SQLCE Local Application Help

Question

Hi,

I'm here for a trouble with SQLCE on a C# application, this is a really simple question, at first I was trying to do an INSERT into a table, but it didn't do it, so I searched and the solution was to put the literal string to connect to the database.

try
{
    cnTrupp.Open();
    SqlCeCommand com = new SqlCeCommand("INSERT INTO tipo_venta(nombre) VALUES (@nombre)", cnTrupp);
    com.Parameters.AddWithValue("@nombre", pNombre);
    com.ExecuteNonQuery();
    com.Dispose();
}
catch (SqlCeException e)
{
    LogFile log = new LogFile(e.Message);
}
finally
{
    cnTrupp.Close();
}

After that with the literal string, I was wondering, when I deploy the app, how I'm supposed to change that connection string? so it points to the actual database in the new computer

Answer 1

Make use of the .NET app.config file. This is a VB article but will get you started.

.NET config files are fairly easy to work with but with information like a db connection, you might want to consider encrypting the string in the config file. Or at least the password. That is if security is a concern. Many times it's not. Especially on mobile devices which are inherently unsecure (at least in the WinCE world... up to CE5 v.6)

Answer 2

The comments on "Paul Sasik"'s post talk about the Data Source=|DataDirectory|\example.sdf entry in the app.config file of your application.

For the sake of completeness: This |DataDirectory| part is a macro that expands automatically to the folder where your application is running and should not be hardcoded. If you want to change the folder, you may use the following line in Program.cs:

AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetData("DataDirectory", <New Folder>);

At least this is true for desktop applications. As mobile applications (in VS 2005 and 2008) don't support the same configuration mechanism, you have to create the connection string manually there.