Chapter 36: Client/Server Concepts
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Note
As mentioned earlier, splitting an Access database into front- and back-end pieces doesn’t constitute client/
server, even if the back end is located remotely. The defining characteristic of client/server computing is that
the application’s work is partitioned between the client and server computers. In the case of a split Access
database, no processing occurs on the computer storing the back-end .accdb file. Access doesn’t even have
to be installed on the file server. There is no computing going on at the remote computer on behalf of the
Access application. The back-end .accdb is nothing more than a data file, much like a Word document or
Excel spreadsheet kept on a file server.
However, when an .accdb is upsized to SQL Server (see Chapter 38), SQL Server actively manages the
upsized data. When a query is opened in Access, Access requests the data from SQL Server, and SQL Server
either retrieves the data directly or runs a stored procedure that produces the data requested by Access.
Client/server always involves processing on both ends of the relationship.
Access as a database repository
Access is used as a database repository throughout this book. The basic relational database consists
of tables containing fields and records, and the ability to establish and enforce relationships
between those tables. The application layer of an Access database adds commands allowing
changes to data and commands allowing reading of data. Access has all this, and then some. Figure
36.6 shows a picture of data stored in an Access table.FIGURE 36.6A database repository stores fields in records within tables.
Figure 36.7 shows an Access table’s design, detailing the fields, data types, and field specifications.