VS has a developer version of SQL server which is OK for developing apps
that you can test out.
Storing and retrieving data is as simple ad writing the SQL statements
that manipulate the tables. I don't know anything about FoxPro so, to be
honest, I don't even know if it does SQL.
Because I'm a cheapskate I often use access databases or MySQL. SQL server
is really an option for a company that can afford the license fees. It's
by far the best choice but one needs to be committed to a certain level of
monetary outlay.
Here for example is a simple set of commands I used to populate a repeater
on a website I did a while back. It uses Access...
DataSet ds=new DataSet();
OleDbConnection cnx=new
OleDbConnection(Constants.ConnectionString(this.Server));
OleDbDataAdapter da=new OleDbDataAdapter("SELECT * FROM content",cnx);
da.Fill(ds);
this.Repeater1.DataSource=ds;
this.Repeater1.DataBind();
That was a pretty simple one. The Constants class just lets me get a
connection string according to whether i'm in debug mode so the connection
string points to my local access database file or in release mode in which
case it uses Server.MapPath to get to where my DB is stored.
Here's me adding a record to a table...
cmd=new OleDbCommand("INSERT INTO products(product_name, stock, minstock,
price, content, category, description) VALUES(?,?,?,?,?,?,?);",cnx);
cmd.Parameters.Add("product_name",OleDbType.Char).Value=this.name.Text;
cmd.Parameters.Add("stock",OleDbType.Integer).Value=int.Parse(this.stock.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("minstock",OleDbType.Integer).Value=int.Parse(this.minstock.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("price",OleDbType.Currency).Value=decimal.Parse(this.price.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("content",OleDbType.Integer).Value=content;
cmd.Parameters.Add("category",OleDbType.Integer).Value=int.Parse(this.DropDownList1.SelectedValue.ToString());
cmd.Parameters.Add("description",OleDbType.Integer).Value=description;
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
and here's me updating a table with some changed data...
OleDbCommand cmd=new OleDbCommand("UPDATE products SET product_name=?,
stock=?, minstock=?, price=?, content=?, category=?, description=? WHERE
productid=
;",cnx);
cmd.Parameters.Add("product_name",OleDbType.Char).Value=this.name.Text;
cmd.Parameters.Add("stock",OleDbType.Integer).Value=int.Parse(this.stock.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("minstock",OleDbType.Integer).Value=int.Parse(this.minstock.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("price",OleDbType.Currency).Value=decimal.Parse(this.price.Text);
cmd.Parameters.Add("content",OleDbType.Integer).Value=(int)ViewState["content"];
cmd.Parameters.Add("category",OleDbType.Integer).Value=this.DropDownList1.SelectedValue;
cmd.Parameters.Add("description",OleDbType.Integer).Value=ViewState["description"];
cmd.Parameters.Add("i",OleDbType.Integer).Value=item;
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
As you can see it's all pretty straightforward. Even I can manage it 
--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing
Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
http://www.ramuseco.com
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Roy Gourgi said:
Hi,
Thanks for replying.
I think I will break ties with FoxPro and COM and go for either SQLServer
or Access. There seems to be a lot more support for SQLServer than
Access, so I think that I will try SQLServer. What do I have to do to get
SQLServer and which version should I be using. Or is SQLServer already
part of the VS.Net?
All I really need is to store and retrieve information from a database.
What do you recommend and are there any examples?
TIA
Roy
