Importing .sql into MS Access using OBDC

Question

I currently have a database in MySQL, which I'd like to import in MS Access.

Is it possible to do this while keeping all relationships intact (i.e. without exporting to .csv, or by using ODBC)?

I'm a noob in this area so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You need to solve two different problems:

1. Creating an empty MS Access database with a structure that matches the MySQL database structure.

2. Extracting the data from MySQL and loading it into MS Access.

This is not easy because different SQL databases offer different structural features, different datatypes, and so on. The more complex your use of MySQL is the more likely you'll run into some show-stopper during the conversion (for instance, Access doesn't support triggers at all). Conversely if you're using MySQL as a simple data store you may find the conversion fairly easy.

To get an MS Access database with the same structure as your MySQL database, your best bet is to find a database definition / diagramming tool that offers reverse engineering and supports both MySQL and MS Access. Use it to reverse engineer your MySQL database into a database diagram, then change the underlying database to MS Access and use the tool to generate a database.

Check out Dezign For Databases which (on paper, anyway) offers the features you would need to do this.

To pump the data across, there are any number of tools. This kind of operation is generically referred to as ETL (Extract, Translate, Load).

Answer 2

Do you mean SQL Server? A good starting point might be to check out SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), which can be used for transferring data around like that.

Google will also be helpful, check out the first result:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237980

By the way, you said ".sql" in your question: a .SQL file is a script file, which could do anything from create a database, insert data, drop table, delete data, or given the right permissions, call system procedures and reboot a machine, format a drive, send an email.. Just for ref, .SQL files aren't the storage format used by SQL Server.

Answer 3

While you can script your database's schema into script files via something like SQLyog, you will find that the syntax varies enough from database to database (MySQL to Access, in your case) that you can't directly apply the scripts.

With much effort a conversion script could be created by editing the script (perhaps automated with a program, depending on the resulting script size). I think you would be better served using ODBC to copy the tables (and data) and then extracting and re-applying the relationships from the generated script by hand. Time consuming, but also a one time operation I would hope.

When both systems are the same database, there are tools that can do the comparison and script generation (TOAD for MySQL and RedGate Compare for Microsoft SQL), but they don't do cross database work (at least not the ones I am aware of).

Answer 4

If you create a ODBC DSN, you can use TransferDatabase to import from your MySQL database. You can do it manually with the GET EXTERNAL DATA command (or whatever it is in A2007/A2010) and see how well it works. It won't get all data types exactly right, but you could do some massaging and likely get it closer to what will work best.

Is there some reason you can't just link to the MySQL tables and use them directly? That is, why do you need to import into Access at all?

Answer 5

You can try using this: Converting MS Access to MySQL with relationships

Works fine and export all relationships.

Answer 6

Access: run query. Just make sure to adapt the SQL code since every RDMS has its own sintaxis (despite SQL being an ANSI standard).