> what is a good alternative to Access (or Fox, I add)
Nothing.
Access is(was) in fact a worse alternative to Fox:
- Much worse DB engine, and that is saying a lot (FoxPro db can and get corrupted. A typical functionality that was added to any fox codebase was a utility to fix it)
- MUCH MUCH worse programming language (VB) that is neither good as-is, much less as a data-programing language.
Fox/dbase is the only data-oriented language that was relatively popular and fit for the use-case.
This is by a mile the main point: Is a desert looking for languages that are made for business app/data oriented programing (and much harder looking for something not weird).
The main options: Fox/dBase/Informix(? not remember), kdb+, Cobol, SQL(when extended as store procedure lang with loops and that)
--
This point is big. Having a good form builder (that is already rare) is not enough to be a real contender for this space. You need a language where making queries is truly nice.
In short, you need a language that is `LINQ/Relational` as first-class end-to-end.
- If this lang needs an ORM: FAIL.
- If this lang needs to compose strings to make a query: FAIL.
- If exist "impedance mismatch" between data manipulation/queries and the rest of the lang: FAIL.
- It should also support super-advanced types like date, decimal, currency and ideally dimensional units. Ideally algebraic types as today.
- It should have a version of Rust `serde, Into/From` traits, for easy conversion between data + formats.
- It should look "normal" like python/swift with `LINQ` queries.
As someone who loves LINQ, this is really cool, best of luck with your language! There is certainly a void that is waiting to be filled by such a language.
Although as other said on this thread, the real killer feature would be a form builder as in foxpro etc. It can be somewhat primitive, as long as it's easy to build and extend. Ideally the forms should be web based.
Nothing.
Access is(was) in fact a worse alternative to Fox:
- Much worse DB engine, and that is saying a lot (FoxPro db can and get corrupted. A typical functionality that was added to any fox codebase was a utility to fix it)
- MUCH MUCH worse programming language (VB) that is neither good as-is, much less as a data-programing language.
Fox/dbase is the only data-oriented language that was relatively popular and fit for the use-case.
This is by a mile the main point: Is a desert looking for languages that are made for business app/data oriented programing (and much harder looking for something not weird).
The main options: Fox/dBase/Informix(? not remember), kdb+, Cobol, SQL(when extended as store procedure lang with loops and that)
--
This point is big. Having a good form builder (that is already rare) is not enough to be a real contender for this space. You need a language where making queries is truly nice.
In short, you need a language that is `LINQ/Relational` as first-class end-to-end.
- If this lang needs an ORM: FAIL.
- If this lang needs to compose strings to make a query: FAIL.
- If exist "impedance mismatch" between data manipulation/queries and the rest of the lang: FAIL.
- It should also support super-advanced types like date, decimal, currency and ideally dimensional units. Ideally algebraic types as today.
- It should have a version of Rust `serde, Into/From` traits, for easy conversion between data + formats.
- It should look "normal" like python/swift with `LINQ` queries.
This is the lang I trying to build: https://tablam.org