access could go the way of the dinosaur.

Source: InfoWorld Online Article

What's an Access/Jet developer to do with news like this?

Well, first the good news: Access is not being discontinued, and Jet is going stronger than ever. What's really happening is just the usual new release confusion that happens every time Microsoft readies a new product suite for release. That is, the marketing wizards at Redmond are sending mixed signals to the press. You can't fault InfoWorld for this type of reporting--they're just writing what Microsoft tells them, and making "analyst predictions" based on sketchy data.

To set the record straight, here are a few facts:

1. Microsoft Access 2000 is scheduled for release in February of 1999, and offers a slew of exciting new features that will make it a must-have upgrade for developers. Access continues to dominate the desktop database market, and will for the foreseeable future.
2. Jet 4.0, which is slated to ship with Office 2000, has more new features than any previous version upgrade! Things like row-level locking, ANSI-92 compliant SQL, full ADO support and tons more. Microsoft's long term plan is to use SQL Server as its database engine everywhere, but even the folks at Redmond acknowledge the huge quantity of MDB data out there. Access will continue to support Jet as long as this huge installed base exists. And even if Jet is phased out over the next few years, Access will continue to grow as the premier desktop database by relying on new database engine technology.
3. DAO is being phased out. Office 2000 will ship with DAO 3.6 which is the end of the line for the venerable data object model. Version 3.6 contains no new features, only bug fixes. Moving forward, you'll want to learn and use ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). Of course, DAO will still be supported in Office 2000, and your existing DAO code will work fine. But if you want to use many of the new Jet 4.0 features, you'll need to start using ADO. You can use both ADO and DAO in the same Access app. This means that you can keep your legacy DAO code and write new functionality in ADO. One final word about DAO: DAO is not Jet; it is a programmatic interface to Jet. The fact that DAO is being phased out doesn't imply, in any way, that Jet is dead.
4. Microsoft Access 2000 will offer a new project mode (called ADP) where you can create robust client/server apps without using Jet at all: you directly link all data logic in your app to SQL Server with just one connection. While this is a great feature, Access in its regular Jet mode is still fully supported, and at FMS we expect MDB data to be around for a long time. SQL Server is still SQL Server, even if it is front-ended by Access. It is overkill for most of the applications for which Access is currently used. We at FMS see the primary use for ADPs will be for corporate developers creating SQL Server-based applications who want to work off-line or while away from the regular corporate SQL Server network
5. That Microsoft would "discontinue" Access (the best-selling Windows database of all time) boggles the mind. Microsoft does make mistakes, but discontinuing hot-selling products is not one of them.
6. At FMS, we plan full support for Access 2000 with updates across our entire Total Access product line. Additionally, our developer tools will help you make the transition to these new technologies quicker, and with lower development costs.

The Bottom Line

In the final analysis, you should remember back to the Access 1.0 launch in the fall of 1992. Just prior to release, Access was set upon by the vested interests in the industry (mainly FoxPro and xBASE pundits) as a "toy" that would soon be dead. Six years later, our database development platform of choice leads the world and is going strong. The moral of the story: apply a decent hype filter to press reports that precede new products: they're often confusing, and sometimes, just plain wrong.

Stay tuned. FMS plans to have lots of new information about Access 2000 as we work with the product. Check www.fmsinc.com regularly and stay informed.