1. MySQL Connection using ADO.Net Connecting to MySQL from.NET Languages

2. ADO.Net Architecture ADO.Net provides an architecture for communicating between an application and a data source. The “data source” can be anything that has the required API, but usually it is a database server. Data Source Connection Object (ADO.Net) Data Adaptor Dataset (Local) Application

3. MySQL ADO.Net Provider MySqlConnection is main connection to the MySQL database MySqlCommand enables the execution of any command against the database. MySqlDataReader provides fast, forward- only read access to the database. MySqlDataAdapter serves as an interface between the MySQL data classes and the Microsoft DataSet. MySqlParameter used to store dynamic parameters for a command. MySqlTransaction used to represent a MySQL transaction.

4. Getting MySqlConnector.Net You need a MySql "Connector" for.Net applications. Download from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/ Run the installer. The connector registers itself with the "Global Assembly Cache" so that the DLL can be found. Difference from Java: Java uses a CLASSPATH to find code; Visual Studio uses Windows Registry to find resources. (Optional for visual programming) Add the components to the Toolbox in Visual Studio: Tools -> Add/Remove Toolbox Items... orTools -> Choose Toolbox Items...

5. Undefined MySql Namespace in C# After installing MySqlConnector.Net, in your project you would add its name space to your C# source code using MySql.Data.MySqlClient; but, you may get a compiler error that the "MySql" name space is not found. in this case, add a reference to the Connector's DLL file: 1. Project -> Add Reference -> Browse 2. Find the.Net2.0 MySqlData.dll file, ex: C:/MySql/MySqlConnector.Net/bin/.Net 2.0/MySqlData.dll This should fix the name space problem.

6. Creating a Connection Object Connection Object manages the connection to database server. You must specify: server name, username, password Can omit unnecessary attributes or leave blank. string connectString = "Data Source=localhost;Database=bank;User Id=bank;Password=FatChance"; MySqlConnection myconn = new MySqlConnection( connectString ); public DBConnection(string host, string database, string user, string pass) { string connectString = String.Format( "Data Source={0};Database={1};User Id={2};Password={3}", host, database, user, pass); MySqlConnection myconn = new MySqlConnection( connectString ); } Better programming:

7. Opening the Connection After creating connection, open it. This may throw a MySqlException MySqlConnection myconn = null; try { myconn = new MySqlConnection( connectString ); myconn.Open(); } catch ( MySqlException e ) { Console.WriteLine("Error connecting to server: "+e.Message); }

8. Creating a Command Object Use a MySqlCommand object to issue database cmds A Command object is like a Java Statement object. You can reuse a Command object. Requires a Connection object (myconn) as param. MySqlCommand cmd = new MySqlCommand("SHOW TABLES;", myconn); MySqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader( ) Method of executing command depends on the SQL statement:  UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE: cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() returns int.  SHOW (QUERY): cmd.ExecuteReader() returns MySqlDataReader Semi-colon

9. Processing Query Data MySqlDataReader has many methods for getting data by column number, column name, or index. Iterate over results using (boolean) reader.Read( ) MySqlDataReader reader = null; try { reader = cmd.ExecuteReader( ); if ( reader == null ) { Console.WriteLine("ExecuteReader failed"); return; } while( reader.Read() ) { Console.WriteLine( reader.GetString(0) ); } } catch ( MySqlException e) { Console.WriteLine("caught exception " + e.Message ); } finally { if (reader != null) reader.Close(); }

10. Resources MySQL http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/dotnet/ Learning SQL http://www.w3schools.com/sql/ nice tutorial and command reference Learning JDBC JDBC Trail in Sun's Java Tutorial. Dietel, Java How To Program, Chapter 25.... and zillions of resources on the web