Is there a database feature?

[zabibooz]

Hi,

I am using an Intel Core Duo iMac OSX 10.4.6 and I need help. I have a
piece of coursework and I need to be able to make a database. I know
that I can make one on Microsoft Access on a Windows machine but the
thing is that when I bought my Mac I thought that after getting
Microsoft Office 2004, Access would come with it, but, it didn't. So an
option now is to buy Windows SP2, download Boot Camp Public Beta and
then use my Office 2003 Software on the Windows side on my Mac. I find
that really annoying and I thought that many people using Mac's would
need to create databases and would be using non-Intel processor Mac's
to do so.

To sum up, I want to know if there is a feature on Mac which allows me
to make a database similar to those that can be made on Microsoft
Access on a Windows machine.

Please help me!

 

[CyberTaz]

Access is not & (AFAIK) never has been available on the Mac - One reason
being that it relies heavily on ActiveX Controls & VBA versions which are
not Mac OS compatible.

If you need *relational* database capability there are several good programs
for OS X including FileMaker Pro and 4th Dimension. I believe both can
exchange data with Access, but not open each other's files.

If the data *doesn't* require relational management you can store data in
Mac Excel & the those files can be used by both Excel & Access on the PC.
There are also ODBC drivers available for Mac Excel if you have connectivity
too where the Access files are stored.

Depending on the immediacy pf your need, you may want to postpone any
additional investment & wait for dual platform development to shake out a
little... It may not be long before you'll be able to run Windows apps on
your Intel Mac without emulation. Search the ng for more details on what is
emerging.

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[JE McGimpsey]

To sum up, I want to know if there is a feature on Mac which allows me
to make a database similar to those that can be made on Microsoft
Access on a Windows machine.

There's no built-in database feature in MacOS, just as there isn't in
Windows.

Filemaker Pro and 4D are both popular cross-platform database
applications. 4D used to be free for academic use - don't know if it
still is.

More and more of my clients are going to MySQL databases...

 

[Amanda Turner]

Look at OMNIS Studio, its a totally cross platform relational data base
language.

www.omnis.net if your in the USA

Or www.dlagroup.com.au if your in Australia

Regards

Amanda

 

[TKnTexas]

You can download Filemaker Pro 8 for a 30 day Trial. Very easy to use
and set up. How a lot of templates with it that are full-featured.
Filemaker Pro is far superior to Access. To get any power out of
Access you have to be a VBA programmer. I have used Filemaker since
version 3, and used it on Windows.