Fixing Access Annoyances

About the Authors

Phil Mitchell has been developing database applications for well over a decade, starting with an embedded database used in a talking electronic map for the blind. He’s worked with a smorgasbord of different systems, ranging from the mundane (relational and flat-file databases) to the exotic (native XML and object databases). For the past five years, he’s been a lead analyst and programmer at the Harvard University and Harvard Medical School libraries, helping to invent the future of information and knowledge management. Somehow, there always seems to be an Access database involved.

In his other life, Phil is a musician and an active member of Boston’s contact improv scene. The most important thing he’s doing these days is sustainability activism, as founder of the 2People project.

Evan Callahan has a long history with the BASIC programming language. His first computer program, a “mastermind” logic game, took shape on a RadioShack TRS-80 with 4 K of memory and an external cassette deck for a hard drive. Upgrades ensued, but after 25 years, Evan is still programming in Visual Basic.

Born in Seattle, Evan grew up just a few blocks away from the then-small Microsoft corporate campus. After studying philosophy at the University of Washington, he worked his way into a technical writing job at Microsoft. Evan helped Access take shape in its first four versions—the early Access manuals and Northwind sample database are among his credits.

Evan now splits his time between ...