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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Microsoft Database Loses Records.
From:       mea culpa <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1998-08-26 21:40:17
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Forwarded From: "Jay D. Dyson" <jdyson@techreports.jpl.nasa.gov>


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Microsoft database loses records
By Mike Ricciuti
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
August 25, 1998, 1:10 p.m. PT 

Developers are furious over a flaw discovered in Microsoft's Access
database that could cause a loss of data and scrambled records.

The problem, discovered by a developer last week and since reproduced by
many users, affects the way Access handles changes to database records.
The flaw is particularly thorny because it can corrupt database records
without users realizing that anything wrong has happened.

Developers fear that the bug could require reprogramming to applications
already in use and that existing databases could be corrupted. Even worse,
the problem could result in improper billing, diagnoses, or other
potentially disastrous legal issues, according to developers.

A Microsoft executive today confirmed the existence of the bug and said
the company has devised a temporary solution while it determines whether
the problem affects multiple versions of the popular database program. The
company will also post a bulletin, referred to by Microsoft as a
"Knowledge Base article," to its Web site later today detailing the bug.

Newsgroup postings indicate that the bug causes edits made on one Access
database record to be saved to another. In other words, in a typical
business application, the bug could cause information associated with a
particular customer or medical patient to be attached to the wrong
account.

Access is used as the underlying database in many business applications
and is particularly popular with consultants and systems integrators
building applications for small businesses, such as doctors' offices and
insurance agencies.

The Access bug has been the subject of more than 100 postings to the
"comp.databases.ms-access"  Internet newsgroup since last Wednesday. 
Opinions on the bug's potential effects vary widely in those postings.

"This is by far the most heinous and destructive bug I have ever seen," a
developer said one posting.  Others warned that the flaw may easily go
undetected in many applications and have openly questioned whether Access
should be use used for commercial applications until it is repaired.

"Can you afford to trust your data to it [Access], if the wrong client
gets your address, your donation, your invoice, your order, your merge
letter?" one developer asked rhetorically.

The problem can be easily re-created, according to one Access developer
who has posted step-by-step instructions to demonstrate the problem.

John Duncan, a Microsoft Office product manager, said the company became
aware of the problem several days ago and has come up with a work-around.
The company is also considering issuing a patch to Access 97, but no final
decision has been made.

Users report that the bug affects Access versions 2.0, 95, and 97.
However, Duncan said Microsoft has been able to reproduce the bug only in
Access 97. He also declined to say how many Access users have contacted
the company to report the flaw.

Duncan said the problem occurs under a specific scenario. First, a person
must be working with a long set of records in an Access form. Users report
that the flaw affects forms displaying more than 200 records. 

Duncan would not confirm the exact number of records. For the flaw to
occur, users must delete a record from the record set, use Access's Combo
Box (a feature intended to ease access to database records) to edit
another record, and then save the changes. Access applies the changes to
the record just before the intended target of the change, Duncan said.

"If a user were to delete a record at the beginning of a record set and
then edit a later record without using the Combo Box, the error probably
will not occur," Duncan said.

He said the workaround is a simple process. First, users need to go into
Access's Design View and right-click on Combo Box, which displays a dialog
box. Then, users need to type one line (me.requery) into the dialog box
and save it.

Access 97 is sold as part of Microsoft's Office 97 desktop application
package, and is used by millions of people worldwide. Overall, Office
Professional 97, of which Access is a component, is the third best-selling
software title in the United States, according to market researcher PC
Data.

   (                                                            ______
   ))   .-- "There's always time for a good cup of coffee" --.   >===<--.
 C|~~| (>-  Jay D. Dyson - jdyson@techreports.jpl.nasa.gov  -<) |   = |-'
  `--'  `--- Just what the truth is, I can't say anymore. ---'  `-----'

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