Hi gkfahnbulleh:
I can see that you are really into the edge of software technology and are very passionate about your industry and what you do. I can also see that what I say as a physician/enduser/programmer may seem like heresy to you. The real problem is that we are looking at EMR from 2 different views- you as a
developer/seller and I as an
developer/enduser who sees that a lot of the upgrades that Microsoft puts out is "fluff".
I hope to get into .Net technology one day and I'll even get into MS Office 2010 when it comes out (skipping MS Office 2007 like I did MS Office 2002 until it came with a laptop that I bought). The programs that I choose to learn are those that will impact my business (medicine) right here and right now, how they impact my workflow seeing patients. Everything from programming for my Palm, programming in InstallShield technologies, and this week I've mastered MS Frontpage 2003 to create my website (to be up this weekend!).
Getting back to the issue of Jet4 vs SQL, the thing that will eventually get me to want SQL would be its ability to handle large files, including graphic pics, ink files, faxes, and other scanned in material.
>>> Where programmers who do not know about a technology or are too comfortable with what they know and do not want to step outside their comfort zone, do everything in their power to convince their bosses that the new technology is bad and will ruin them. I kind of don't work for you so I don't have to put up with your "hot air" Gospel of what language I have to work in. It just seems interesting to me how AC, using "old technology" as you would refer to anything less than the most up-to-date .Net programming platform has done so well with its userbase. This is probably because in the end, the tricks and simplicity of the program is what the end users want and expect.
>>> I can tell you that VB6 does not even come close to matching the power of VB9. And, so why should I jump and get into VB9 at this very instant? I'm sure that most likely I'd be stating these words, though, if my next job depended on it (like in your case).
>>> Something about demanding that end users have Office installed sticks in my craw. When you deliver software for commercial consumption you have to be very careful about demanding that OTHER software MUST be installed. Again, in the typical medical office and in almost all hospitals
MS Office rules. Just about every computer has a version of
MS Office on just about all of their computers. It's a general industry standard, especially in healthcare.
>>> Can you INSURE that your software written for Access 2003 will work on Access 2008? What if it won't and I feel there are features in Office 2008 I must have? All of a sudden your software has become a bottleneck in my upgrade process. The EMR that I use at my office will work with
MS Office 2000, 2002, and 2003. Not
Access 2008. My EMR is not for sale, but if it were, and you wanted to use
Office 2008, then you would have to look for a different EMR.
>>> Conversely, when you upgrade your program to Access 2008, I will also be REQUIRED TO UPGRADE my Office.Say I wanted to add inking- I'd have to get an SQL backend and upgrade folks to
Office 2002 or later. Heck, you can buy
MS Office 2002 on ebay "buy it now" for a mere $139 here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/MS-Office-XP-Pr...160258746533&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318>>> Another issue with using these older development environments is "DLL Hell" .Net addresses this because installed apps do not share assemblies but have all the assemblies they need in their own space. This allows you to run multiple versions of an application without breaking the older versions.I have 3 computers, each with a different version of
MS Office that I use to make sure that the appropriate dlls are loaded correctly. I have all the necessary dlls that can cause problems when missing filed under "common dlls", "office 2000 dlls", "office 2002 dlls", "office 2003 dlls". I have executables that will install these dlls when necessary. It's not a big deal and actually, both the
MS Word and
MS Access EMRs that I've written have a activex controls that will work on all 3 platforms.
