Database Program
Choosing a database program is a decision that should be taken after a careful consideration of your needs for the database program.
How many people are going to access the database at a given time? Or is it just for single user applications. If it is going to be used in a multi-user environment, then are the number of users going to be more than 20 or less than 20. Less than 20 users(this is not a hard and fast rule of 20 but a number seen as my experience), an access database works just fine. As the number of users increases, it is unwise to use an Access database and one must think of upgrading to MSDE, SQL or maybe further.
Is it for desktop use or for use in inter/intranet on an application server. Here again, Access is best for desktop applications only. Using it for inter/intranet apps is not that advisable. Where large quantities of data are going to be manipulated by large number of users, one might think of going for SQL server or Oracle. MYSQL is an open source database program that is available for download free and one can use this for your multi-user apps as it is quite stable and supports a large number of users easily. It will run on Linux servers as well.
Spreadsheet Program
Here of course the choice is quite vast and I feel that one of the most important factors that affect the choice is the budget that one has in mind. The best spreadsheet app out there in my opinion is MS Excel. But of course it is also expensive. For those wanting to spend less, Corel’s WordPerfect Office 2002 is an alternative.
Of course there are free spreadsheet applications available too that boast of a host of features. More than you would ever use. Some of these are:
-StarOffice. https://sun.com/software/star/staroffice/
-FREE PC SUITE https://software602.com/products/pcs/
Both of these have robust spreadsheet programs and are good substitutes to Excel. But Excel is Excel.It has a lot of addins and templates available and the recent XP version takes Excel to the net like never before. It can display data from web servers that can update dynamically too. So of course the choice is yours and the deciding factor is how much you want to pay for what features.
Pros and cons for Excel are given above.