Framework and options

1ofaKind · 19 Sep 2012 at 08:07

Hi all,

I'm looking for any info or experience for frameworks, language solutions for the following.

We have an large application (basically a mini erp system) which has an access front end with SQL server back end. Problem is the consensus is the front end needs to move to be web based( flexibilty, access look and feel etc), I'm looking for what's the alternatives in terms of rapid dev as of course people are used to knocking things up very quickly in access. Also need to take into account don't want something weird as of course it could all be outsourced.

Mainly just looking fori ideas and experiences.

Any he gratefully received.

Cheers

DanF · 19 Sep 2012 at 10:19

I guess the obvious one would be .net, it's a fairly easy programming language to learn with great resources and will allow you to pretty much make anything. If your already a MS shop then putting in an IIS server is pretty trivial. Otherwise you could take a look at ruby-on-rails or some of the python frameworks. Just depends on what skill sets you already have inhouse.

If your wanting to make up some nicer websites though with modern design and feel you'll need to learn the in's and out's of HTML & JS as a lot of the programming will be in the front end.

1ofaKind · 19 Sep 2012 at 10:53

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah a friend uses rails and tells me how good it is. I was thinking .net would end up being the choice (even without looking) just based upon the fact its MS (and people I deal with are pro MS everything) and the movement from Access VBA code to full VB.NET would be easier. To be honest I think the biggest concerns people have are over speed of development. It's easy to knock a form, report up in access and be happy and make it look half decent. Personally I work on older legacy stuff and have no experience of a web based system (it may be we outsource it and I just deal with management and design) - I guess trying to strike a balance with getting something done but not on some crazy platform,language where getting help,knowledge,support is going to cripple us.

Cheers

DanF · 19 Sep 2012 at 11:57

Yeah next step is probably to write down a full design brief of the planned new system, who will use it, how should they access it, what information are they actually accessing and updating, how often does the system need updates to reflect biz changes and so on. This should help guide you in what platform to use. Also don't discount making a WinForm or WPF application, WinForm dev is very easy and needs no advanced knowledge of html, css and JS. You can make these apps self update as well and be installable from a share. If you make up a complex website that is basically running reporting from SQL then you may end up finding your updating the site often.

Oh and if you make the switch to .net try and make the dev's use c# instead of VB, it's a nicer language with way more projects, support and articles available.

Mr^B · 19 Sep 2012 at 16:04

Tip: Do not just convert the VBA to VB.Net or C#, you'll end up with the worst system known to mankind.

How many users do you have? Where do they access from currently? What is its growth forecast, ie. how are you going about handling the scalability?

If their biggest concern is that it is done quickly, they'd better brace themselves because it'll either cost a lot, or be utterly useless.

Good, Quick, Cheap. Pick two because you can't have all three.

1ofaKind · 19 Sep 2012 at 16:29

Thanks for the reply Mr^B. You make a lot of sense (and its how I think about this sort of project) especially the conversion - in my mind convert the 'concept' of the code not how it is - make use of whats available in the language not a 'patch job'. Thats me however

In terms of users, the systems are all accessed via rdp to a central server so moving web based removes for future customers (anyway) the associated cost of access etc plus you gain the flexibility of 'anywhere access' as opposed to needing rdp and non scaling screens etc etc etc. The thing is say an end user of the system is 20 users moving web based opens up the benefits for them to allow their customers to access the system (for statements, ordering, price lists, statistics etc etc) so load wise and scale could change fairly dramatically.

Unreal estimate of cost (either time or money) I expect - I take note of what your saying