Accessing SQL Server and OLE DB from .
NET
Data Access with ADO.NET
Table of Contents
1.Data Access Models – Connected,
Disconnected, ORM
2.ADO.NET Architecture and Data Providers
3.Accessing SQL Server (Connected Model)
Using SqlConnection , SqlCommand and
SqlDataReader
Parameterized Queries
4.Accessing Other Databases
Data Access Models
Connected Model
ADO.NET
constantly open
DB
DB
connection
ADO.NET client Database
ADO.NET
temporary (offline)
DB
DB
connection
ADO.NET client
Disconnected Database
Model
Connected Model
Connected data access model
Applicable to an environment where the database is
constantly available
Too much effort to issue SQL commands
ADO.NET
constantly open
DB
DB
connection
ADO.NET client Database
Disconnected Model
Disconnected data access model
A subset of the central database is copied locally at
the client and he works with the copy
Database synchronization is done offline
ADO.NET
temporary (offline)
DB
DB
connection
ADO.NET client Database
ORM Model
ORM data access model
Maps database tables to classes and objects
Objects can be automatically persisted in the
database
Can operate in both connected and disconnected
modes
OO ORM
Programming Framework
Language
ORM Model:
Benefits and Problems
ORM model benefits
Increased productivity – writing less code
Use objects with associations instead of tables and
SQL commands
Integrated object query mechanism
ORM model drawbacks:
Less flexibility – SQL is automatically generated
Performance issues (sometimes)
ADO.NET Architecture
ADO.NET Architecture With
Different Model
What is ADO.NET?
ADO.NET is a standard .NET class library for accessing databases,
processing data and XML
ActiveX Data Object.
An API for working with data in .NET
Supports connected, disconnected and ORM data access models
Excellent integration with LINQ, XML and WCF
Allows executing SQL in RDBMS systems
DB connections, data readers, DB commands
Supports the ORM approach
LINQ-to-SQL and ADO.NET Entity Framework
Namespaces in ADO.NET
System.Data
ADO.NET core classes
System.Data.Common
Common classes for all ADO.NET technologies
System.Data.Linq
LINQ to SQL framework classes
System.Data.Entity
Entity Framework classes
System.Xml
XML processing classes
Components of ADO.NET
Connected Model Disconn. Model LINQ-to-SQL Entity Framework
DataReader DataSet DataContext ObjectContext
DbCommand DataAdapter Table<T> EntityObject
ADO.NET
Programming Model
SQL Server .NET OleDb .NET Oracle .NET ODBC .NET
Data Provider Data Provider Data Provider Data Provider
OLE DB sources
SQL Server 2000
(MS Access, MS Oracle ODBC Data
SQL Server 2005
Excel, Active Database Source
SQL Server 2008
Directory, etc.)
Data Providers in ADO.NET
Data Providers are collections of classes that
provide access to various databases
For different RDBMS systems different Data
Providers are available
▪ Each provider uses vendor-specific protocols to talk to
the database server
Data providers define several common objects:
▪ Connection – to connect to the database
▪ Command – to execute an SQL command
▪ DataReader – to retrieve data
▪ Entity Framework support (optionally)
Data Providers in ADO.NET (2)
Several standard ADO.NET Data Providers come
as part of .NET Framework
SqlClient – accessing SQL Server
OleDB – accessing standard OLE DB data sources
Odbc – accessing standard ODBC data sources
Oracle – accessing Oracle database
Third party Data Providers are available for:
MySQL, PostgreSQL, Interbase, DB2, SQLite
Other RDBMS systems and data sources
Third Party Data Providers
ADO.NET Driver for MySQL (Connector/NET)
http://www.mysql.com/products/connector/
Supports Entity Framework (from version 6.0)
Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET)
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/dotnet
Does not support Entity Framework
.NET Data Provider for PostgreSQL
http://npgsql.projects.postgresql.org/
Supports Entity Framework
Standard Data Provider Classes
System.Data.SqlClient and
System.Data.SqlTypes
Data Provider classes for accessing SQL Server
System.Data.OleDb
Classes for accessing OLE DB data sources
System.Data.Odbc
Classes for accessing ODBC data sources
System.Data.Oracle
Classes for accessing Oracle databases
