Data Access (How Do I in C# Express)

Visual C# Language Concepts

This topic links to Help about widely used data access tasks. To view other categories of popular tasks explained in Help, see How Do I in C# Express.

Note:
If you are using Visual C# Express Edition, some of the Help links on this page may be unavailable, depending on the options that you chose during installation. For more information, see Troubleshooting Visual C# Express.

General

How to: Install Sample Databases: Provides steps to install a sample database such as the Northwind sample database, SQL Server Express, SQL Server Compact 3.5, or an Access version of Northwind. (With Visual C# Express Edition your database must be installed on the local computer.)
Walkthrough: Creating a Simple Data Application: Provides a step-by-step procedure to create a data application.

Connecting to Data in Visual Studio

Connecting to Data in Visual Studio Overview: Provides information about how to connect your application to data from many different sources, such as databases, Web services, and objects.
Walkthrough: Connecting to Data in a Database: Provides a procedure to connect your application to data in Visual Studio by using the Data Source Configuration Wizard.
Walkthrough: Connecting to Data in a Web Service: Provides a procedure to connect your application to data in a Web service by using the Data Source Configuration Wizard.
Walkthrough: Connecting to Data in an Access Database: Provides a procedure to connect your application to data in an Access database by using the Data Source Configuration Wizard.

Creating and Designing Typed Datasets

How to: Create a Typed Dataset: Explains how to create a typed dataset by using the Data Source Configuration Wizard or the Dataset Designer.
Walkthrough: Creating a Dataset with the Dataset Designer: Provides a procedure to create a dataset by using the Dataset Designer.
Walkthrough: Creating a DataTable in the Dataset Designer: Provides a procedure to create a data table by using the Dataset Designer.
Walkthrough: Creating a Relationship between Data Tables: Explains how to create two data tables without TableAdapters by using the Dataset.

TableAdapters

TableAdapter Overview: Provides an overview of TableAdapters which provides communication between your application and a database.
Walkthrough: Creating a TableAdapter with Multiple Queries: Provides a procedure to create a TableAdapter in a dataset by using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. The walkthrough will show you how to create a second query in the TableAdapter by using the TableAdapter Query Configuration Wizard in the Dataset Designer.

Filling Datasets and Executing Queries

Filling Datasets and Querying Data Overview: Explains how to execute SQL statements or stored procedures against a data source by using TableAdapters or command objects.
Walkthrough: Filling a Dataset with Data: Demonstrates how to create a dataset with one data table and fill it with data from the Customers table in the Northwind sample database.
Walkthrough: Reading XML Data into a Dataset: Demonstrates how to create a Windows application that will load XML data into a dataset.

Displaying Data on Windows Forms

Displaying Data Overview: Provides a summary of the tasks, objects, and dialog boxes involved in creating data-bound Windows applications.
Walkthrough: Displaying Data on a Form in a Windows Application: Provides a procedure to create a simple form that displays data from a single table in several individual controls.
Walkthrough: Displaying Related Data on a Form in a Windows Application: Provides a procedure to work with data that comes from more than one table, and often, data from related tables.
Walkthrough: Creating a Form to Search Data in a Windows Application: Shows how to create a query that returns customers in a specific city, and modify the user interface so that users can enter a city's name and press a button to execute the query.
Walkthrough: Creating a Lookup Table: Provides a procedure to display information from one table, depending on the value of a foreign-key field in another table.

Databinding

Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Simple Data Binding: Shows how to create a control that implements the DefaultBindingPropertyAttribute. This control is like a text box or check box and can contain one property that can be bound to data.
Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Complex Data Binding: Shows how to create a control that implements the ComplexBindingPropertiesAttribute. This control contains DataSource and DataMember properties that can be bound to data; similar to a DataGridView, or ListBox.
Walkthrough: Creating a User Control that Supports Lookup Databinding: Shows how to create a control that implements LookupBindingPropertiesAttribute. This control contains three properties that can be bound to data; similar to a ComboBox.
Object Binding in Visual Studio: Explains design-time tools for working with custom objects instead of datasets and Web services, as the data source in your application.

