Beginning Access™ 2007 VBA

1.4. Summary

Access 2007 VBA is an example of a programming language that can be used to extend your Access applications. As part of developing Access and other applications, you should follow a development methodology such as the Systems Development Life Cycle to facilitate the development process and reduce the amount of rework needed later.

The SDLC includes various phases, including the requirements gathering, design, development, testing, and implementation phases. In the requirements gathering phase, you determine the list of features that the application must include. In the design phase, you document the application on paper so that you know how to code it. Some examples of how you can document your design include using Use Cases, Activity Diagrams, and screen prototypes. As part of the design phase, you determine whether to use the standalone or client-server application architecture. In the development phase, you use Access to create your forms, and VBA from the Visual Basic Editor to create the business logic and data access code for your application. In the testing phase, you use the Visual Basic Editor to test and fix your application. In the implementation phase, you prepare and distribute your application to end users.

With this chapter under your belt, you now move on to Chapter 2, where you learn the basics of writing and testing VBA code using the Visual Basic Editor. Before you move on to Chapter 2, you may want to try out the exercises below to check your understanding ...