CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic

.NET Programming

Data Access with ADO.NET

- Tutorial 3 -
Create Connections and Commands Using a Wizard for OLE DB and
SQL Data Sources
Ghana Communication Technology University
Lecturer – Dr. Forgor Lempogo
2021
Objectives
 Applied
Use a data source to get the data that an application
requires.
Use a DataGridView control to present the data that’s
retrieved by a data source.
Use other controls like text boxes to present the data
that’s retrieved by a data source.
Write the Visual Basic code for handling any data errors
that result from the use of the data source or the controls
that are bound to it.
Use the Dataset Designer to
(1) view the schema for the dataset of a data source
(2) preview the data for a query
(3) review the SQL statements that are generated for a data source.

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Objectives (continued)
 Knowledge
 Describe the use of a connection string in an app.config file.
 Describe the use of the Fill method of the TableAdapter object.
 Describe the use of the UpdateAll method of the
TableAdapterManager object.
 Describe the use of the EndEdit method of the BindingSource
object.
 Describe the two categories of data errors that can occur when
you run an application that uses a data source.
 In general terms, describe the way the SQL statements that are
generated for a data source
(1) prevent concurrency errors
(2) refresh a dataset when the database generates the keys for new
rows.

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Getting Started

Open Last weeks Windows application in

Visual Studio

Using the same three tables in the database

Add the windows forms

Design the user interfaces

Write the code

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
The User Interface

 Add a new form to

your project and
give it an
appropriate name
(mine is
newForm5)
 Add a button to
form1 to open the
newForm5 in the
click event

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Creating a Data Source (1/2)
 After adding the form, the
next thing to do is to create
a connection to the
database using the
Connection wizard

 The connection wizard can

be lunched from the Data
Sources Window
 Do not use the Server
Explorer Window for this
purpose

 To open the Data Source

Window, look on the top left
corner of visual studio
design window and click on
Data Sources.

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Creating a Data Source (2/2)

 If you cannot find the

Data Sources Window
using the above process,
then do the following

 Go to Menu and select

View.
 From the drop-down,
select Other Windows.
 From the list select Data
Sources

 Menu->View->Other
Windows-> Data
Sources

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The Data Sources Window

 On the Data Sources

Window select “Add
New Data Source” to
lunch the Connection
Wizard

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Choose a Data Source Type Window
 The first step of the
connection wizard is the
“Choose a Data Source
Type” Window.

 Here we need to choose

which type of data source
we want to connect to.

 Since we are trying to

connect to a database, we
will select Database from
the list.

 Clicking on the Next button

will Lunch the “Choose
database model” Window.

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Choose a Database Model Window
 The next step of the connection
wizard is the “Choose a
Database Model” Window.

 Here we need to choose which

type of model we want to work
with.

 In most of the versions the only

option available is Dataset, which
is what we need for our project.

 Thus, After connecting to the

database, the data will be
extracted and stored in a dataset
on your computer.

 Select Dataset and Click on the

Next button to open the Choose
your Data Connection Window.

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Choose your Data Connection Window
 The next step of the
connection wizard is the
“Choose your Data
Connection” Window.

 This is where the

Connection String is
actually created.

 To get started, select

“New Connection” to
lunch the “Add
Connection” Window.
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New Connection Window
 The first step of setting
the connection string is
the “New Connection”
Window.

 Here the database type

needs to be selected and
configured

 To select the type of

database you want to
connect to, click on the
“Change” button to lunch
the “Change Data Source
Window

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Change Data Source Window
 The Next step of setting the
connection string is the “Change Data
Source ” Window.

 Here the database type needs to be

selected and configured

 This is where there will be a difference

between OLEDB (MS Access) and MS
SQL Server Databases

 Users of MS Access Database must

select “Microsoft Access Database
File” and Click on OK to proceed

 Users of MS SQL Server Databases

must select “Microsoft SQL Server”
and select OK to proceed.

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 Add Connection Window – OLEDB
 For OLEDB Clicking of OK on the Previous
“Change Data Source ” Window will take
you back to the same “Add Connection”
Window in slide 12

 On the “Add Connection” window click on

the Browse Button and browse to where
your Access database file is saved on you
computer
 Select your MS Access Database file and
click on Open to return to the Add
Connection Window

 If your access database file has a user

name and password, you will need to enter
them into the user name and password
fields in the Add Connection Window.
 Next select Test Connection to be sure
everything is correctly set up.
 If the connection is correctly setup a
success message will be shown, else an
error message will be shown.

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Add Connection Window – OLEDB
 Next select Test Connection
to be sure everything is
correctly set up.

 If the connection is correctly

setup a success message
will be shown, else an error
message will be shown.

