National University of Modern Languages

Department of Computer Sciences and Engineering

Visual Programming

Lab 11

Objectives

1. Database connection and operations

Database connectivity basics

C# provides connectivity options to a large number of databases. We will be using Microsoft SQL
Server database for learning.

Connection is the basis and first step of working with a database. A connection has multiple
parameters that are database name, credentials and some options (like connection time etc.).

CRUD operations can be performed on a database. The required namespaces for these
operations are mentioned below. These should be added to your project in order to perform
database operations.

using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;

SqlDataAdapter: It is a set of commands and database connection that is used for

communication between a data set/ data table and SQL Server Database.

SQLDataReader: It is used for reading data only and it works on reading data as a stream. Useful
where we have to read specific data and show it on specific controls.
Task 1: UI Design

Load the project previously created having the following user interface.

Task 2: Creating Database Table

Create an Items Table in your Database with columns as follows:

[ItemName] ,[Category] ,[Price] ,[Quantity] ,[Department] ,[Distributor] ,[DistributorContact]

Also add certain records in the table.

Task 3: Setting up Basis

Add required namespaces to your Form class.

using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;

Add the following objects as well.

Keep a data set and data table for receiving data.

Define a connecting string to be used for establishing connection.

Task 4: Establishing DB Connection

Use the following function to connect to DB (as specified in connection string) whenever
needed.

Call this function in your Form Load even and display a successful message if connection is
established.

Task 5: Reading data through SqlDataReader

Add the following two fields in your Form UI. These fields will get data from database through
SqlDataReader.

Query to be executed:

Select * from Items where ItemID = 112200

Call this function in Form Load by passing the query mentioned above.
Task 6: Reading data through SqlDataAdapter

Add the following function in your Form Class.

Call the function in your Form Load class to populate our Data Table.

Additional Task:

Add searching feature in your program that searches based on specific criteria.

Pro Tips:

 DataGridView provides some default operations as adding, deleting and editing. Exploit
them wherever required in order to make your application more effective.