Need a solution

Here is the delimma: For my personal website, I must use a server-side language to pull records out of an MS ACCESS database. Naturally, I would go with ASP. But, this language must be hosted on my university's Unix server, so the hell with ASP. Here are some of my options:

1. use PHP with Access (has anyone EVER done that?)
2. use Perl with Access (is that even possible?)
3. use PHP with MySQL (yay - but I haven't used either)
4. use PHP with some other free DB solution

5. if all fails, copy static HTML from [the ASP/Access page hosted on my personal server] onto the new server. This is a stupid solution, as I would need to manually replace the HTML every time I update the database, which I do every week.

I'm open to THE EASIEST suggestions.

Try this:

Keep the Access db on your local computer, use mysql on the unix server and php. Connect the access db to the server using the myodbc drivers.

Now, anytime you update the Access db it will automatically update the website database.

Easiest solution long term would probably be to just migrate the data from Access to MySQL (shameless plug: or, I'd actually recommend PostgreSQL or maybe Firebird) and be done with it. If I had a dime for every headache Access 97 through 2002 ever gave me I'd be able to buy the damn thing and axe its production for good....

And yes, you can access Access with Perl - I do it all the time... unfortunately.

About MySQL or PostgreSQL, is it GUI a la ACCESS at all? I like entering data in Access by just double-clicking on the table. That's real easy. Do I have to use SQL to insert data into these unix DBs?

They both have front ends that allow you to view and add data / tables / etc... to them. There are two web front ends that I know of that are made with php (see sourceforge for phpmyadmin, etc) and I know of one command center (see the mysql website) for mysql but I am not sure about postgresql.

MySQL and Postgres can both have GUI type front ends to them. Look up phpmyadmin for mysql and phppgadmin for PostgreSQL. They're both web based front ends to adminster the databases. They also have full client executable front ends to aid in administering like PGAdmin II. Check here under administration tools for more PG stuff. I'm sure MySQL has the same type of stuff, if not more, but I'm more partial to PG.

HTH,

-b

If you get the Windows version of dbExperts' PostgreSQL you get some funky little Tk-based GUI tool called pgAccess with it. It's ugly as all heck but it does a lot of the same basic stuff as Access like letting you enter data into the system using spreadsheet-like "tables". I don't know if you can get that seperately or if it's only with the Windoze version though.

Still, you're best bet would probably be the web-based admin tools for My/PostgreSQL that were previously mentioned.

One other thing: Access is incredibly stupid and tries to test for the existence of NULLs in some of the reports it creates. If you properly iplement the system, testing for the existance of NULLs is totally useless, so when Access is hooked as the frontend to some systems (like PostgreSQL), you can cause problems. You can set PostgreSQL to handle these oddball tests the way Access wants to, but why risk breaking your data because the people who programmed Access think that databases and spreadsheets are the same thing? Just ditch Access... that's just one of numerous problems Access has with proper data handling. If you stick with it, you'll get burned eventually (frequently, is more likely).