 If an error message is
shown, then you need to
repeat the process and be
sure the user name and
passwords, if any, are
correct

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Change Data Source - MS SQL SERVER

 This is where there will be a

difference between OLEDB
(MS Access) and MS SQL
Server Databases

 Users of MS Access
Database must select
“Microsoft Access
Database File” and Click
on OK to proceed

 Users of MS SQL Server

Databases must select
“Microsoft SQL Server”
and select OK to proceed.

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Add Connection – MS SQL SERVER
 For MS SQL Server Database Clicking on OK on the
Previous “Change Data Source ” Window will take you to
the following “Add Connection” Window

 On the “Add Connection” window click on “Refresh” button

by the Server Name Combobox to load all SQL Servers
running on your system.
 Next Select the appropriate Server name from the
Combobox.
 If after refreshing the server name Combobox is still empty,
then you will have to manually enter your server name in
that Combobox.
 Next is to indicate the user name and passwords.
Depending on what you indicated during setup of your
server. But in most cases students use Windows
authentication to login
 Entering the server name and clicking on refresh will load all
available databases residing on the server into the “Select
or Enter Database name” Combobox.
 If the database name Combobox is still empty after the
refresh, then you will have to manually enter your database
name into there dropdown.
 Next select Test Connection to be sure everything is
correctly set up.
 If the connection is correctly setup a success message will
be shown, else an error message will be shown.

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Add Connection – MS SQL SERVER
 Next select Test Connection to be
sure everything is correctly set up.

 If the connection is correctly setup

a success message will be
shown, else an error message will
be shown.

 If an error message is shown,

then you need to repeat the
process and be sure the user
name and passwords, if any, are
correct
 Click ok on the success message
to return to the Add Connection
Window
 Click Ok on the Add Connection
window to return to the “Choose
your Data Connection” Window

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View your Connection String
 The connection string is
ready.

 To view the connection

string, click on the plus
sign on the mid-left side
of the “Choose your
Data Connection”
Window

 Click on the Next button

on the “Choose your
Data Connection”
Window to proceed.

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View your Connection String
 Clicking the Next button
on the “Choose your
Data Connection”
Window will generate the
following dialog.

 Asking whether or not

you wish to copy your
access database file into Yes No Cancel
the debug folder.

 Select Yes and proceed

to the “Save Connection
String” Window

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Save Connection String Window
 Selecting Yes from the
dialog will open the “Save
Connection String” Window

 Visual studio has already

suggested a name for the
connection string. You may
change it to any valid
identifier or leave it as it is

 Clicking on next will save

the connection string with
the above identifier into the
Application Configuration
file (App.Config) and Open
the “Choose your Data
Objects” Window

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Choose your Data Objects Window
 On the “Choose your Data
Objects” window you are asked to
select which tables and views you
want to include in the dataset.

 Here you can select specific

tables, or specific columns of
specific tables or specific views
etc.
 Make sure all the three tables in
your database are selected before
clicking on Finish

 This is the last step of the

connection setup.

 After selecting the tables and

columns you wish to add to your
dataset, Click on Finish to Exit the
Connection Wizard.

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The Data Source Window
 After exiting the
Connection wizard, the
Data Sources Window
will now contain your
database and the
tables you selected

 Note that the tables will

only contain the
columns you have
selected.
.
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The Solution Explorer
 After exiting the
Connection wizard, The database
some new files will be file / data
source
added to the Project The
and will show up on the Application
configuration
solutions explorer, file

Namely:
The dataset file
The data source file
The app.config file The dataset

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The App. Configuration File – SQL Server

 The information that’s stored in the app.config

file

<connectionStrings>
<add name=
" AdvanceVBNET_Totorial.My.MySettings.Contact_DBConnectionString"
connectionString="Data Source=localhost\sqlexpress;
Initial Catalog=Contact_DB;
Integrated Security=True"
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
The App. Configuration File – OLEDB

 The information that’s stored in the app.config

file

<connectionStrings>
<add
name="AdvanceVBNET_Totorial.My.MySettings.Contact_DBConnectionSt
ring"
connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data
Source=|DataDirectory|\Contact_DB.mdb"
providerName="System.Data.OleDb" />
</connectionStrings>

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Handling Columns With Default Values

 If a column in a database has a default value,

that value is not included in the column
definition in the dataset. Eg. Auto number fields

 You can omit columns with default values

unless they are needed by the application.

 If you include a column that is defined with a

default value, you must provide a value for that
column whenever a row is added to the
dataset.
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Creating the User Interface
 Open newForm5

 From the Data Sources window drag-and-drop the

Person_TB table onto newForm5

 Expand the form and DataGridView to get a good design

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Auto-Added Controls
 After drag-and-droping the table on the form different
controls were automatically added to the form

 The controls that are created when you drag a data source
onto a form are:
Control Description
DataGridView control Displays the data from the data
source in a grid.

BindingNavigator Defines the toolbar that can be used

control to navigate, add, update, and delete
rows in the DataGridView control.

