From Access to SQL Server

• Benefit from the authors hands-on database migration experience
  
• Avoid common problems and "gotchas" encountered when migrating from Access to SQL Server
  
• Learn how to modify Access databases and applications prior to migration
  

MICROSOFT'S ACCESS DATABASE IS EXTREMELY popular and is adequate for many applications. However, as applications and businesses grow, Access developers may discover that their applications need a more robust, enterprise-ready database system, such as SQL Server. Unfortunately, most Access programmers have little or no knowledge of SQL Server, and there are few places to turn for help. This book is designed to fill that gap.

The book begins by discussing SQL Server and by carefully explaining the areas in which it differs from Access. Sinclair reviews the SQL Server technology, including its architecture and application environment. He also provides coverage of key topics, including security; data storage; system databases; database objects such as tables, views, and stored procedures; and, of course, how to query and view the data in the database.

After reviewing SQL Server, Sinclair discusses the potential reasons for an upgrade and the planning process necessary to complete a successful migration. He covers core migration issues and helps to provide a framework for decisionmaking. The author then turns to the working issues of the migration process itself. Among the topics covered: Microsofts UpsizingWizards, use of SQL Servers Data Transformation Services (DTS), options for connecting Access databases directly to SQL Server, differences and similarities between Tables and Views in Access and in SQL Server, how to write SQL Server stored procedures, and even how to convert existing Access reports to stored procedures.

There is a lot more to migrating a database than can be read in the official documentation, and none of the three Microsoft Upsizing Wizards is perfect. The process of migrating a database from Access to SQL Server is fraught with hidden problems and "gotchas" that most Access programmers simply don't expect. From Access to SQL Server walks the reader through the available migration options and teaches developers what they need to know to successfully migrate a database from Access to SQL Server.