Wanting access to help determine a class schedule based on pre-reqs

Question

Hello,

I believe I asked this question before but I can't for the life of me find the answer I was given. So I am asking again.

I am wanting to use access to help me determine which classes I should enroll in each session based on if the class has been taken, which co-requisites need to be taken, and which pre-req's need to be satisfied before enrolling in a class.

Some classes have no pre/co-req, some have only co-req, some have several pre-req's. I want Access to only show me classes that I have not taken and classes that have all pre/co-req's satisfied.

I am currently using a Yes/No box for classes that have/have not been taken. I am having trouble moving on from here though.

Also, some classes are only available during certain sessions. Is there any way for me to put in a session and have access only generate classes that are available for that session as well?

Thank you for any help you can give!

Answer 1

Hi MageNiema,

>>if the class has been taken, which co-requisites need to be taken, and which pre-req's need to be satisfied before enrolling in a class.

Could you share us your table structure and detail your requirements using that table? What is the pre/co-req's need?

How could we know if the class has not been taken? How to know which co-requisites need to be take? How to know which pre-req's need to be satisfied? And so on.

Best Regards,

Terry

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Answer 2

Hello, 

I have attached the images of my very raw database (I can't seem to share the DB itself)I have two tables, one that shows which sessions each class is available and one that is the main list of classes, their pre- and co-requisites.

Right now, on the master list, I have a yes or no box for which classes have been taken (which is none) and a yes or no box for which session each class is available.

How could we know if the class has not been taken? 

Would a simple "yes" "no" box like I have work?

How to know which co-requisites need to be take? 

As I am still learning, I am not sure how to approach this? I was thinking of having a separate table for classes that have a co-req, and listing the classes that are the co-req for each class next to it?

How to know which pre-req's need to be satisfied?

I was thinking the same as the above statement, but would it be more difficult because some classes have up to five pre-reqs?

And so on (such as which classes are available).

Here I have a separate table listing the class, and all the sessions available (each class is two months). So I did a "Yes" "No" box for those fields.

I appreciate any help. I am still very new to access. I was hoping to have just one form, where I would put in the session I want to take and have the access generate a list of classes I can choose from IF they are available during the session I have chosen and IF ALL co-req and pre-req have been met and IF the class HAS NOT been taken.

Answer 3

Hello,

Thanks for sharing the information. I think I roughly know your requirement but there is still little doubt. 

What's is the co-req and pre-req? I think pre-req should be precondition course when selecting a course, right? However, what is co-req? I could not understand what does it mean in this table.

Besides, I would suggest you share a simply database file so we could use it to try to reproduce your issue. You could share the file via Cloud Storage, such as OneDrive, and the put link address here.

Thanks for understanding.

Best Regards,

Terrry

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MSDN Community Support
Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if not. This can be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. If you have any compliments or complaints to MSDN Support, feel free to contact [e-mail].

Answer 4

The root of your problem is that your two tables are not valid relational database tables.  In essence they are spreadsheets masquerading as tables.  Don't be misled by the superficial similarity between an Access table in datasheet view, and an Excel worksheet.  A relational database is based on very different concepts to those on which a spreadsheet is based, and operates in a very different way.

A relational database is a model of that part of the reality with which it is concerned in terms of its entity types, their attributes and the relationship types between the entity types.  A fundamental principle of the database relational model is the Information Principle (Codd's Rule #1). This requires that all data be stored as values at column positions in rows in tables, and in no other way.  You on the other hand have data encoded as column headings.

You also have multiple values of attributes in a single row.  For a table to be normalized to First Normal Form each row can only have one value of each legitimate attribute.

As you appear to be unfamiliar with the basic principles of the database relational model you might like to take a look at DatabaseBasics.zip in my public databases folder at:

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=44CC60D7FEA42912&id=44CC60D7FEA42912!169

Note that if you are using an earlier version of Access you might find that the colour of some form objects such as buttons shows incorrectly and you will need to  amend the form design accordingly.  

If you have difficulty opening the link, copy the link (NB, not the link location) and paste it into your browser's address bar.

This little demo file, as its name suggests, provides a simple introduction to the basic principles and methodologies of designing relational databases in Access.  Other demo files in the same OneDrive folder you might care to take a look at are Normalization.zip, Relationships.zip and BooleanDemo.zip.

Unless your database is designed in accordance with the formal principles of the theoretical model you will inevitably continue to encounter the sort of problems you have come across in this instance.  

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Ken Sheridan, Stafford, England