Editing Data in Datasets

Editing Data in Datasets Overview: Provides a table that contains links to the common tasks associated with editing and querying data in a dataset.

Validating Data

Data Validation Overview: Provides an overview of validating data, which confirms that the values being entered into data objects comply with the constraints in a dataset's schema, and also to the rules established for your application.
Walkthrough: Adding Validation to a Dataset: Explains how to use the ColumnChanging event to verify that an acceptable value is being entered into the record.

Saving Data

Saving Data Overview: Explains how writing information to the original data source is separate from modifying the data in the dataset.
Concurrency Control in ADO.NET: Explains common methods of concurrency control and specific ADO.NET features for handling concurrency errors.
Walkthrough: Saving Data with the TableAdapter DBDirect Methods: Provides detailed instructions to execute SQL statements directly against a database by using the DbDirect methods of a TableAdapter.
Walkthrough: Handling a Concurrency Exception: Contains a procedure to create a Windows application that illustrates catching a DBConcurrencyException, locating the row that caused the error, and one strategy for handling it.

Data Resources

Data User Interface Elements: Contains information about all the dialog boxes and wizards that you use when you design data access in your applications.
ADO.NET Data Adapters: Provides information about ADO.NET data-adapter objects and how to work with them in Visual Studio.

Language-Integrated Query (LINQ)

Getting Started with LINQ in C#: Provides background information about LINQ queries.
Walkthrough: Writing Queries in C# (LINQ): Provides examples of the basic LINQ query clauses.
LINQ Query Expressions (C# Programming Guide): Provides information about query expressions in C#, with examples and pointers to additional documentation.

Using LINQ to Objects

How to: Query for Sentences that Contain a Specified Set of Words (LINQ): Shows how to split text files on arbitrary boundaries and performing queries against each part.
How to: Find the Set Difference Between Two Lists (LINQ): Shows how to use the Except method to retrieve the items that are in one file but not the other.
How to: Query for Characters in a String (LINQ): Shows how to treat a string as an IEnumerable object.

Using LINQ to SQL

Walkthrough: Simple Object Model and Query (C#) (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to create an entity class and execute a simple query.
Walkthrough: Manipulating Data (C#) (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to add, update, delete and modify data in a database.
Walkthrough: Querying Across Relationships (C#) (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to query across tables that have been mapped into a hierarchical object relationship.
Walkthrough: Simple Object Model and Query (C#) (LINQ to SQL): Introduces the object-relational mapping concepts in LINQ to SQL.
Walkthrough: Using Only Stored Procedures (C#) (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to use stored procedures in LINQ to SQL.
How to: Represent Primary Keys (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to represent primary keys in LINQ to SQL.
How to: Display Generated SQL (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to display and view the SQL that is generated and issued to the database by the LINQ to SQL runtime.
How to: Handle Composite Keys in Queries (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to sort and group by composite key values.
How to: Directly Execute SQL Queries (LINQ to SQL): Shows how to issue SQL commands instead of a LINQ query.

Using LINQ to XML

How to: Control Namespace Prefixes (C#) (LINQ to XML): Shows how to control namespace prefixes in LINQ to XML.
How to: Retrieve a Collection of Elements (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve a collection of elements in LINQ to XML.
How to: Retrieve the Value of an Element (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve the value of an element in LINQ to XML.
How to: Filter on Element Names (LINQ to XML): Shows how to filter on elements in LINQ to XML.
How to: Chain Axis Method Calls (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve elements at a specified depth.
How to: Retrieve a Single Child Element (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve a single child element.
How to: Retrieve a Collection of Attributes (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve a collection of attributes.
How to: Retrieve a Single Attribute (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve a single attribute.
How to: Retrieve the Value of an Attribute (LINQ to XML): Shows how to retrieve the value of an attribute.
How to: Project a New Type (LINQ to XML): Shows how to use a query to output a type that differs from the input type.
How to: Join Two Collections (C#) (LINQ to XML): Shows how to join two XML files or streams into one.

