DevExpress XPO makes the COLUMNS_UPDATED() function of the SQL server unusable - sql-server

I experienced that a DevExpress XPO object belonging to a SQL table updates all columns in the table regardless of whether it has been changed. This has been a problem in our software since we moved from System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter and System.Data.Dataset to DevExpress XPO. Our triggers use the COLUMNS_UPDATED() and update() functions which so report false result (from my point of view).
Is there a smart way to make XPO objects update only those columns that have actually changed?

Related

Why am I unable to load a subform when it is bound to a specific stored procedure?

Summary
In a Microsoft Access 2010 database (accdb), I have a form that dynamically loads other forms into a subform object on the main form. The forms used in the subform object are bound to ODBC pass-through queries that execute stored procedures to return recordsets. I can't figure out why I can use one sproc and it works perfectly fine, but if I bind the form to another sproc, it fails to load the subform.
Technical Walkthrough
I have two pass-through ODBC queries. qryGood and qryBad. They use identical ODBC connection strings (ODBC;DRIVER=SQL Server;SERVER=MyServer;UID=MyUser;Trusted_Connection=Yes;DATABASE=MyDatabase), and the SQL behind them is identical, but pointing to two different SQL stored procedures on the SQL 2012 database server.
qryGood source: exec spGoodProc 123456
qryBad source: exec spBadProc 123456
The SQL behind the sproc is very simple. Return records from a single table, filtering by the ID passed as a parameter. (Some will do more complex things, but I am just focusing on a simplified example here that demonstrates the problem.)
The RecordSource property of frmMySubform is set to qryBad.
The subform SourceObject is set via VBA code: sfrmMain.SourceObject = "frmMySubform" No errors are thrown at this point. While the SourceObject property now returns frmMySubform, the .Form object does not seem to be set.
I then try to reference a property on the subform: Debug.Print sfrmMain.Form.Name This fails with error 2467: The expression you entered refers to an object that is closed or doesn't exist.
I can then open frmMySubform in design view, change the RecordSource property to qryGood and it works just fine. This seems to point to a problem with spBadProc that only manifests itself when used as the RecordSource on a subform.
What I Have Tried
In an effort to troubleshoot this problem, I have used the process of elimination to narrow this down as far as I can, but I am still not understanding why the one sproc works and the other doesn't. Both return records just fine in SQL and when running the pass-through query directly. Both work fine when opening the form directly. It only becomes a problem when the form is set as a SourceObject in a subform control.
I have used sp_procedure_params_rowset to compare the parameters in the sprocs, and they are identical. I have compared the data types of the columns in SQL and there is nothing new or different in tblBad that isn't in tblGood. I have also tried profiling the SQL server while setting the form, and it seems to call the sproc just fine. I didn't see any clues when comparing the trace between the bad and the good calls.
Setting the RecordSet directly to an ODBC link to tblBad works just fine (and I presume a view would be fine as well) but having the simple stored procedure wrapper somehow triggers the error.
I have also compared the security, properties and extended properties for spGoodProc and spBadProc and they are identical.
My Question
What can I do on the troubleshooting side to reduce this down further? Has anyone out there encountered similar issues with bound sprocs on subforms? I am working on a very complex database with hundreds of forms, tables and queries, so I would really like to understand why this is occurring before I go too far down this path.
Thanks in advance for any insight you are able to share on this perplexing problem. :-)
Found it!
After tracing it back to something with the specific table, I removed all constraints, keys, and then columns from a copy of the table, systematically testing to see if I could pinpoint the problem. Sure enough, it was a specific column name in the stored procedure!
Simply aliasing this column to a different name solved the problem. (See below for expanded details)
Update after Further Testing
