Applications Plus Computer Services

 

Database and Application development

Database Consulting is Applications Plus's main focus. We take your idea, manual system, or existing computerized system and design a database with custom programming to create your application.

All applications involve the storage of data and business rules that control its manipulation. Hence a database is developed to store that data. Custom programming is developed to allow users to maintain the data and enforce the business rules.

Development Steps

  • To create your application we will first define what you need it to do. What are the reports or outputs you are looking to create?
  • What data needs to be collected to produce those outputs? What are the business rules of how that data should be maintained?
  • The next step is to design the actual database tables that will store your data and the relationships between the data.
  • Then we design forms that allow your users to enter and maintain the data with custom programming to enforce the business rules.
  • Finally we create the reports and outputs that you need.

Microsoft Access (part of Microsoft Office) is a great tool for development. It can be used to quickly prototype a database with its table design, maintenance form wizard, and report wizard tools. It supports Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to create custom programming in the forms and reports. Access also has the power to run the completed application in a production environment for a limited number of users.

Microsoft SQL Server is a natural extension of our Access work. Applications that have outgrown Access’s database engine can be easily scaled up to run on SQL Server. In many cases a MS Access database can be used to create the forms and reports for the production environment.

Microsoft Visual Studio can be used to create applications that need more power than Access can handle. It can create both local and web based applications.

see our Data Management Consulting page for more discussions about the development process

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