Building an MS Access database using python

Question

A primary goal of a project I plan to bid on involves creating a Microsoft Access database using python. The main DB backend will be postgres, but the plan is to export an Access image.

This will be a web app that'll take input from the user and go through a black box and output the results as an access db. The web app will be built on a linux server.

I have a few related questions:

• Is there a reliable library or module that can be used?
• What has your experience been using Access and python?
• Any tips, tricks, or must avoids I need to know about?

Thanks :)

Answer 1

Could you use an sqlite database instead?

edit:

If it HAS to be on linux and it HAS to be to MS Access, then I'm pretty sure this is your only choice, but it costs $1,550.

You are either going to have to shell out the money, or convince the client to change one of the other two parameters. Personally, I would push to change the database file to sqlite.

Of course you could always code up your own database driver, but it would probably be worth the time to shell out the $1,550. mdbtools has been working on this for years and the project has been pretty much abandoned.

found it, kinda

Ok, so I just couldn't let this go and found that there is a java library called Jackcess that will write to MS Access mdb files on any platform that can run the jvm. Granted, it's java and not python, but maybe you could learn just enough java to throw an application together and execute it from python? Or just switch the whole app to java, whatever.