Taking SharePoint offline

by Volker Weber

Eric Rucker talks about database features in Access 12 and the reasoning behind them. They are introducing multiple values per field, and do it the proper way through normalizing the tables behind the scene. Interesting:

What it brings to Access is full schema compatibility with Windows SharePoint Services lists. This allows us to take SharePoint list data offline and to provide rich-client UI for SharePoint using Access.

Access shares something with Notes: an MDB, much like a Notes NSF, contains a full application with data and UI and code. So this is how Microsoft wants to make SharePoint available offline. It's not Groove, it's Access.

BTW: As Joel mentions, JET beyond 4.0 will no longer be re-distributable. The customer will need to have Access installed.

Comments

I think the interesting item here is being missed:

"They are introducing multiple values per field"

This will make it much much easier to port a Domino application to Access than it would be today. I can hear the MS Sales folks now, take your "department" level application that you have built with Domino and move them to access. They'll do this to try and spin the notion that Domino doesn't scale and is a department level application, ie none enterprise etc. etc.

Carl Tyler, 2005-10-17

Not so sure that you can clean up the not-normalized mess in Notes databases (let's run an agent. which updates all records, when this customer address changes).

Volker Weber, 2005-10-18

@Vowe,

Who designs Notes db's that store the address info in more than one record? :-)

BE

Bruce Elgort, 2005-10-18

Never seen an app like this? Then take property values hidden away in design elements. The kind of stuff departmental "developers" create.

Volker Weber, 2005-10-18

It doesn't matter if it works well or isn't a good idea, it just matters that it can be done.

Carl Tyler, 2005-10-18

@Carl: For marketing, that's right. For people who are actually working with the stuff, it certainly matters and I would deliberately fight off solutions that don't work well or aren't a good idea!

Ragnar Schierholz, 2005-10-18

@Ragnar: Isn't that where everyone typically acknowledges Microsoft are best and win the hearts and minds of potential customers?

Carl Tyler, 2005-10-18

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