Trying to determine if it is feasible to use SharePoint as a SQL Query development repository...
We do quite a bit of query development in SQL Server 2012 for data analysis/discovery and it would be great to be able to share valuable queries among team members without having to constantly email SQL back and forth. The email flood is just an ugly mess that we need to stop.
Ideally, it would be great to be able to save directly to SharePoint within SQL Server (File > Save > Save to SharePoint) and then allow SharePoint to do version management for the team. I know there are pretty robust tools out there for version management but we are currently just looking for something lightweight at this point and something that can be implemented quickly to test our options out.
Is something like this feasible (saving directly to SharePoint through SQL Server)?
If not feasible (or heck, if it is just a bad idea) what low cost/no cost options are there for sharing code/sql between team members? And better yet, something that we can get up and running very quickly...
Thanks in advance for your input and insight!
Great idea, think I might make one myself.
Say you have
http://my.sharepoint.dom/cool_repos/sql
You should be able to access the same through explorer using
\\my.sharepoint.dom\cool_repos\sql
Related
I'm helping out with an 3Dcart eCommerce/online store doing basic web administration tasks analyzing their data. Their POS system is manged manually with Excel at the moment, and so updating information has become pretty time consuming. I want to know if it's possible (and if so how) to connect/integrate 3Dcart's database system and be able to use Microsoft Access for the programming in order to be able to merge tables/databases more seamlessly and work more efficiently.
Is this possible? Are their any online resources that show how to integrate Microsoft Access as a POS system (with 3Dcart specifically if possible) or could anyone describe how to do so?
3dcart allows you to import your products using the Import/Export feature from a CSV file. But it seems like there is no way to make it work with Access automatically. Also I've found this service http://www.file2cart.com/shopping-cart-data-import-options/6265-import-excel-to-3dcart
Maybe it will be helpful for you. And finally you can contact these guys Smart POS and ask them for help.
I'm writing the entire database system for a factory, this includes inventory, payroll, incoming and outgoing shipments, job-data, customers, etc. The database will be stored offsite on a server running Windows 2008 R2 with SQL 2005. The guy who runs the server sent me this too:
"We also have quickbooks installed on the server and we have Exchange 2010 running. The terminal server is also ws 2008 R2.
There is plenty of horsepower on the primary exchange/file server. Let me know if you have any other questions.".
I know my boss uses Quickbooks to look at reports and stuff like that. I'm not sure how relevant exchange 2010 is, nor what the significance of "terminal server is also ws 2008 r2" is. My boss wants me to write the entire system in ms access 2010, but I feel like this will be a lot more work than simply writing it in MySQL. Will my boss still be able to look at his reports in quickbooks if we change the database to MySQL? What would be a good database technology to use? I feel the most comfortable writing it in a scripting language using MySQL, but would still be happy if I could write it in something like C/C++. I've been trying to learn access, and it seems that setting up a front-end and back-end database in access would be a pain in the ass. There are going to be several sectors in the factory that will be using the client-side software to run queries and insertions into the database(I think around 5-6).
If I can write this thing in MySQL, I think I could do the whole thing fairly pain free, but I fear that I can't because it will be incompatible with Quickbooks and the previous database(Although I hear converting is fairly easy). Mostly just Quickbook compatibility is my problem.
How horrible would it be to write this thing in Ruby?
Thank you, any help is greatly appreciated.
I don't mean to be a spoil sport but there is a tremendous amount of naivety expressed in this question. It's hard to imagine that you will be successful in designing and implementing such a large system without a basic knowledge of the technologies involved.
A few thoughts:
Quickbooks already covers most of the features you say you will be responsible for implementing. Are you supplementing the existing Quickbooks system, replacing it, or what?
Quickbooks uses its own (extraordinarily slow) database engine. It isn't "compatible" with SQL Server, MySQL, or Access.
SQL Server 2005 is a database. You don't use a database with it, you use it as your database. A Microsoft-centric organization such as the one you describe is not likely to be interested in installing yet another database server like MySQL.