ADO.NET: Connected Model
Retrieving data in SqlDataReader
connected model SqlParameter
1.Open a connection SqlParameter SqlCommand
(SqlConnection) SqlParameter
2.Execute command
SqlConnection
(SqlCommand)
3.Process the result set
of the query by using a
reader (SqlDataReader)
4.Close the reader
5.Close the connection Database
ADO.NET: Disconnected Model
Disconnected model – DataSet
data is cached in a
DataSet SqlDataAdapter
1.Open a connection
(SqlConnection)
2.Fill a DataSet (using SqlConnection
SqlDataAdapter)
3.Close the connection
4.Modify the DataSet
5.Open a connection
6.Update changes into the
DB Database
ORM ADO.NET: LINQ to SQL
Table
LINQ to SQL is ORM
Table Table
framework for SQL
Server
DataContext
1.Create object models
mapping the database
2.Open a data context SqlConnection
3.Retrieve data with
LINQ / modify the tables
in the data context
4.Persist the data context
changes into the DB
5.Connection is auto- Database
ADO.NET: Entity Framework
Entity
Entity Framework is Entity Entity
generic ORM ObjectContext
framework
1.Create entity data model EntityClient
mapping the database Data Provider
2.Open an object context
3.Retrieve data with SqlConnection
LINQ / modify the tables
in the object context
4.Persist the object
context changes into the
DB Database
SQL Client Data Provider
SQ L
SqlClient Data Provider
SqlConnection
Establish database connection to SQL Server
SqlCommand
Executes SQL commands on the SQL Server
through an established connection
Could accept parameters (SQLParameter)
SqlDataReader
Retrieves data (record set) from SQL Server as a
result of SQL query execution
ADO.NET Classes for the
Connected Model
SqlDataReader XmlReader
SqlCommand
SqlParameter
SqlParameter
SqlConnection SqlParameter
Database
The SqlConnection Class
SqlConnection holds a connection to SQL
Server database
Requires a valid connection string
Connection string example:
Data Source=(local)\SQLEXPRESS;Initial
Connecting to SQL Server:Security=SSPI;
Catalog=Northwind;Integrated
SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(
"Server=.\SQLEXPRESS;Database=Northwind;
Integrated Security=true");
con.Open();
Connection String
Database connection string
Defines the parameters needed to establish the
connection to the database
Main parameters for SQL Server connections:
Provider – name of the DB driver
Data Source / Server – server name / IP address +
database instance name
Database / Initial Catalog – database name
User ID / Password – credentials
Connection String (2)
Main parameters for SQL Server connections:
AttachDbFilename=some_db.mdf
▪ Attaches a local database file at startup
▪ Supported by SQL Express only
Server=server_name\database_instance
▪ "." or "(local)" or "SOME_SERVER"
▪ Database instance is "MSSQL", "SQLEXPRESS" or other SQL
Server instance name
Integrated Security – true / false
Working with SqlConnection
Explicitly opening and closing a connection
Open() and Close() methods
Works through the connection pool
Implicitly opening and closing the connection
Done automatically by DataAdapters,
DataContexts and ObjectContexts
Connections are IDisposable objects
Can be managed with the using construct
SqlConnection – Example
Creating and opening connection to SQL Server
(database DUIITAcademy)
SqlConnection dbCon = new SqlConnection(
"Server=.\\SQLEXPRESS; " +
"Database=DUIITAcademy; " +
"Integrated Security=true");
dbCon.Open();
using(dbCon)
{
// Use the connection to execute SQL commands here …
}
SqlClient and ADO.NET
Connected Model
Retrieving data in SqlDataReader
connected model SqlParameter
1.Open a connection SqlParameter SqlCommand
(SqlConnection) SqlParameter
2.Execute command
SqlConnection
(SqlCommand)
3.Process the result set
of the query by using a
reader (SqlDataReader)
4.Close the reader
5.Close the connection Database
The SqlCommand Class
Executes an SQL statement or a stored procedure
More important properties
Connection – gets / sets the SqlConnection of
the command
CommandType – the type of the command
▪ CommandType.StoredProcedure
▪ CommandType.TableDirect
▪ CommandType.Text
CommandText – the body of the SQL query or the
name of the stored procedure
Parameters