Using LINQ to DataSet

Loading Data Into a DataSet: Describes how to load data into a dataset.
Single-Table Queries (LINQ to DataSet): Describes how to perform queries against a single table in a dataset.
Cross-Table Queries (LINQ to DataSet): Describes how to perform queries across multiple tables in a dataset.
Querying Typed DataSets: Describes how to perform queries against typed datasets.
LINQ to DataSet Examples: Provides many examples of how to perform various query operations such as restriction, projection, ordering, partitioning, and so on.

Work with Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5

How to: Add a SQL Server Compact 3.5 Database to a Project: Describes how to add a new or existing SQL Server Compact 3.5 database to a Windows-based application.
How to: Deploy a SQL Server Compact 3.5 Database with an Application: Describes how to configure deployment for a Windows-based application that includes a SQL Server Compact 3.5 database.
Walkthrough: Adding a SQL Server Compact 3.5 Database to an Application and Deploying it: Provides step-by-step details for incorporating a SQL Server Compact 3.5 database in a Windows-based application and configuring the application for deployment.

Creating SQL Server Objects in Managed Code

SQL Server Projects

Explains how to use .NET Framework languages and the Transact-SQL programming language to create database objects such as stored procedures and triggers, and to retrieve and update data for Microsoft SQL Server databases.

Walkthrough: Creating a Stored Procedure in Managed Code

Provides step-by-step instructions for the following:

Creating a stored procedure in managed code.
Deploying the stored procedure to a SQL Server database.
Creating a script to test the stored procedure on the database.
Query data in the database to confirm that the stored procedure executed correctly.

Object Relational Designer (O/R Designer)

O/R Designer Overview: Explains what the O/R Designer is and provides information about the tasks you can accomplish with it.
How to: Add LINQ to SQL Classes to a Project (O/R Designer): Describes how to add an empty LINQ to SQL file to a project.
How to: Create LINQ to SQL Classes Mapped to Tables and Views (O/R Designer): Describes how to create entity classes that are mapped to tables and views in a database.
How to: Create DataContext Methods Mapped to Stored Procedures and Functions (O/R Designer): Describes how to create DataContext methods that run stored procedures or functions when they are called.
How to: Assign Stored Procedures to Perform Updates, Inserts, and Deletes (O/R Designer): Describes how to configure a DataContext method to use stored procedures when saving data from entity classes back to a database.
How to: Turn Pluralization On and Off (O/R Designer): Describes how to turn on and off the automatic renaming of classes that are added to the O/R Designer.
How to: Configure Inheritance by Using the O/R Designer: Describes how to configure entity classes by using single-table inheritance with the O/R Designer.
Walkthrough: Creating LINQ to SQL Classes (O/R Designer): Provides step-by-step instructions for designing entity classes by using the O/R Designer and for displaying data on a Windows Form.
Walkthrough: Creating LINQ to SQL Classes by Using Single-Table Inheritance (O/R Designer): Provides step-by-step instructions for configuring entity classes by using single-table inheritance with the O/R Designer.

Other Resources

These Web sites are excellent resources for finding more information, seeing what other Express users are doing, and stay in touch as Visual C# Express grows.

Visual C# Developer Center: Serves as a central location for information about Visual C# Express Edition. Includes videos, new tools, and other downloads.
Beginner Developer Learning Center: Serves as a central location for learning materials for the beginner developer. Includes video tutorials, articles, the How-To Reference Library, and Kid's Corner.
Coding4Fun: Includes lots of articles and coding tips for the Visual C# Express developer.

Concepts

How Do I in C# Express