Microsoft Access is designed to help its users connect with Microsoft databases at the back end and help them manage and store their data efficiently. Using MS Access has been extremely helpful to many enterprises since they can manage and access their data in a more user-friendly manner. MS Access has four entities that help people to have hassle-free work. These entities are called objects. In brief, objects are the collection of tools supported by MS access that helps the users get their job done.
There are four types of objects in MS access:
1. Tables– Tables are the places where any information is stored. The most basic work of any database is to store useful information, and tables are meant for that purpose. Tables don’t perform any other operations but simply store the data that would be used later for other useful operations. Below is an example of what an MS access table looks like:
2. QUERIES- Queries are statements asking the software to conduct a detailed search from the database. Consider the example of a library having at least 1000 books. Now, there would be a database where all the relevant information of those books is stored. You don’t have to search the whole database to get that book’s information if you need a particular book. Instead, you could simply write a query statement that will fetch all the information about the book you are looking for. Queries are very helpful when it comes to extracting only useful pieces of information from a heap of data. Below is an example of an MS Access query.
3. FORMS– Forms display data from your table itself and help perform the necessary tasks. Forms are basically an easy way to guide people using the software to perform various operations like sorting, adding, displaying in a more presentable manner, and so on. Whatever you do in a form, you are actually doing it on the table itself. You can directly do it from the table also. Still, the main challenge in doing so is if your data set is of a very large size, then it might be a problem for you to delete the non-useful data by finding it from the whole table and tracing out the useful columns for performing the important operations. Below is an example of what a form looks like
4. REPORTS- Reports are static, easy to understand, and easy on the eyes documents, which are presentable and portable. Colors can be added to it, and it & will help in better managing the data that we need to present to someone. Reports are the objects which help in showcasing a particular section in order to highlight the important section. It’s more of an on-paper presentation of data. Below is an example of a report of data.
5. MACROS– Macros in MS access are used for automation purposes. It can automate tasks like opening forms, querying, changing values, or even running other macros. It helps in adding functionality to your forms, reports, and controls. This helps in improving efficiency when using the database.
If you need to manage the data well, then coordination of all four entities is required. If you consider the case of a book directory in a library, then the place where all the information of books is stored is called tables. If you want to search for a particular book, then the search command is the query, the place where you put your search criterion in the form, and last but not least, the result that the query has produced can be represented in a portable format as a report.
