Hi everybody

I have been working on ms access till now and have built quite a few database apps.
The time now is for MySQL...i have a few queries

> Is MySQL free ?
> MySQL is the back end...........what will be the front end..i mean will i be able to create forms to display my information in MySQL like how i do in MS access or basically how is it being done in MySQL
> if the front end needs to be done separately ..what am i suppose to use
> any links for tutorial

Please help me to start off
thanks
hemanth

MySQL is free for non commercial work
its free for development
its not free when used in an application that is sold to third parties
however that was before Oracle took over Sun, so it may have changed
MySQL :: Commercial License for OEMs, ISVs and VARs
MySQL is a server data store, that means i9t can connect to virtually any front end
..whether thats traditional languages like VB, VC, .NET, C, C++, Java and so on
..or web server scripting lanbguages like PHP, ASP, PERL, Python and so on
..or RAD environments like Access, Delphi and so on.

as to what front end to use it depends on you, your experience who you think is going ot use the application, all 3 types of front end (traditional, web server, RAD) have their proponents, their supporters and their opponents (some of that support is of the 'fan boy' style, some of that opposition is anti 'fan boy' led.. ie person X knows microsoft therefore will only use or recommend or deign to acknowledge Microsoft*.
as to tutorials, theres lots out there much of its on the web, but you can get books which in my experience are often a better learning medium, but that may be my age I struggle to really ingest web content I far prefer to pick up a book and read
try w3schools.com

*replace with what ever variant of db, language and so on.

Thank you Healdem for your time and tips

i have a few more queries
what is the industry standard for user forms while developing a database app
is it web based or is it forms (like those i do in ms access)
if it is web based then which scripting am i to use
if it is forms ..then which front end should i use

please help me so that i can start looking in to the tutorials

thanks in advance
hemanth

it all comes down to who you know / think / believe will use the application(s) you are developing

if its inside a big corporate company then almost certainly a traditional language like .NET or Java will be preferred

if its a web based application then a scripting language will be preferred#

if its a smaller enterprise or possibly a small section of a large corporate then somehting like Access may well be appropriate

it all depends on the customer wants, can afford, what their experience is, what their prejudices exclude or promote. there is no one single answer.

so short of knowing who your targeted customers are, what your application is expected to do and so on its tricky for anyone to give you a fair and reasonable opinion

I'll throw in my thoughts, consider them for what they may be worth.

At least six of the Fortune 500 have switched from "fat client" applications like .NET executables, client based Jave, etc. to web based development. This wasn't a sudden shift, it was actually less pain than figuring out how to support/upgrade their existing installed client base and it happened one application at a time based on their own needs analysis and cost estimates.

The shift from "fat Client" to "no client" isn't a small undertaking for a single developer, but it was trivial compared to the long term cost of maintaining the existing client base. In other words, if you don't have any development platform now you really ought to consider web based development because that seems to be the current preference of both large businesses and also those that are selling "software as a service" to small businesses and the general public.

If you envision selling "packaged software" that would be sold in a computer/electronics/department store or via download from your web site then a "fat client" might be appealing for a number of reasons. Native executable files are still the only practical way to implement device drivers and certain kinds of integration software. I still think that "fat client" applications are the only real solution for certain security related applications (see the Last Pass security breach debacle for details on that thought), although I have to admit that Secret Server is becoming near and dear to my heart at one client. The "fat client" is by no means dead, but it is moving into a specialized and more retail oriented market.

-PatP