alt Hacker NewsAccess is so good. I can't believe there's no universal equivalent for Linux and Mac. There are dozens of times when I've used a spreadsheet when a file-based database would have been better.
Replies
> Access is so good. I can't believe there's no universal equivalent for Linux and Mac.
Here you go: https://visualdb.com There are many modern alternatives, in fact.
In the mid-2000's, I built a lot of applications replacing Access. I always met with the actual users of the system, and made sure they understood that once I took over development, they weren't going to be able to build out their own forms anymore. A few clients were turned away, but most could live with paying for myself to make any future edits, so that they could concentrate on the business objective rather than coding in Access. I never really had the same success with replacing Excel, except for a few systems where it needed to be true multi-user.
I'm shocked in general at the lack of open source Rapid Application Development software.
> Access is so good. I can't believe there's no universal equivalent for Linux and Mac.
On the Mac, it's FileMaker,[1] which was released in 1985. Claris is a subsidiary of Apple.
[1]: https://www.claris.com/blog/2026/claris-filemaker-2026-is-no...