After additional testing to further pinpoint the issue, I think I now understand why this was occurring. When you link an ODBC table and specify a unique (key) column, Access will automatically attempt to set the LinkMasterFields and LinkChildFields to the key column name when a subform is loaded and the subform has a column with the same name. While this works fine with linked tables or views, it does not work when the RecordSource of the subform is set to a stored procedure.
If you attempt to do this by manually adding the subform, you will see the following notification:
However, if you set the subform target through VBA code, you don't get any warning or error message. It simply doesn't (fully) load the subform. #Albert D. Kallal, you were right on about this being related to a master/child fields issue!
I was able to consistently reproduce the issue in a test database file in both Access 2010 and Access 2016. If you would like to see this for yourself, you can use the following steps to reproduce it:
Create a SQL table with a PrimaryID column.
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[tblBugTest](
[PrimaryID] [int] NOT NULL,
[TestColumn] [nchar](10) NULL
) ON [PRIMARY]
Add a couple test records to the table you just created.
Create a Stored Procedure to return the records.
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[spBugExample]
AS SELECT * FROM tblBugTest
Create a blank Microsoft Access database (accdb).
Using ODBC, create a linked table to tblBugTest.
Important: Select PrimaryID as the unique column.
Create a pass-through query named qryPassThrough using ODBC to the same database, and set the SQL to exec spBugExample.
Open the query to verify that it returns records.
Create three blank forms in the database. frmMain, frmSubForm, and frmBlank.
Add frmBlank as a subform to frmMain. Name the subform sfrmSubform.
Set the RecordSource of frmMain to the linked table.
Add a button to frmMain to switch the subform from frmBlank to frmSubForm.
Private Sub cmdShowBug_Click()
With Me.sfrmSubform
.SourceObject = "frmSubForm"
Debug.Print .LinkMasterFields
Debug.Print .LinkChildFields
Debug.Print .Form.Name
.SourceObject = "frmBlank"
End With
End Sub
Set the RecordSource of frmSubForm to qryPassThrough.
Drop a couple bound controls onto frmSubForm.
Test frmSubForm by itself. It should load a record from tblBugTest.
Open frmMain and click the button. It should throw an error.
If you step through the code, you will see that before setting the SourceObject, the LinkMasterFields property is blank. After setting SourceObject, you can hover over LinkMasterFields and see that it is now set to the PrimaryID column.
Workarounds
Changing any of the following will work around the error by avoiding the problematic auto-linking of the master/child fields.
Delete and relink the linked table, this time not specifying a unique column.
Alias the column in the Stored Procedure to a different name than the unique column.
Clear the RecordSource property of the parent form.
Clear the subform RecordSource property and set the RecordSet after loading the subform.
Use a view or linked table instead of a stored procedure in the subform.
Keep in mind that the subform data source will be attempted to be loaded BEFORE the main form loads. What this suggests is that on the main form's load event, you will
First setup the PT query.
Then set the OBJECT source of the sub form.
In other words, the source object of the sub form control should be blank.
You code then to set up the PT query will be:
With currentdb.queryDefs("qryGood")
.SQL = "EXEC spGoodProc " & 123456
end with
Of course you can replace the 123456 with a varible, or even a value from a text box (from the main form).
Now that the PT query is setup, you THEN are to set the form that the sub-form is to load.
So, after above code, we then have:
me.mySubForm.SourceObject = "name of subform goes here"
So, it should be about a total of 4 lines of code. And as above shows, you don't even need any connection string stuff in your VBA code.
So, just keep in mind:
Setup the PT query as per above. You can then launch a report, or even a form, or in this case set the form that the sub-form control is to load. This also suggests/hints that you need to remove the source object of the sub form control (leave it blank).
You can have the sub-from source object set, but then this would suggest that you setup the PT query source as per above BEFORE you launch the main form with the sub form based on the PT query. As noted, this set of steps is required since the sub form actually load and resolves it data source BEFORE the main form displays and renders. So, by leaving the source-object blank for the sub form, then you the developer re-gains complete control over the order of loading.

