All I know is that it’s a “database management system”, and I don’t even know what that means! I have tried fooling around with Access and have gotten nowhere. Where do I start and what is the purpose of this?
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Microsoft Access is an application that helps you to store, update, and maintain data in tables in an Access database.
Many people store data in Excel. While there are certain cases it could be benificial, Excel is aimed at presenting and calculating with data. It is not aimed at simply storing data.
That’s where Access comes in, it provides a way to store this data in a database that is simply accessible by users that are not familiar with SQL type databases. SQL databases (Postgresql, MySQL, MS SQL, MariaDB) all require quite technical setup (you need a server) and good knowledge of the SQL language to interact with them. Access on the other hand is easily installed with MS Office and comes with a UI interface eliminating most of the technical requirements.
Access is not so commonly used (anymore), as many companies will resort to online services providing the same or more specific applied data storage that suits the company’s need. For example the HR department will use an HR management system to store and manage their employees data , and a (web)store will use a stock management application or online webshop catalog to do their stock and product management.
Edit: might be ELI12 answer, but maybe with other answers it can complement your knowledge.
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