First, a confession: I'm a former MS Access developer (please don't judge me!). I converted to Access from DOS-based dBase IV. I discovered Alpha 5, several years ago, from an e-mail ad (that's what it used to be called... it became "Alpha Anywhere" a couple of years ago in order to highlight its ability to develop on multiple platforms). The offered a free trial, so I decided to give it a try. Well, after 2 weeks, I was hooked. The applications I develop now dwarf those I'd developed previously. I'm doing things that would never be possible in Access... and giving my customers "cloud" access to their apps. If you're a serious business application developer, you should certainly give it a try! Here are some things you should know (the good and the not-so-good): As an Access developer, I loved that could use the back-end tables and queries in Alpha. That made the transition much faster. Now, most of my new applications, use SQL Server (added security, reliability and scalability), but I wouldn't fault anyone who stuck with Access tables (they're easier to create). Alpha lets you use almost any SQL-based application (MySQL, Access, SQL Server, Oracle, etc.) for your data set and even includes its own "dbf" format. They advertise Alpha as "codeless" development. Well, that's a bit misleading. YES, you can develop basic applications with little or no coding, but I've found that you'll need to learn some javascript and XBasic, if you need your application to do more than rudimentary data entry and retrieval. That was my biggest struggle. With Access, I really needed only VBA. XBasic and javascript are more powerful and more complex. Even now, I feel like I have a lot to learn about javascript. Alpha still needs to work on its documentation (their new documentation site is much improved), but their "message board" is great and the Alpha community is a terrific resource to help you get ideas and resolve issues. I've fully installed more than a dozen full-scale applications (on public servers and my own servers) and I couldn't be more satisfied with the experience. I'd recommend Alpha Anywhere to any developer that's in it "for the long haul." It will grow as you do.

Flexibility in choosing the platform and destination and flexibility in choosing the back-end data set. I love how much you can do, without having to resort to writing code

I wish there was a place I could call, when I ran into an obstacle. If I can't get an answer to my problem, I have to hire an independent consultant on an hourly basis. I'd rather pay a fee to get access to a phone line that could help me.

I have no formal programing training other than self taught knowledge. I was using Delphi to create desktop applications for tracking to progress of building permit through the review and inspection process. I was hoping to move from a desktop application to a web based application and was looking for a easy to use platform to develop Web based application. At some point I discovered Alpha software and downloaded the trial version. I was able to build a fully functional permit tracking application in a very short time, with very little coding in the background. Alpha's development environment was similar to Borland Dephi (using Visual Pascal), i.e., it is an object oriented, event driven, rapid development environment that allows the user to set properties to control desired results. Initially, I used an Alpha mentor to help with some of the coding in XBasic and JavaScript. Now I need little support to work in Alpha Anywhere. More recently, I have been developing mobile based applications using tools included in Alpha Anywhere. The most difficult element of building mobile applications using Alpha Anywhere and Phone Gap has been getting through Apple Developer requirements for publishing. I would recommend Alpha Anywhere to develop web based, client server applications, for developers at any level of programing experience. For those like me, with only self taught knowledge, it works great. For developers with a strong programing background, the application is flexible enough to allow customization.

The ability to develop very robust web based an mobile applications with little coding. The applications I have developed are very stable in use.

The development platform has a tendency to be unstable. It is not unusual for the software to lock up during use. I have used the software on a number of machines with similar results, it can just lock up with no recovery at any time. I would recommend saving work often. The platform uses a number of programing languages such as, HTML, JavaScript, Jason, and Xbasic. Each is a little different and can get frustrating when coding.

The software makes it easy to create a quick and dirty application in little time as long as it is a simple application

Complicated applications require a very advanced understanding of javascript and xbasic. The annual cost that Alpha Software charges increases a lot every time that I renew the licence.

Have been using Alpha Anywhere for a few years. It has allowed me to build and deploy a completely custom web application with a SQL database backend complete with administration tools, inventory lists, purchasing, email notifications and full featured reporting.

Development with this software is extremely rapid. I really like that Alpha Anywhere does the heavy lifting in terms of taking care of all the behind the scene coding. Yet at the same time you are completely free to customize any and all code to your hearts content. In that regard it is the perfect software for both the novice and seasoned pro. Alpha is continually moving forward with new and exciting capabilities. Support is great and the online Forum community is vibrant, active and willing to help when needed.

Maybe a little expensive for non-corporate customers.

Developed multiple products over a period of 5 years. They all run in the browser so suitable for Intranet and Internet. My applications are always heavy in data. I need tools to connect to databases and tools to visualise the data. Alpha allows custom HTML, CSS and Javascript there is nearly no restriction on using 3rd party libraries.

Simple to build complex security. Connects seamlessly to multiple data sources. No restriction on how many database connections per page. The message board is well supported. There are 1,000 plus short videos that explain most features. You can always add to the basic structure whether it is Bootstrap or AngularJS

Sometimes if you are determined to use your own CSS and Html within a component then there is a little work to neutralise the base Alpha page setup.