I am developing a simple WPF Application that requires a database. My question is, can I use an online database to run with my application. That is, can my WPF application access an online database? If yes, then how do I do it? Will the conventional way of accessing the SQL Server work? Also, is there any free online database website available that I can use. I do not need a lot of space. Just need to store 9-10 tables, and about 15-20 stored procedures.
Take a look at "SQL AZURE". The call it Database as Service: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/dataservices/default.aspx
Additionally you could look at Amazon SimpleDB http://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/.
Related
Yes, I am a learning Access and am not familiar with Joomla!, but I am working on creating an Access database (in Access 2013) so multiple users can have a user friendly way to look at and edit our data via forms, use the queries, etc. We are trying to transfer our Schedule worksheet from Excel to Access.
1) My co-worker is working on Joomla! version 3.6.2, and I would like to know if Joomla! has forms and the ability to do queries, etc., like Access, so we can use Joomla! on the front end and house our tables in SQL server on the back end?
2) I don't know if Joomla! is compatible with SQL server, but do you recommend us sticking with Access as our database or using Joomla! on the front end? We have other things in Joomla! and would like to see if we can view and make changes to our Schedule via forms and queries, etc. in Joomla!, making it the one place to go to for all of our needs.
Thank you for your help.
Microsoft Access is a good tool for learning what a relational database is but I suspect there are less limitations with SQL (or MySQL) in terms of the amount of records, the size of the database and with sharing the data with multiple users.
There are quite a few forms extensions that enable you to not only submit data to the database but to also retrieve it in whatever way you wish (sometimes with a little custom coding).
Joomla supports SQL but MySQL is probably the preferred database.
Im looking through all the options in Visual Studio for database integratiion with Winforms apps. I am just overwhelmed by the options. It's not that I can't read about each of them on MSDN which I have done, it's that most of them seem adequate. Basically I have a fairly large collection of financial data which I need to stuff into a db an run queries on it from a Windows Form. Can someone briefly advice which of Service Based Databas, ADO.Net and all it's varients, Local Database, SQL Server Compact 4.0 Local Databace, Service Based Database etc would be suited to the task? Or just generally if any of them are NOT suited at all?
I would use SQL Server Express, which is a free version of SQL Server.
Why? it has very good tools and will grow and scale-up very easily, whether you wish to add more (large volumes) of data, or support multiple front-ends - ASP.NET, mobile, Winforms, MVC, MS Access.
You may wish to connect to your SQL Server back-end with Access to run ad-hoc queries and generate quick reports off of them and at the same time keep expose your data through services via .NET. SQL Server will support all these front-ends at the same time.
All of these are variants of SQL Server. Just create the database in whatever manner you like, and use Entity Framework (or at worse, classic ADO.NET) to interact with it.
Lacking other specific requirements and assuming your data is less than the 10GB limit for the free SQL Server 2010 Express. If you find that you need to store more than 10GB, or evolve to use other features of SQL Server, the upgrade path is very straightforward.
Entity Framework is generally a very productive way to access the database from WinForms. If you're not familiar with it, I would recommend setting aside some time to learn to use it if you can. You will quickly make up the time invested in productivity gains.
Anyone can give some advice on C# frameworks/opensource projects for bi-drectional database synchronisation?
I have an application that will be used by multiple users. Normally, the user will interact with the application's local database (MS ACCESS) as we assume the network is not available on-site most of the time. When the user has network connectivity, the local database is to be synchronised with the centralised remote database (MS SQL). In the end, all users are able to read/write/commit each others' data. It very much like a SVN repository, i think.
Has anyone tried http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb629326.aspx? how does it fare? I have not really look into it, i am trying to look for more options first before evaluating each.
Thank you.
Have you looked at the Microsoft Sync Framework?
It was designed with scenarios like yours in mind.
Introduction to Microsoft Sync Framework
Sync Framework Samples
Walkthrough: Creating a Sync service
Walkthrough: Creating a Sync Service in Windows Azure
So I'm inexperienced in hosting DB's and I've always had the luxury of someone else getting the db setup.