The SqlCommand Class (2)
More important methods
ExecuteScalar()
▪ Returns a single value (the value in the first column of the
first row of the result set)
▪ The returned value is System.Object but can be casted
to the actual returned data type
ExecuteReader()
▪ Returns a SqlDataReader
▪ It is a cursor over the returned records (result set)
▪ CommandBehavior – assigns some options
The SqlCommand Class (3)
More important methods
ExecuteNonQuery()
▪ Used for non-query SQL commands, e.g. INSERT
▪ Returns the number of affected rows (int)
ExecuteXmlReader()
▪ Returns the record set as XML
▪ Returns an XmlReader
▪ Supported in SqlClient Data Provider only
SqlCommand – Example
SqlConnection dbCon = new SqlConnection(
"Server=.\\SQLEXPRESS; " +
"Database=TelerikAcademy; " +
"Integrated Security=true");
dbCon.Open();
using(dbCon)
{
SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(
"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Employees", dbCon);
decimal employeesCount = command.ExecuteScalar();
Console.WriteLine("Employees count: {0} ",
employeesCount);
}
The SqlDataReader Class
SqlDataReader retrieves a sequence of records
(cursor) returned as result of an SQL command
Data is available for reading only (can't be changed)
Forward-only row processing (no move back)
Important properties and methods:
Read() – moves the cursor forward and returns
false if there is no next record
Item (indexer) – retrieves the value in the current
record by given column name or index
Close() – closes the cursor and releases resources
SqlDataReader – Example
SqlConnection dbCon = new SqlConnection(…);
dbCon.Open();
using(dbCon)
{
SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(
"SELECT * FROM Employees", dbCon);
SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();
using (reader)
{
while (reader.Read())
{
string firstName = (string)reader["FirstName"];
string lastName = (string)reader["LastName"];
decimal salary = (decimal)reader["Salary"];
Console.WriteLine("{0} {1} - {2}",
firstName, lastName, salary);
}
}
}
The SqlParameter Class
What are SqlParameters?
SQL queries and stored procedures can have input
and output parameters
Accessed through the Parameters property of the
SqlCommand class
Important properties of SqlParameter:
ParameterName – name of the parameter
DbType – SQL type (NVarChar, Timestamp, …)
Size – size of the type (if applicable)
Direction – input / output
Parameterized Commands –
Example
private void InsertProject(string name, string description,
DateTime startDate, DateTime? endDate)
{
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("INSERT INTO Projects " +
"(Name, Description, StartDate, EndDate) VALUES " +
"(@name, @desc, @start, @end)", dbCon);
cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@name", name));
cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@desc", description));
cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@start", startDate));
SqlParameter sqlParameterEndDate =
new SqlParameter("@end", endDate);
if (endDate == null)
sqlParameterEndDate.Value = DBNull.Value;
cmd.Parameters.Add(sqlParameterEndDate);
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
}
Primary Key Retrieval
Retrieval of an automatically generated
primary key is specific to each database server
In SQL Server IDENTITY column is used
Obtained by executing the following query:
Example of obtaining the automatically
SELECT @@Identity
generated primary key in ADO.NET:
SqlCommand selectIdentityCommand =
new SqlCommand("SELECT @@Identity", dbCon);
int insertedRecordId = (int)
(decimal) selectIdentityCommand.ExecuteScalar();
SqlCommand: Using Stored
Procedures
SqlCommand requires following configuration to
execute a stored procedure.
Set the stored procedure name
Set the command type as
CommantType.StoredProcedure
Set the SqlParameter to send parameter to the SP.
SqlCommand: Using Stored
Procedures Example
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(
"CustOrderHist", conn);
cmd.CommandType =
CommandType.StoredProcedure;
cmd.Parameters.Add( new
SqlParameter("@CustomerID", custId));
cmd.ExecuteReader();
ADO.Net DataSet and Adapters
A DataSet is an in-memory
data store that can hold
numerous tables.
