| Desktop Linux: A VB/Access developer’s view |
by Pete Morgan (Oct. 22, 2004)
Foreword: Companies that are running customized applications may find a migration to Linux too costly or complex notes Pete Morgan, a VisualBasic/Access developer. Morgan offers a few solutions to help overcome the challenge. Without compatibility, Morgan says, a significant number of businesses may not see the benefits in moving to Linux desktops.
Desktop Linux -- A VB & Access developer's view
by Pete Morgan
Applications, device drivers, easier installation, improved cross application compatibility ... these are just a few things that are steadily improving in Desktop Linux. Additional enhancements would be good, but overall there isn't really that much missing in Linux.
One real showstopper for mass adoption of Linux is a mixture of "lack of awareness" and "fear of the unknown." The vast majority of PC users do not really understand what an operating system is and even though more and more people may have heard of Linux, they probably haven't the faintest notion of what it is or more importantly, what it does. Many people are still apprehensive of computers and the idea of a greater unknown is daunting to them.
The main emphasis for pushing Linux on the desktop is really targeted at the "enterprise" level, where popular awareness is not really needed. Growing adoption of desktop Linux in the corporate world will give a big boost to popular awareness and also help dispel fear of the unknown.
So what is the problem? The majority of corporate desktop PCs are used for "office productivity" -- that is, email, creating letters, presentations, spreadsheets and other business functions. If a business has heavily invested in customized software that relies on a desktop UI, instead of a web browser, moving to Linux could be problematic and costly.
Customized or specialized applications that interface with a database are often used by businesses to expedite business processes. To move these programs to Linux, IT would need to ensure compatibility as part of a migration strategy.
Porting custom applications to a Linux desktop may be expensive and complex, preventing a company from going ahead with a platform change. While some programs can be made to run using Wine, many custom applications will have been implemented using Visual Basic or Access to provide a GUI. Other small departmental applications may also use a Jet database at the backend.
So who uses VB/Access anyway?
To get an idea of how much businesses rely on Access and its usage, one Access developer forum currently has 19500+ registered members. The companies providing services in this area are quite prolific indicating a sizeable market. As a single developer responsible for a fairly mature product I represent a user base of 40+ businesses of varying size with a total user base of something in the order of 300. I am not saying every VB/Access developer has a user base of that size, some will be more some less. Whilst it is difficult to find definitive information about the total user base for VB/Access it is not unreasonable to assume it is in the 6 figures. Every VB/Access user represents a potential Linux migration block!
But there are already database tools for Linux
OpenOffice.org has database connectivity and GUI design utility, but migration would still require a complete re-write of the GUI. Many other tools are designed to ease design and implementation of database GUIs, but they all require a complete re-write and many will have difficulty working with a Jet database where needed. Not to mention a steep learning curve for VB/Access developers.
So is a port of VB/Access necessary for Linux?
In a word, no. That is not to say it would have no place, just that it isn't absolutely necessary.
Java has all the functionality to implement complete GUI solutions and VB/Access coders should feel quite comfortable with the structure and concepts of the language. Netbeans IDE has a feature set that makes a good replacement for the Access or VB IDEs.
What is missing from Desktop Linux?- a viable VB/Access to Java/Netbeans conversion tool.
- a programming framework that is comfortably familiar to VB/Access developers.
- a set of basic components ready to use with virtually no programming overhead.
- a phased migration route that allows the existing application to be used, unaltered, alongside the migrated version.
I am not saying that providing these facilities will cause a sudden rush to change to Linux, all I am saying is that without this a significant number of businesses cannot consider migration as a feasible option.
I use Linux, I like Linux, my Technical Director likes Linux and positively loves Java but there is no practical way my employers or their customers can migrate presently because they all use VB/Access at the core of their business.
A manual conversion is not viable at my organization -- our main application consists of 320 forms and 86,000 lines of code. Quite a challenge for a wet Sunday afternoon!
Talk back!
Is Desktop Linux ready for the enterprise? Have you encountered resistance to a migration because of customized applications? Share your views and get help from our popular forum.
 About the author: Pete Morgan lives with his wife Chris in Somerset, UK. He has been around since CP/M was THE desktop operating system, and is currently a Senior Developer for a Specialist Software House based in Birmingham UK providing back office solutions for the financial sector. Pete is also working on his own Java project aimed at providing a platform independant migration path for VB/Access.
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