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Guide Picks - Top 5 Desktop Databases
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Desktop databases offer simple,
flexible solutions for data storage and retrieval. They're often quite
sufficient to meet uncomplicated database requirements for both small and large
organizations. If you're not sure if a desktop database is right for you,
try reading the Choosing
a Database series of articles which cover both desktop
and server
databases in depth. |
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1.) Microsoft Access
 Access
is the "Old Faithful" of desktop databases. You'll find the
familiar Microsoft interface and a thorough online help system. The
greatest strength of Access is its tight integration with the remainder of the
Office suite. It also serves as a great front-end for any
ODBC-compliant server database. Access
2002 is available as a stand-alone product or in the Office XP Professional
suite.
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2.) Filemaker Pro
 FileMaker
Pro is extremely popular among Macintosh users, but it's rapidly
gaining market share among the PC crowd as well. It offers an
intuitive interface and hides many of the complexities inherent in
database management. It's also ODBC compliant and offers some
integration capability with Microsoft Office. The most recent
version is FileMaker Pro 5.5 which retails for around $249.
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3.) Paradox
With
a pricetag of $159, Paradox is the least expensive of the desktop databases on
our list. As with most things though, you get what you pay for.
Paradox is a fully functional database system and offers JDBC/ODBC integration
with other databases. However, it's not as user-friendly as some of the
more mainstream DBMSs.
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4.) Lotus Approach
Lotus
offers the Approach DBMS as part of their SmartSuite office productivity
package. Designed to compete with Microsoft Office, SmartSuite contains a
word processor, spreadsheet (the old standby
Lotus 1-2-3), presentation package and more.
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5.) FoxPro
Microsoft
Visual FoxPro isn't exactly a desktop database, it's a database development
environment. It requires advanced programming skills and a good deal of
time to configure, it's definitely not for beginners or the faint of heart.
That said, FoxPro offers an extremely flexible and economic database solution
for those who must work in a highly customized environment.
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