You’re saying I could run MS Office, i.e., Word, Excel, and MS Access on a Mac?
And if so, could I run those apps under Mac’s OS, or do I need to install Windows on the Mac first?
And finally, would Access databases I write VB code for while using a Mac, be able to function when transferred to a Windows PC?
Appreciate your input.
There is already (and has been for years) a Microsoft Office for Mac (latest version: Office 2008) that runs natively on Mac OS.
Access is not offered on the Mac version of Office, but if you wish to run it (or, for whatever reason, the entire Office/Win suite) you can install Windows under VMWare Fusion on the Mac. Then, using the “invisible” VM option, you can run it just as if it *were* a Mac-native app.
And yes, it would be transferable, because essentially you would *be* programming it on a Windows PC.
That said, I and a billion other people would really appreciate it if you would choose to write DB apps in something other than that buggy POS that is Access. 4D, FileMaker, and mySQL come to mind. :D
You can either use Parallels or VM.. virtual machine.
Install both WIndows and Mac OS X. Run both at the same time.
In the Windows Window, it’s Windows, whatever you can do in Windows, you can do.
As for MS Office, there are versions for Mac and Windows. The files are cross platform, except for macros. Spreadsheets, word docs, powerpoint docs.. created on either platform, run on the other platform without conversion (again excepting macros).
Or, for Office, you can do it in the Windows side if you have VM.
Boot Camp is another option, it comes free with Mac OS and allows you to boot into either Windows or OS X.
And if so, could I run those apps under Mac’s OS, or do I need to install Windows on the Mac first?
VMWare Fusion is a virtualization product which gives your computer multiple "personalities." While I haven't used VMWare on a Mac, I couldn't live without it for work, but I run it in a Windows environment. For instance, I needed to test an upgrade of my company's Symantec AV Corporate Edition (the last upgrade turned into a huge nightmare!) I was able to run 2 Windows 2003 servers and 3 Windows 2000 Professional workstations as "clients" on my LAPTOP! They were all virtually networked together, but completely isolated from our production network. Each virtual machine simulates a complete Intel based PC, right down to a special version of Phoenix BIOS. You do have to install the OS (NetWare, Linux, all different versions of Windows, etc. If it runs on the Intel platform, it will probably run on VMWare), but then if you know what you're doing with the OS, you can make backup "base" copies of the OS, and you just have to customize the installations.
Mark
“You’re saying I could run MS Office, i.e., Word, Excel, and MS Access on a Mac?”
There have been Mac versions of Word and Excel for many years (I don’t know what “Access” is).
If I’m not mistaken, Microsoft first debuted Excel as Macintosh-only software a long time ago. A lot of folks bought Macs back then just so they could run Excel.
- John
I code C# for .NET in an XP virtual machine on my iMac. When I get the time maybe I'll learn Objective C and the Cocoa API and make my apps cross-platform.
BTW, try to wean yourself from VB to C#, you'll be a lot happier and more productive.