Total Access SourceBook 8.0

Rama Ramachandran
Visual Programming ++ (VB++)

If you are a conscientious Visual Basic and/or Access programmer, you probably have all your code designed and developed in a reusable fashion with easy access to modules where they reside for use in different applications. Or maybe you are like the typical programmer who does not remember the location of that cool function you wrote a few months back, the one that you need desperately right now. Total Access SourceBook from FMS Inc., solves these problems by providing you with a repository of well-written and commented source code for over 500 often-used VBA routines. Not only can you use this prewritten code in your applications, but you can also add, edit, and maintain your own routines for re-use in other applications, both by you as well as your team members.

The repository of code in Total Access SourceBook will teach you a lot about professional coding techniques. Some of the professional features used include consistent naming conventions, error checking, proper comments, and indenting. In addition, the code repository contains a number of extremely useful routines--be they mathematical and statistical routines that VBA left out, object manipulation routines tat allow you to control Access objects programmatically, or OLE automation routines that allow you to create applications that interact with Word, Excel, and Office. For the novice programmer, this code repository is a windfall; for the intermediate programmer, it provides fine-tuning of your coding skills. Even the advanced programmer will find something new in this library of routines, most notably access to the Windows API declares, types and constants.

Total Access SourceBook ships with pre-built routines for manipulating the Access environment, forms, tables, queries and reports; attaching tables; linking to ODBC and Client/Server issues; string, date, and time manipulation; file and disk operations, error handling, and so on; mathematical and statistical tasks; Windows API, registry, and dialog manipulation; as well as a whole section on Internet, intranet, and Web-related routines.

A SMART, INTUITIVE BROWSER

Total Access SourceBook ships with an easy to use browser that allows you to quickly find the code routine you need. All code routines exist within well-defined categories that you can browse through. The folds at FMS, inspired by the MSDN interface that programmers are quickly becoming used to, designed their browser to display a similar interface with a tree view of all code routines on the left side of the screen with different tab separated sheets of data on the right. As you highlight a code routine name, its code appears on the right, ready for pasting into your application. Not only that, there is also an extensive explanation for each code routine, highlighting its purpose, arguments, and a sample of how it can be used in your application.

This well-designed interface allows you to quickly search for words appearing in code fragments, explanations, etc. You can browse through your search results, and mark your entries for export to your applications. In addition, you can choose to export a code routine to your application by using the clipboard or a text file format and you can export single or multiple code routines at the same time.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR REPOSITORY

Not only can you browse and use the pre-built routines available with Total Access SourceBook, you can also enhance it by adding your own custom routines. You can add routines to the library and if you set it up right, allow your team programmers to shar4e the common code repository. This is a great benefit in organizations where different programmers need to reuse code developed by other team members. Total Access SourceBook ships with an Administrator program that allows an administrator to set up user names and categories for code routines, as well as perform maintenance and backup duties on the central code repository. Annotations are another welcome addition to the Total Access SourceBook repository. As team members use code routines from the library, they can also add annotations for later reading to the code fragments. This will help tem remember for next time anything special about a code procedure that will help them avoid a pitfall, or provide a tip. Total Access SourceBook is an excellent addition to a programmer's treasure chest of resources. The product provides numerous routines, and new code and updates are available periodically from FMS, Inc.'s Web site. these are all routines you would otherwise have to spend time and effort to create, test and debug, but with Total Access SourceBook, they are available at the click of a button.

Rama Ramachandran is a Director with Imperium Solutions, specializing in the design and development of custom GUI-based standalone, network and client/server database systems. Rama has contributed numerous articles to Visual Basic Programmer's Journal and is the co-author of Que's "Visual Basic Expert Solutions," "VBPJ Guide to VB4," and "Building Integrated Office Solutions." Rama also teaches Visual Basic at the Fairfield University, CT.