How to: Deploy a Reference Database with a Windows Phone Application
March 23, 2012
With Windows Phone OS 7.1, you can store reference data in a local database and deploy it with your Windows Phone application. After your application is installed on the device, you can leave the reference database in the installation folder for read-only connections, or copy it to isolated storage for read-write operations. This topic describes the process of creating a reference database and using it in your application. For more information about using a local database, see Local Database Overview for Windows Phone.
 Important Note: |
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Microsoft SQL Server Compact (SQL CE) databases that have been created on the desktop may work with a Windows Phone application, but are not officially supported. |
A helper application is required to create the local database that you will deploy with the primary application. The helper application runs on your development computer, creates the local database in isolated storage, and loads the database with the desired reference data.
In this section, you create the helper application, use the helper application to create the reference database, and then use Isolated Storage Explorer (ISETool.exe) to extract the local database file and save it to your computer. For more information about Isolated Storage Explorer, see How to: Use the Isolated Storage Explorer Tool.
To create the reference database
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Create the helper application that creates the local database and loads it with reference data. For more information, see How to: Create a Basic Local Database Application for Windows Phone and How to: Create a Local Database Application with MVVM for Windows Phone.
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Deploy the helper application to the Windows Phone Emulator or a Windows Phone device.
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Run the helper application as appropriate to create the local database and load it with reference data. All local databases are created in isolated storage.
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Get the Product GUID for the application specified in the ProductID attribute of App element of the WPAppManifest.xml file. You will need this when you copy the local database file from isolated storage.
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While the tethered device or emulator is still running, using Isolated Storage Explorer to copy the local database to your computer. For more information, see How to: Use the Isolated Storage Explorer Tool.
After you save the local database file to your computer, you can add it to your primary application in the same way that you would add other types of exiting files.
To add the reference database to your application
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With Visual Studio, create a project for the Windows Phone application that consumes the reference database. This application, the primary application, is a different application than the helper application.
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From the Project menu of the primary application, select Add Existing Item.
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From the Add Existing Item menu, select the local database file that you saved to your computer with Isolated Storage Explorer, then click Add. This will add the local database to the project.
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In Solution Explorer, right-click the local database file and set the file properties so that the file is built as Content and always copied to the output directory (Copy always).
When a local database is deployed with an application, it is stored in the installation folder after deployment. The installation folder is read-only. The primary application can connect to it there in a read-only fashion or copy it to isolated storage for read-write operations. This section describes these two options in greater detail.
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Important Note:
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We do not recommend encrypting your reference database file if you are going to access it exclusively from the installation folder. Doing so prevents the system from performing routine database maintenance operations, such as re-indexing, upon the first connection. To use an encrypted reference database, copy it to isolated storage before first use and then connect to it with a read-write connection. |
To read from the installation folder
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When connecting to a reference database in the installation folder, you must use the File Mode property in the connection string to specify the connection as read-only. The following example demonstrates how to make a read-only connection to the installation folder. For more information about connection strings, see Local Database Connection Strings for Windows Phone.
// Create the data context. MyDataContext db = new MyDataContext("Data Source = 'appdata:/mydb.sdf'; File Mode = read only;");
In this example, the appdata prefix is used in the file path to distinguish a path in the installation folder (appdata) from a path in isolated storage (isostore). Without a prefix, the data context applies the path to isolated storage.
To copy the reference database to isolated storage
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To copy the reference database from the installation folder to isolated storage, perform a stream-based copy. The following example shows a method named MoveReferenceDatabase that copies a local database file named ReferencedDB.sdf from the root of the installation folder to the root of the isolated storage container.
using System; using System.IO; using System.IO.IsolatedStorage; using System.Windows; namespace PrimaryApplication { public class DataHelper { public static void MoveReferenceDatabase() { // Obtain the virtual store for the application. IsolatedStorageFile iso = IsolatedStorageFile.GetUserStoreForApplication(); // Create a stream for the file in the installation folder. using (Stream input = Application.GetResourceStream(new Uri("ReferenceDB.sdf", UriKind.Relative)).Stream) { // Create a stream for the new file in isolated storage. using (IsolatedStorageFileStream output = iso.CreateFile("ReferenceDB.sdf")) { // Initialize the buffer. byte[] readBuffer = new byte[4096]; int bytesRead = -1; // Copy the file from the installation folder to isolated storage. while ((bytesRead = input.Read(readBuffer, 0, readBuffer.Length)) > 0) { output.Write(readBuffer, 0, bytesRead); } } } } } }
