Chapter 11. Databases and ADO.NET: The Spy Database
As you have grown more experienced in C#, you have seen the importance of data for creating interesting programs. Often you will find that you have a large amount of data that has already been generated in some sort of database management package, such as Access, Oracle, or SQL Server. C# provides a set of classes for working with existing databases. It also provides very handy tools for creating a database. In this chapter you will get exposure to the complex and powerful world of data manipulation and learn to
Build a simple database using the built-in data management tools
Create a form that uses data connections, data adapters, and data sets to access data
Use basic data normalization principles to design multi-table databases
Build relationships and views for managing complex databases
Connect to various types of databases and raw XML data as a data source
Update data on the fly
NOTE
A NOTE ABOUT THE CD-ROM
This chapter focuses on techniques for building databases on your own server. The examples in this chapter outline how I designed a data system on my own server, but the programs on the CD-ROM will not run unless you build the databases on your machine. In the event that you don’t want to build the database, I have included an Access database (spy.mdb) on the CD-ROM that you can connect to using the techniques outlined in the section, “Working with Other Databases.”