Connecting to SQL 2005 from a windows mobile device

Question

I am trying to write a simple application that runs on a Windows Mobile 6 device and can connect to a SQL 2005 server and read and write to the database. It is ok if it only connects to the SQL server while it is docked.

I have never worked with mobile devices, so I may be thinking about it incorrectly. I created a DataSet and a TableAdapter like I would with a regular desktop app, but when I run the application in the emulator, I get a SqlException when I try to open the connection on the TableAdapter.

Is there something obvious I'm missing? Do I need to explicitly tell the emulator to act like it is docked? Does it need to be configured to see that it is in the network? I can ping the SQL server in question from within the app so there should be some connectivity

Answer 1

Here's a good link for setting up your emulator to connect to a network:

http://www.xdevsoftware.com/blog/post/Enable-Network-Connection-Windows-Mobile-6-Emulator.aspx

psasik is being polite when he describes emulator network connections as "squirrelly". I've never gotten them to work successfully, but this is because I always have an actual physical device handy, which I always go back to at the first hint of emulator problems.

Answer 2

Thanks for the link! It was helpful, and I can confirm that I can connect to the network. Unfortunately, it still will not connect to the SQL server. I have distilled the code down to:

`

        string connStr;
        System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection myConn;

        try
        {
            connStr = @"Server='<server name/IP>';Database=<database name>; User Id=sa; Password=<password>";
            myConn = new System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection(connStr);
            myConn.Open();
        }
        catch (System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException se)
        {
            MessageBox.Show(se.ToString());
        }

`

This code throws an SQLException at the myConn.Open() with errorClass 20, number 17. The message is "SQL Server does not exist or access denied." The exact same code (copy/pasted) works perfectly in a winforms application. Am I doing everything correctly? Is it likely that the code is correct but that the emulator is causing my problems? Would it be worth asking the boss for a mobile device to try it on?