MS Access encompasses both a database "engine" (called JET) and a desktop development environment. The engine can be used with other development environments and the development environment can attach to other database engines (most often SQL Server, but others work too). When you say the boss wants to write the system in MS Access you need to be clear whether he means the engine, the development environment or both. (My guess is they want to use Access as the front-end development platform and SQL Server as the data store).
You will not write a system of this complexity in a month. You probably won't even design it in that time.
Quickbooks can use MySQL as a datasource (or just about anything else), but you'll need to make your database conform to the Quickbooks way of doing things: i.e., your tables will need to match the QB table structures. It sounds like you just need a front end (data entry forms and reports) and a custom back-end. Access can quickly turn into a nightmare if you don't put in some up-front design thought, but it does give you forms & reports & web pages free in a neat little package. Make sure you use an Access Data Project (adp) that's connected to a SQL Server back end. Access does have its own native database, but everything gets stored in one local file and it's not good for applications that will be accessed by multiple people in multiple locations. It also gets complicated when you need to make a change and roll it out to all of your users.
Another option is to look into a customizable web platform, like SalesForce or MS Dynamics. That will also let you create your own tables, forms, and reports, and updates are immediate for all users, but you'll have ongoing monthly user fees. They look great on a resume, though!
I'm investigating options for reporting on data in a custom salesforce application, since the built-in reporting tool is a bad joke.
The requirements are that the data needs to be accessible on-demand through the Salesforce website (likely through a web-tab, visualforce page, etc.), and must be able to do arbitrary joins of the tables, like ANY other relational database reporting tool. It is a huge plus to be able to give much of the specific report-design power to the end user, as well. Ideally it would play well with Oracle if an external DBMS is required, though this is not a strict requirement.
I hear good things about MS SQL Reporting Services, and there has been some talk around here about Crystal Reports. I'd be much obliged to get any thoughts and opinion on the various options and approaches out there.
It may be worth looking at tools similar to Teiid. What this does is provides a standard sql jdbc interface to any data source - including salesforce. With that in mind, that means you can then use any reporting tool. It also allows you to join across data sources etc.
I'm glad you call the current salesforce tool a joke! :)
As for reporting, we use Pentaho from the open source world, which is a very powerful tool, but does take some learning. Of course, the final decision wont just come down to functionality, but cost too, and this is where Pentaho is likely to win hands down. Pentaho plays very well with Oracle, and also MySQL too. (And many more dbs)
Finally you probably want to nail down your requirements a bit more. Do you need plain reporting, dashboards, more advanced analysis? Data mining? How far do you need to go..
I'm working on an eCommerce website for a small merchant. This merchant uses Opera (which is based on Visual FoxPro) to manage his in-store inventory, and would like the online store inventory to reflect the in-store inventory.
I'm guessing that my first step is to set up a way to regularly transfer the information from the VFP database to a MySQL database on the website's server. Is there an established process for this? Am I even approaching this problem from the right angle? I've heard a lot about ODBC, but am unsure as to how to implement it or if it's what I'm looking for in this situation.
If it wasn't obvious by this point, I'm in over my head here, and would appreciate any and all advice you may have, including links to articles or tutorials that can help improve my general understanding of all the moving parts here.
Thanks much.
Co-worker developed synchronization process between VFP and MSSQL2008. WCF service which took input directly from VFP.
On other project - as far as i remember, when we tried ODBC .NET data adapter, it had problems with encodings and foreign languages. That's why we used COM+, serialization for communication with .NET.
But it seems to me you are using PHP (eCommerce=>Drupal=>PHP) so you are in completely different situation.
In your case, i would start with checking out if Opera (i guess it's this Opera) provides built-in export and eCommerce provides built-in import. Mostly because it might be tedious work to sync data manually from 2 apps coded by someone else. Then i would research if i/o can be joined and automated (something like scheduled task on win environment). Unfortunately, can't help much more because i'm unfamiliar with those tools, products and technologies.
