looking for py/database ideas

[Les Schaffer]

a business/suit type friend of mine apprached me the other day about
helping him port an existing commercial Paradox database app to
something ""more modern"".

having vanishingly small database experience, i proceeded first to
browse the bookshelves for tips, and then after asking around some
amongst software friends, have learned that using MS Access / DAO /
VBA is considered de rigeur these days.

needless to say, this has induced derigor mortis in me. 

so i am fishing for ideas on other ways to build database
applications, and having just built a 10k line engineering simulation
app in python last year, i am interested in hearing if pythoners have
ideas for implementing comerical-type databases in python.

my buddy doesnt know what size market he has for this yet, but it will
initially be aimed at local municipalities in the US (small to medium
size towns and cities) who need to keep track of things (i shouldnt
say what things yet) which live in that municipality. as such, we are
not talking about high-availablity requirements -- wont be more than a
handful to tens of people (this is high) accessing the database at any
one time.

web access to db MIGHT be important if people in the field needed to
add data to the DB over a network connection (again, not a lot at one
time). 

the main concern over the existing Paradox DB is upgrade to what my
friend thinks is a more modern db system -- thats his opinion, i have
none since i know nothing about this -- whatever that means. i think
he thinks moving to a newer db system would allow for better solutions 
for db needs, and would move away from paradox which he thinks is a
dying db system. 

so..... i smell an opportunity to point him towards alternative
solutions. 

can things be done with python to create databases with a decent GUI
interface and Web access (err, not MS access) -- i am playing with
Zope a lil right now -- and SQL and all those goodie buzzwords. and
how hard would it be to integrate a python-esque type solution with
existing standard off-the-shelf systems running in other departments
(in other words, if another db system in that municipality used, say,
Acceess, could our solution be --- uhhh -- integrable with that system 
(boy do i need some buzzwords). 

just looking for some pointers to help my friend who, you may not
believe this from reading the above, is far more clueless than me.

:-)

thanks....

les schaffer