Adding parameterized predefined query to datagridview

For the life of me, I haven't been able to find this anywhere (other than solutions that exclude using the tableAdapter....
I have a simple setup. I have a datagridview. I have a tableadapter that is bound to the datagridview. This all works marvelously, but brings in the entire table. On the tableadapter itself, I have created a query called "nonServers" which returns the data I want.
So my question is, how can i bind the results of the tableadapter's QUERY to the datagridview, rather than the full results? When I try to add the query, it adds a button up top to trigger the query (as it's meant to do). But this is not what I want - i want the initial value to be the results of the query only.
any help appreciated, i reckon it's probably embarassingly simple
You're under some misconceptions. Firstly, your grid is not bound to a table adapter. The adapter is just a means to move data back and forth between the database and the application. The data is stored in the application a DataTable that is part of a DataSet. That's what your grid is bound to.
The default query for each table adapter is a SELECT * with no WHERE clause, so all columns and all rows. The table adapter has two methods - Fill and GetData - that execute that query. Fill will populate an existing DataTable, which will probably be part of a DataSet, while GetData creates and returns a new, standalone DataTable.
When you add a new query with a WHERE clause to filter, you are prompted to name the new methods that will execute that query. They are named FillBy and GetDataBy by default and you're supposed to append a meaningful suffix to that, e.g. if you were to filter by a ParentId column then you'd name the methods FillByParentId and GetDataByParentId. I'm not sure what exactly your query looks like but you might go with FillWithNonServers and GetDataWithNonSevers.
If you drag a table from the Data Sources window onto your form then that will add a bunch of controls and components by default and it will also generate some code, including a call to the Fill method of the appropriate table adapter to the Load event handler. In your case, you simply have to change that Fill call to a call to your new method and it will then invoke your custom query instead of the default.

VB.Net DataGridView Dataset changes to sql

This is prob basic question. When I create a datagrid I typically use a view and or tables from MS SQL. If I make an update in SQL for the view or alter the changes they do not comeover to my vb.net application. What I currently do is create a new project and copy and paste everything and add a new dataset. Is there a better way.
You can create a DataTable in your application and populate it with the table or view (or Select * from table) query results . This DataTable you can assign to your Datagrid view. You can create a timer (tick event) on your application and run the select query to update your applications datagrid every x seconds (or milliseconds). This may be a bit expensive and not pretty UI wise.
A better way would be to make your application sentient enough to recognise that the SQL server table has been updated. If the only way to update the SQL server is through your application , I suggest you can attach an event ( to the update_db or add_to_db code in your application ) and refresh your view whenever that event gets called.

Visual Basic 6 ADO Update issue

I've been working with a Legacy application which interacts with a database through ADODB, and most of the changes to records follow a fairly straightforward pattern of:
Create a Recordset from a query
Make various change to the recordset
call .Update on the recordset.
What I'm wondering is, with ADODB recordsets, is there anyway to extract the 'changes'. The logic which changes the recordset is scattered about, and all I need is the changes, not how it was changed...
Any suggestions for tracking changes in a recordset (in code, a trigger on the DB or similar is no use here)
I personally have never used this functionality, but the documentation states you can set rs.Filter property to adFilterPendingRecords to show records that have been changed but not sent to the server yet (only applies to batch update mode).
Or, you could iterate through all records in a recordset, and if the .Status property has the adRecModified flag set, then you can compare .Value and .UnderlyingValue of each of the fields to see whether they are different.

Using DataGridView to Update Multiple Tables

On a VB.NET 2008 form I have a DataGridView, BindingSource and TableAdapter.
The BindingSource DataSource is a dataset.
In the dataset I have a Fill command that joins three tables and this is displayed without a problem in the DataGridView.
However, I am unable to Update the dataGridView because it has multiple tables from a single TableAdapter?
Does anyone know a simple way I can update. The tables has over 200 columns and I only want to update the columns that are changed. If I use a single table I can edit data in the DataGridView and the database is updated ok.
Any help would be appreciated?
Thank you.
Unfortunately, the Windows.Forms BindingSource, does not support complex properties (which I assume you are after).
You would have to craft your own custom BindingSource (and it will likely be bespoke to you) to handle complex property values and assignments.

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