Anyway - it seems to me like quite hard and dirty task and i wish you good luck. :)
Depend on what is that you are using to implement the website.. in general it is pretty easy with ODBC (In Java , I did it using the jdbc-odbc bridge)
I have been asked by a friend to help him assess a number of quotes for porting a desktop application based on MS access and VBA to a web based app. The application seems to have a relatively large amount of business logic coded into the VBA.
My question is very specific - are there any good tools or resources out there which could assist the porting from access, rather than doing a complete re-write?
The end technology used for the web app does not matter hugely, but would ideally be as mainstream as possible.
You may explore the possibilities offered by Sharepoint. It may help you get the data accessible online but how well will that work depends also on how much VBA code was used in the Access application.
There are some tools around that pretend they can convert MS Access to PHP/ASP websites like DB Forms, but I haven't tried them and they usually only convert the visible part of the app and not the queries and VBA.
They can be helpful to get started though.
Random thoughts
The VBA tends to be the biggest issue.
Moving to ASP.Net will take time and for that you are faced with difficult choices:
transfer all code to the ASP.NET to just get it working
rethink the structure and do a proper ASP.Net implementation from scratch.
I'd prefer the first one: just try has hard as possible to get results fast.
Use SSMA to move the data to SQL Server (unless you want to keep Access as the backend).
Make the forms look the same as on your existing application (or at least have the same function), port the VBA to VB.Net (or C# if you feel like it) form by form, module by module and test that they work as you go along.
Don't try to refactor or make things better at this stage, the point is to 'slap' the old code on the new 'system' and make it bark as it used to, not better, not worse.
Only then can you start refactoring and improving using the new tools at your disposal.
I'm saying all this assuming that there was nothing terribly wrong with the old app and that it just needed to be ported for online consumption.
If the old app was defective and wasn't fulfilling its role, then more emphasis should be placed on re-thinking which parts should be translated and which one should be reworked.
At any rate, you need to have a detailed action plan and a review of the current code and functionalities and try to limit as much as possible your expectations for the first version of the new system: avoid letting everyone input their wishes or your project will become horrendously difficult.
Concentrate on the minimum needed to achieve a certain level of functionality that will satisfy your users, then build on that.
There may be some tools to some of the basic stuff, like to upsize to a different database or maybe the look and text boxes of the forms, but converting what sounds like a lot of VBA code, not so sure.
Is this an intranet/local network type of web app or are you putting it out on the internet? Security will become a major difference between this and your Access app.
Make sure they understand Access/VBA so you can maintain the business logic that has been over the life of the Access app.
Convince your friend to stop/slow any development on the Access app to prevent the company from aiming at a moving target. This may not be realistic, but really needs to be considered.
Is there a reason why hosting the app on Windows Terminal Server would not suffice? This means zero changes to the app, no reprogramming cost and no danger of losing crucial business logic. If you use the Citrix extensions, you can run it in a web browser (though I guess that only works with IE -- I've never used them). But the RDP client comes in versions for Mac and Linux as well as Windows, so you can basically support anybody as long as they install the RDP client for their OS.
Yes, it's more installation on the client end, but it's a helluva lot cheaper and easier on the development and avoids the problem of losing important things coded into the Access app.
Of course, supporting large user populations on WTS/Citrix can get expensive and if the Access app is in need of re-engineering, anyway, it can change the balance. But it's something that you should consider. It's really easy to set up WTS, in fact, and provisioning a server for it basically a matter of adding RAM and Internet bandwidth (though RDP is really efficient to begin with).
One key mistake many people make when trying to run an Access app on WTS:
YOU MUST SPLIT THE DATABASE (front with forms/reports/etc., back end with data tables only), and each user must have their own copy of the front end (stored in user profile on the WTS, or in a folder on your WTS server's data partition with appropriate permissions assigned to the user groups authorized to use the app). Tony Toews's front-end updater is very useful in this context, and explicitly engineered to work in a Terminal Server environment.