DataSets only hold data and
do not interact with a data
source.
It is the SqlDataAdapter that
manages connections with the
data source and gives us DataSet
disconnected behavior.
ADO.Net DataSet and
Adapters(2)
The SqlDataAdapter opens a connection only
when required and closes it as soon as it has
performed its task.
The SqlDataAdapter performs the following
tasks when filling a DataSet with data:
Open connection
Retrieve data into DataSet
Close connection
ADO.Net DataSet and
Adapters(3)
Creating a DataSet Object
DataSet dsCustomers = new DataSet();
Creating A SqlDataAdapter
SqlDataAdapter daCustomers
= new SqlDataAdapter(
"select CustomerID, CompanyName from
Customers", conn);
Filling the DataSet
daCustomers.Fill(dsCustomers, "Customers");
Using the DataSet
dgCustomers.DataSource = dsCustomers;
ADO.Net DataSet additional
functionalities
Adding Multiple Tables
Adding a Relationship Between Tables
Merging DataSet Contents
Copying DataSet Contents
ADO.Net DataView
A DataView enables us to create different
views of the data stored in a DataTable, a
capability that is often used in data-binding
applications.
A DataView provides a dynamic view of data
in the underlying DataTable: the content,
ordering, and membership reflect changes as
they occur.
We can also use a DataViewManager to
manage view settings for all the tables in
Creating a DataView
There are two ways to create a DataView.
We can use the DataView constructor
DataView custDV = new
DataView(custDS.Tables["Customers"], "Country =
'USA'", "ContactName",
DataViewRowState.CurrentRows);
We can also create a reference to
the DefaultView property of the DataTable.
DataView custDV =
custDS.Tables["Customers"].DefaultView;
Sorting and Filtering Data Using
a DataView
We can use the Sort property to specify single
or multiple column sort orders and include ASC
(ascending) and DESC (descending)
parameters.
We can use the ApplyDefaultSort property to
automatically create a sort order, in ascending
order, based on the primary key column or
columns of the table.
We can use the RowFilter property to specify
subsets of rows based on their column values.
Connecting to Non-Microsoft
Databases
Connecting to Non-Microsoft
Databases
ADO.NET supports accessing various
databases via their Data Providers:
OLE DB – supported internally in ADO.NET
▪ Access any OLE DB-compliant data source
▪ E.g. MS Access, MS Excel, MS Project, MS Exchange,
Windows Active Directory, text files
Oracle – supported internally in ADO.NET
MySQL – third party data provider
PostgreSQL – third party data provider
ADO.NET Data Interfaces
ADO.NET Data Providers implement the
following interfaces:
IDbConnection
IDbCommand, IDataParameter
IDataReader
IDbDataAdapter
ADO.NET Base Classes
ADO.NET provides the following base classes:
DbConnection
DbCommand / DbParameter
DbDataReader
DbTransaction
DbParameterCollection
DbDataAdapter
DbCommandBuilder
DbConnectionStringBuilder
DbDataPermission
OLE DB Data Provider
OleDbConnection – establishes a connection
to an OLE DB source
OleDbConnection dbConn = of
newdata
OleDbConnection(
@"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data
Source=C:\MyDB.mdb;Persist Security Info=False");
OleDbCommand – executes an SQL commands
through an OLE DB connection to a DB
OleDbParameter – parameter for a
command
OleDbDataReader – to retrieve data from a
Connecting To OLE DB –
Example
Suppose we have MS Access database
C:\Library.mdb
We have the table Users:
We use the "Microsoft Jet 4.0 Provider" to
connect in ADO.NET through OLE DB
We create a connection string component:
Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=
C:\Library.mdb;Persist Security Info=False
References
http://www.csharp-
station.com/Tutorial/AdoDotNet
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/e80y5yhx(v=vs.80)
http://www.codeproject.com
Download the application and presentation
https://docs.google.com/open?
id=0B5b3ZcIvnbMrdHlOSDRXWG9mbDA
Data Access with ADO.NET
Questions?
