From an Access standpoint, this book is chock full of goodies. From the point of view of a ColdFusion developer, I would say this much: if forced to choose between this book and the previous, the Cookbook, I would probably go Cookbook. But, as I mentioned in the previous review, if you work with both Access on the desktop and on the web, using ColdFusion, both of these are good, useful, handy references. Having a greater appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes in Access may help gain a greater appreciation for the larger picture.

Access Database Design and Programming covers a lot of ground quickly but lucidly. Steven Roman begins with a description of general principles of database design, then describes the "relational algebra" that defines the meaning of such operations as unions and joins, introduces SQL syntax, and finally dives into the details of using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) to write Access code. The result is a single book that can teach you all the basics of building database applications in Access. Portions of the book are heavy with logical equations whose effects can be hard to visualize, but Roman's judicious use of sample data makes it much easier to follow the operations being described.

Access Database Design & Programming takes you behind the details of the Access interface, focusing on the general knowledge necessary for Access power users or developers to create effective database applications. When using software products with graphical interfaces, we frequently focus so much on the interface that we forget about the general concepts that allow us to understand and use the software effectively. In particular, this book focuses on three areas:

• Database design. The book provides an enjoyable, informative overview of database design that carefully shows you how to normalize tables to eliminate redundancy without losing data.
• Queries. The book examines multi-table queries (i.e.,various types of joins) and shows how to implement them indirectly by using the Access interface or directly by using Access SQL.
• Programming. The book examines the VBA integrated development environment (IDE). It then goes on to provide an excellent introduction to Data Access Objects (DAO), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and ADO Extensions for Data Definition and Security (ADOX). These sections serve as a handy introduction and primer for basic database operations,such as modifying a table under program control, dynamically adding and deleting a record, and repositioning a record pointer. The concluding chapter focuses on common programming problems, such as computing running sums and comparing two sets.

Unlike other Access books that take the long, detailed approach to every topic of concern to Access programmers, Access Database Design &Programming instead focuses on the core concepts, enabling programmers to develop solid, effective database applications. This book also serves as a 'second course' in Access that provides a relatively experienced Access user who is new to programming with the frequently overlooked techniques necessary to develop successfully in the Microsoft Access environment. Anyone interested in learning Access in depth, rather than just scraping the surface, will enjoy and benefit immensely from reading this book.