I was going to help a friend out with getting a webpage setup, I've got experience in Asp.Net MVC so I'm going with that. They want to setup a search page to query a db and display the results. My question I have is in getting the DB setup and hosted. They currently just have the Access DB on a local computer. There is basically only one table that would need to be queried for the search.
What is the best approach to getting this table/db accessible? They would like to keep the main copy of the db on the local machine, so copying the entire db over to the hosted site would be time consuming, could the lone table needed be solely copied to the host? Should I try to convince them to make changes on the hosted db and just make copies of that for their local machines? Any suggestions are welcome, Again I'm a total noob when it comes to hosting databases.
Thanks
Added: They are using a MS Access 2000, and the page will have access restrictions. Thanks for the responses.
How about SQL Server Express? I think you can do a remote connect from Access and just push the data over from Access.
I wouldn't use Access on a web server in any case.
I would strongly recommend against access from web work, its just not designed for it and given that SQL server express is free there is no reason not to give it a go.
You can migrate the data over by using the SQL server upsizing wizard, here is a link for help on using that feature
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/237980
It depends on what you mean by web work? Access 2010 can build scalable browser neutral web applications. They can scale to 1000's to users. In fact, you can even park the web sites on Microsoft's new cloud hosting options, and scale out to as many users as you need.
Here is a video of an application I wrote in access 2010. Note how at the half way I run the same application including the Access forms in a standard web browser. This application was built 100% inside of the Access client. The end result needs no ActiveX or Silverlight to run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU4mH0jPntI
So, the above shows that access can now be used to build scale web sites (you can ignore the confusing answers by the other two posters here they are not quite up to speed on how access works or functions).
However, for your case, I would continue to have the access database on the desktop. You can simply link to tables that are hosted on the web server. Those tables can exist in MySql, or sql server. As long as the web site supports external ODBC connections (many do), then you can thus have the desktop application use the live data from the web server. If connections to the live data at all times is a issue, then you could certainly setup something to send up new records (or the whole table) on some kind of interval or perhaps the reverse, and pull down new records on a interval from the web site (depends which way you need to go). So, connecting to MySql or sql server is quite easy as long as the web hosting and site permits external ODBC connections. I do this all the time, and it works quite well.
As mentioned, new for access 2010 is web site building ability but that does requite Access Web services running on SharePoint.
You don't need to upgrade to Access 2010. One option is to use the EQL Data plugin to sync the database up to the server. Then you can write an asp.net, php, or whatever application that queries the table using the EQL API and prints the results however you want. This kb article describes how to use the EQL API from a web app.
The nice thing is that the database is still totally usable (and at full speed) even when you're not online, and then you can sync the new data up to the web occasionally. It only uploads the changes, not the entire database every time, so it's fast.
Disclaimer: I work at EQL Data so I'm a bit biased. But this kind of use case is the whole reason the company exists.
I have been working on VB6 database desktop programming, but now a client is asking for a
simple web interface (some inserts into SQL Server db used by a desktop application).
The question is: Which approach is better?
1)creating asp.net project, connected directly to the SQL Server database;
2)creating separate (simple) mysql database managed by php and synchronization (in 15 minutes for example)
Thanks.
Personally since you already have the SQL Server database, I see no reason whatsoever to add the complexity of another database and then synchonization. The first alternative is simpler to create and can be secure if you design it correctly. The issue about hosting is irrelevant since you are going to your own database that already exists, so is the issue about cost since the databse is already there. Further since you are already supporting SQL Server, you may be able to reuse some code rather than write new code (mysql's version of SQL is not the same as SQl Server's version). Synching the two databases may be more complex than you think (differnt data types, etc.) and the data in the real database is not real-time whereas with the first alternative it is.
I'd prefer the separate database approach.
It's more secure.
PHP/Mysql hosting is widespread
You can pretty much achieve anything with the technologies available, it just depends on your skill and productivity with specific technologies and the availability of online help. Plus Microsoft stuff you tend to have to pay for whereas PHP/MySQL is totally free.