odd question, i know, but one that's been bugging me.
i create fairly involved programs. the only process i know is a simple one:
inputs are put into an excel spreadsheet. code is written in vb modules (vb
editor?) as subroutines (and sometimes functions). this code will crunch
the data and output it on another spreadsheet (or wherever it is needed).
most programs establish a "database" that keeps up w/ the output. i keep
this "database" on another excel spreadsheet. i can refer to it in code and
draw anything from it and organize it any way i want (in code). this leads
to my question:

what can access (or any other database program) do that excel cannot?

the only thing that i can think of is my "databases" in excel spreadsheets
may run out of room (only 256 columns by 65,536 rows). also, the size of
the file may be larger in excel vs. a (compressed?) access database.
can i enlarge a spreadsheet's dimensions?
i know i can use multiple spreadsheets as my "database", but how hard is it
to reference data when it is split up?
when data is larger than 256x65,536, is there any other way i can use excel
as a database? or do i have to go to access (which i know nothing about) ?
thanks, mike allen

Access offers a lot of features which you probably don't need if you are
happy using excel.

Access is limited to 256 columns as well as I understand it.

If your rows are going to get bigger than 65536 rows, then I wouldn't go to
multiple pages. I would go to Access.

Even if you data was to go above 16K rows, I would consider access. Excel
gets pretty slow when dealing with a lot of rows.

Access does offer you an SQL interface and this can be much more efficient
in retrieving subsets of your data.

--
Regards,
Tom Ogilvy

"mike allen" wrote in message
...
odd question, i know, but one that's been bugging me.
i create fairly involved programs. the only process i know is a simple
one:
inputs are put into an excel spreadsheet. code is written in vb modules
(vb
editor?) as subroutines (and sometimes functions). this code will crunch
the data and output it on another spreadsheet (or wherever it is needed).
most programs establish a "database" that keeps up w/ the output. i keep
this "database" on another excel spreadsheet. i can refer to it in code
and
draw anything from it and organize it any way i want (in code). this
leads
to my question:

what can access (or any other database program) do that excel cannot?

the only thing that i can think of is my "databases" in excel spreadsheets
may run out of room (only 256 columns by 65,536 rows). also, the size of
the file may be larger in excel vs. a (compressed?) access database.
can i enlarge a spreadsheet's dimensions?
i know i can use multiple spreadsheets as my "database", but how hard is
it
to reference data when it is split up?
when data is larger than 256x65,536, is there any other way i can use
excel
as a database? or do i have to go to access (which i know nothing about) ?
thanks, mike allen

Hi
if you really need more than 65K records of data, you really should
consider using a database (Access won't increase the number of columns
though). Some benefits of a real relational database
- can store large volumnes of data
- data integrety can be ensured
- you can 'link' tables (depend tables with foreign keys)
- You can easily use SQL to query your data (in Excel you may use
SQL.REQUEST or formula constructs)


So if you have really a large amount of data with dependencies you may
consider using a database. Excel is NOT a database though it has some
features which seems to indicate this :-)




--
Regards
Frank Kabel
Frankfurt, Germany


mike allen wrote:
odd question, i know, but one that's been bugging me.
i create fairly involved programs. the only process i know is a
simple one: inputs are put into an excel spreadsheet. code is
written in vb modules (vb editor?) as subroutines (and sometimes
functions). this code will crunch the data and output it on another
spreadsheet (or wherever it is needed). most programs establish a
"database" that keeps up w/ the output. i keep this "database" on
another excel spreadsheet. i can refer to it in code and draw
anything from it and organize it any way i want (in code). this
leads to my question:

what can access (or any other database program) do that excel cannot?

the only thing that i can think of is my "databases" in excel
spreadsheets may run out of room (only 256 columns by 65,536 rows).
also, the size of the file may be larger in excel vs. a (compressed?)
access database.
can i enlarge a spreadsheet's dimensions?
i know i can use multiple spreadsheets as my "database", but how hard
is it to reference data when it is split up?
when data is larger than 256x65,536, is there any other way i can use
excel as a database? or do i have to go to access (which i know
nothing about) ? thanks, mike allen

In practical terms:

1. Unless you have only modest amounts, storing data in a 'proper'
database would allow faster access.
2. Although a single Jet (MS Access) table is limited to 255 columns,
you may use more than one table and join them very efficiently in
queries.
3. You would probably end up with a better structure to both your data
and your application.

Jamie.

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