Microsoft Access is currently the most popular Windows program used for building and accessing databases. What has made Access so easy to use and reliable is its state of the art query interface. The structured query language, also known as sql is the language used to extract, organize and manipulate data from a database system.
A special language is necessary to write a Microsoft Access query. Experts have labeled it as Ms Access sql. Actually, every user of Microsoft Access works with Ms Access sql, even if he or she does not realize it. That is because Access automatically converts every data-oriented request in Ms Access sql.
A Microsoft Access query is a sql statement saved in the Access database. As a result, the program can use it at any time. One can use it either from the Access user interface, or by means of a specialized program. Either one can compose a Microsoft Access query by using query Design view, which is considerably easier, or one can build such a query by entering Ms Access sql statements in the sql view window that opens.
A Microsoft Access query is a useful tool when it comes to accessing data from an already built database. The user often calls them by means of a form. These queries have a great number of uses, such as searching for and obtaining data from one or more of the existing tables, performing certain actions inside the database or making certain calculations, depending on the user’s needs. The design of Microsoft Access operates in such a manner that it accepts different types of queries. One could consider these queries as just another part of one’s database, almost like an object such as a macro or a table.
There are four types of queries. The select query is the easiest and simplest of the four types. Due to this fact, it is also the most frequently used in Microsoft Access databases. Depending on the user’s needs, this Microsoft Access query is useful in selecting and then displaying data from one or from more of the tables existing in the database. The user can also create a temporary table where he or she can operate changes in data, but he or she cannot perform this action for more than one record at a time.
The action query is the second type of such an action. At the triggering of this action, the database undergoes certain changes, as requested from the query. Some of these changes may include the creation of a new table, or of more tables that are new. Moreover, it may contain updating records, deleting rows or creating entirely new ones. Action queries are superior to select queries, because they allow more actions to take place at one time, i.e. they can perform more changes at a single moment.
The parameter query is the third type of action possible in a Microsoft Access database. It is mainly a modified select query. It works together with other query types in order to get the results you are after. It is often preferred because it has a dialog box where the user can enter the parameter value he or she desires every time the query is run. The fourth type of query is the aggregate query. It mainly creates a sum of all the selected attributes in one’s table, making them enter into averages, for example, or whatever the user needs.
By: Ken Wilson