What is better Access or Excel?

[data808]

I am using Alpha4 V.3 and have microsoft office 2000 I believe. I am exporting data from Alpha4 to either Access or Excel in .dbf format because I didn't see .csv file type to export in the list of external file options. I was wondering if anyone could tell me which would be better to transfer the data to, Access or Excel because I am not familiar with Access I don't really know what advantages I would have if I chose to use this program instead of Excel. Please explain. Thank you very much.

[The Mage]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Alpha four V3? I found some manuals for this on eBay, selling out of the UK. One lists a publication date of 1993. Might be a good investment if you are pursuing the use of this software.

But in the software world, 18 years is ancient.

Anyway I am not the expert here, not having really worked with Access. But Access is a database, and Excel is a spreadsheet. Too often people use Excel, or other spreadsheets as a database. It works, but it is a very week database since that is not the purpose it was designed for.

But the answer to your question really would depend on what the purpose of exporting the data is. Storing and retrieving is what access would do, and manipulating the data, especially mathematically is what Excel would do. Excel should be able to access the Access database, and manipulate the data within. But then again I would think that Alpha should be able to replace these tools for the most part, and Alpha would have been doing the database work anyway so my assumption would be that you would want to use Excel for manipulating the exported data.

I know nothing of Alpha four V3, since I didn't even hear of Alpha until Five, V10. With only 7 or 8 years between your version of Alpha, and your version of Office, I would assume it should be backwards compatible enough to be able to handle the data.

[WaltMorgan]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Access does not have the limitation of 65K rows as does EXCEL which may be a factor if you are dealing with a large number of records per table.

[Ted Giles]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

808.
Depends on what you plan to do with the data.
I'd suggest that you get the table over to someone with a later version of Alpha who can create CSV, Excel etc.
Anyway, the A4V3 Manual says:
Main Menu
Choose Database/set
Utilities
Export Data
[Lets say we are exporting a CSV]
Choose CSV option
Enter Field Separator (, most lilely)
Enclose Character Fileds in" "
Output Filed Names
Suppress Trailing blanks
Enter Record Separator (default ^M^J)
Suppress trailing separator

[David Sander]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Access is a database which will be better choice if you want complex reports, data processing, summary reports, or other database features not in Alpha 4v3. Access is also more complex to work with than Excel by necessity. Excel is a spreadsheet that is best for making complex calculations with the data but does little in the way of formatting for printing or data entry control.

Alpha 4v3 has several data export formats; Access will import the dbf file easily. Excel will have a variety of import formats, you can look those up of which a couple should be the same as Alpha 4v3 list of file export formats. Use one of the common formats to get the results you want.

[DaveM]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Better than all that is to get to the windows versions of alpha. Save yourself a lot of work unless you are trying to dump alpha.

Access is a database system as is alpha. It is way beyong excel for most uses. There are a few uses for excel, but not many if you have better tools to work with.

[data808]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

I think i need some scenerios as to what access can do. I am basically using it to input customer data and have to do updates on addresses and what not. Its only being used on one computer possible on a network drive later.

[Ted Giles]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Why are you asking about Access on an Alpha Forum?
Did the detail in Post #4 work or not?
You will find Alpha considerably easier to use than Access if you are planning a long term arrangement with data manipulation.

[DaveM]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

I am suspecting a budget issue. A lot of businesses have access because it came with MS Office. It usually just sits there and does nothing. They mostly use word, a little excell and varied other parts. This is from experience going into businesses and working with them. I actually had a potential cusomer tell me he wanted the app in access because he hated it sitting there and never used, although he used most of the other apps from Office. He found someone else to do his app. I later sold him my app written with alpha to replace his. I even wrote a conversion to get his data over.

Unlike Access where you will get no help on alpha.

Now, Access is kinda like alpha in that you can create an application to input data and print it out. You can also sort and filter that data. No, it is not as easy to use as alpha and takes a lot longer for most things to get done. The robustness is not there in most areas. It does work pretty well with the other parts of Office.

[Ted Giles]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Probably Dave.
How's the racing going?

[DaveM]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Hi Ted,

Thanks for asking.

We ran on the oct. 15th and had a handling issue - resolved it to a broken part and an oil leak dropping oil on the back tires. Of course, we found it after it was too late. Finished 13th out of 22 cars.

Our new car should be ready in january 2012 and I am going to drive the old one. I am going to rebuild it over the offseason just like the new one. The new one has a better(I think) chassis and should be .2 seconds faster a lap. Engines will be pretty much the same at 600 HP.

#97 new car = hamke chassis. One could google that. we also have penske shocks that are totally adjustable for it.
#12 old car = port city chassis. One could google that also. No fancy shocks. LOL
Both will run monte carlo bodys.

NEW CHASSIS is like this:
chassis_with_interior.jpg

[Ted Giles]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

We were road racing long while back with an old Steib sidecar outfit - not a kneerer - when the chassis parted. Ended up with the sidecar in the bushes. LOL. No injury apart from red face.
The Koni adjustables I had on the Carlsson were great but on full hard, they didn't last too long. Also there is the niggle that you want to keep adjusting.
Please ping me any build photo's to my mail address if you have time.
Stay safe.

[DaveM]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Never did the 2 and 3 wheels. Had a hard enough time keeping the 4 whelers upright. I will send a pic now and then as I get them.
I am safe. I don't drive them anymore.
from racing think springs. RF 225 LF 250 RR 275 LR 172 for all left turns. LOL sway bar 1.5 inches across.

[Ted Giles]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

I thought you said you'd be driving the old one in January?
Youtube opportunity!

[DaveM]

Re: What is better Access or Excel?

Should have said " I haven't been driving them lately" I will be Part time, but it is just what is left of the car from this year. Actually, I am a better driver than the other one, so I could beat him with less. Thats what I always did. The pic above is the new car being built. I will go over this years car completely before I sit down in it.

New car will be #97 red
Mine will be #12 white
Either car will turn 8000 rpm which equates to 100-105 mph at the end of each straight a way.

Januarry is shake out time while testing. Real racing(season) starts in February.