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Auto-Added Controls
 The objects that are created when you drag a data source
to a form
Object Description
BindingSource Identifies the data source that the controls on
the form are bound to and provides
functionality for working with the data source.
DataSet Provides access to all of the tables, views,
stored procedures, and functions that are
available to the project.
TableAdapter Provides the commands that read and write
data to and from a table.

TableAdapter Maintains referential integrity.

Manager
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Testing the Application

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
BindingNavigator - The ToolStrip
To First Total To Last
Delete
Record To records Record
Record
Previous
Record

To Next Add Save

Record Record
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Possible OLEDB Issues

 Data NOT Saved Problem

 Select your DataBase File from
the solutions explorer
 Go to the properties window
and Select COPY TO OUTPUT
DIRECTORY
 Set the Value to COPY IF
NEWER

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Data NOT Saved Problem

 The Copy To Output Directory has three possible values

Value Description

Do Not Copy Never Copies the Database file to

the project directory (Copying can be
done manually)
Copy Always Copies the database file to the
project directory every time the
program is run
Copy If Newer Copies the database file to the
project directory only if the database
Schema has changed
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Auto-Generated Code
The code that is generated by Visual Studio
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'TODO: This line of code loads data into the
''PayablesDataSet.Terms' table. You can move,
'or remove it, as needed.
Me.TermsTableAdapter.Fill(Me.PayablesDataSet.Terms)
End Sub
Private Sub TermsBindingNavigatorSaveItem_Click(
ByVal sender As System.Object,
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles TermsBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Click
Me.Validate()
Me.TermsBindingSource.EndEdit()
Me.TermsTableAdapter.Update(Me.PayablesDataSet.Terms)
End Sub
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Auto-Generated Codes
The syntax of the Fill method
TableAdapter.Fill(DataSet.TableName)

The syntax of the Update method

TableAdapter.Update(DataSet.TableName)

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Changing the Default Control (1/2)
 By default when tables are dragged onto a
form the DataGridView Control is added to
display the data.
 But this can be changed to make other
controls such as textboxes, labels,
comboboxes, etc. display various fields of
our tables.
 To change the default controls of a table do
the following:
 Open the Data sources window and select
the Table whose controls you wish to
change
 Click on the arrow to the right of the table
and select Details
 This will change the controls from
Datagridview to the appropriate default
controls for the specific data types.
 Eg. For a column with a text data type, a textbox
will be used,
 for a column with Date datatype Datetimepicker
will be used, etc.
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Changing the Default Control (2/2)
 To change the default controls of each
field/Column do the following:
 Open the Data sources window and
select the Table whose controls you wish
to change
 Click on the arrow to the right of the table
and select Details

 This will change the controls from

Datagridview to the appropriate default
controls for the specific data types.
 Eg. For a column with a text data type, a
textbox will be used,
 for a column with Date datatype
Datetimepicker will be used, etc.

 Go through the attributes of the table and

define a control for each of them by
clicking on the arrow to the right of the
attribute and selecting the appropriate
control
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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Creating the User Interface

 Add a new form to

your project and
give it an
appropriate name
(mine is
newForm6)
 Add a button to
form1 to open the
newForm6 in the
click event

40 CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Creating the User Interface
 Open newForm6
 Open the Data sources window and change the default view of Person_TB from
DataGridView to Detail
 Go through the attributes of the Person_TB table and change them to appropriate
controls

 From the Data Sources window drag-and-drop the Person_TB table onto newForm6

 Expand the form and reorganize the controls to get a good design

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
 Test The Application

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Code for the Application
Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'TODO: This line of code loads data into the
''PayablesDataSet.Vendors' table.
'You can move, or remove it, as needed.
Me.VendorsTableAdapter.Fill(
Me.PayablesDataSet.Vendors)
End Sub

Private Sub VendorsBindingNavigatorSaveItem_Click(

ByVal sender As System.Object,
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles VendorsBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Click
Me.Validate()
Me.VendorsBindingSource.EndEdit()
Me.VendorsTableAdapter.Update( _
Me.PayablesDataSet.Vendors)
End Sub
43End Class
CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Code for the Application
Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'TODO: This line of code loads data into the
''PayablesDataSet.Vendors' table.
'You can move, or remove it, as needed.
Me.VendorsTableAdapter.Fill(
Me.PayablesDataSet.Vendors)
End Sub

Private Sub VendorsBindingNavigatorSaveItem_Click(

ByVal sender As System.Object,
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles VendorsBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Click
Me.Validate()
Me.VendorsBindingSource.EndEdit()
Me.VendorsTableAdapter.Update( _
Me.PayablesDataSet.Vendors)
End Sub
44End Class
CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery
Questions?

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CICS 314: Advanced Visual Basic .NET Programming - GTUC 2021 Delivery