What do your flight number and taxi ride home have in common?

Today's post about a creative use of Access 2010 is by Abhay Parekh, who's in his last year of studies in engineering at the University of Mumbai in India. Abhay also teaches lower-level students how to create and use Microsoft Access databases. What a go-getter!
 
It was a lonely Sunday afternoon when suddenly my cell phone rang. My friend was calling to see if I was done with my software project. Uh-oh. I’d better get on that.

I had to create a website that tracks real-time details of flights, buses, cars and other transport services for a fictional high-traffic airport. To do this, I needed to feed this mass of transportation data through an algorithm that calculates the probability of traffic within a 75 kilometer radius of the airport. The main role of the database would be to input real-time information for multiple tables and columns simultaneously. The algorithm would then calculate for every flight landed, so that I’d have at least 150 taxis available for arriving passengers.

Calculating real-time data minute-by-minute, the site had to keep all the authorities informed, such as the taxi service, air traffic control, airport parking, baggage claim, and customs. If one of these authorities becomes backlogged, the site recalculates the impact on the other services. I needed a database application that could free up time for me to focus on coding the front end  (UI and scripting part) for my software project. Access 2010 was the answer.

Access 2010 would first get second-by-second updates about flight numbers, flight names, flight origins, flight passenger numbers, flight arrival time, flight delay time (if possible), and the like, and save that data into one table. The second table would simultaneously take inputs about airport cab details with core details like cab numbers, cab types, cab driver names, cab working hours and the like, plus details about the other types of pick-ups coming in at the airport and then would give these authorities real-time info on the key requirements of cabs, cab backlog, passenger backlog, flight delays. Access played a vital role in analyzing the details and processing the key figures of those specific details.

In addition, I wanted the website to use a map to show real-time locations of airplanes, taxis, etc.  Using Bing Maps, the site calculated the details and periodically saved them in the database. The history in Access 2010 would then predict future requirements and possibilities.

I chose to use Microsoft Access 2010 for three reasons:

Expression builder

With Access 2010 comes the new improved Expression Builder that simplified my tasks of writing formulas and expressions. This feature allows me to focus on my database creation task. When I write a formula or an expression, it automatically checks for errors and autocorrects it. I don’t even realize when I make a typing mistake. That saves a lot of my time.
Watch a video about creating an expression.

Conditional formatting

Additional data bars in conditional formatting let me view my conditional formatting rules from a single view.  This in turn helps me in developing rich reports with visual impact. This feature also allows me to see trends, such as showing the census of a country with growth of population in state. 
Watch a video about using conditional formatting on reports.

Web databases

Some university computers run Linux and don’t have Office installed. Now that Access Web databases exist, I can use any computer to complete my project work.  I can now access any database in a browser without having Access actually installed on that system. Because these forms are in the cloud, the changes that I make get synchronized automatically. Yippee! Access 2010 is my HERO!
Learn more about building an Access database to share on the Web.

Access is one such database app without which I could not have finished this project on time.  And guess what? My project was awarded “Most Innovative” because of the concept and also because of its ability to track real-time data frequently and securely while using an elegant UI design. The dean of my university congratulated me personally and asked me how was I able to get database info so quickly and smoothly. With a smile, I said, “Sir, as always Microsoft and its top of the line products ROCK! And as always, I did it with Microsoft Access 2010."

--Abhay Parekh

Abhay Parekh is an engineering student at the University of Mumbai in India. He's in his final year of studies toward an Information Architecture degree.