The joys (and pains) of databases

 

So one of the many tasks I do daily is exporting data from databases into Excel reports. Working VBA is bad enough, but sometimes my job will have me digging through old crystal reports.  Some days I can never shake the feeling that I am moving backwards and not forward. Well at least I'm not waste deep in COBOL. Now what I do is only necessary because the options available are so few. Working with aging software can be a pain especially when an upgrade is not available (or feasible). So finding solutions that can help has become my specialty. I'm not going to pitch a fifty thousand dollar upgrade (if their lucky) to a company when a custom app can do the same job.

Now this is the point where the "Microsoft Crew" roll their eyes at me and say "There are many affordable options available. You should always push a company to upgrade". Truth be told, Covid-19 and the need for remote office work may have proven them right. It was a sink or swim time indeed for many businesses with ancient software. That is until we remembered TeamViewer and AnyDesk. Then it was back to business as usual. The point I am making, if any, is that old software isn't necessarily a death sentence. It's more like a life sentence. That you spend most of in solitary confinement. Where you wished they had given you the death sentence......

 

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