Difficulty learning

  • Thread starter Thread starter patricia59
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patricia59

Can someone suggest a really elementary learning forum
for vb.net? I am trying to learn VB.net web in
conjunction with MS Sql data access. My previous
experience has been with desktop databases, and I am
struggling with the simplest concepts; find myself
wasting days and days researching tools that don't
accomplish what I need.

For example, using the dataset components with a
MSSqlconnection, how can I use a textbox user input to
search an open database table at the on lost focus event
of the textbox? In Visual Dbase, I could attach an event
to the textbox control that would store the user input to
a variable, for instance an id number, and 'seek' the
value in an open indexed table, and then store the name,
address, birthdate from that record to existing textboxes
on the form, then move to the next empty textbox,
something like this:


thisid=form.textbox.value
if seek(thisid)
thisname=table.fields.name.value
 
I accidentally pressed the send key before I finished,
the example I was trying to use is;

Function Textbox1.OnLostFocus 'locate person's idno in
'person.dbf table and fill in additional information
'on form from record

thisid=form.textbox.value
idisnew = false
use thistable order thisindex
if seek(thisid)
Textbox2.text=table.fields.name.value
Textbox3.text=table.fields.address.value
Textbox4.text=table.fields.citystzip.value
Textbox5.text=table.fields.birthdate.value
Textbox6.setfocus
else
idisnew = true
Textbox2.setfocus
 
Can someone suggest a really elementary learning forum
for vb.net?
Click to expand...

Are you familiar with Object Oriented Programming Concepts? If not, you may
want to pick up a book on OO design before even beginning to use VB.NET.
Many of VB.NET's advantages are that it is an OO language.

If you're looking for material, Wrox Publishing makes several good VB.NET
books. You can find them at your local bookstore (the books with the red
covers) : )
 
Hi Patricia,

I come from essentially the same environment, so I understand what you're
going through.

For the example you post, it's not too hard - on the leave event on the
textbox control, you can search for the value of the textbox.text pretty
easily if you know ado .net. I requires that you open a connection, open a
dataset (via dataadapter and then its fill method), set up a dataview (among
other ways of searching a datatable in a dataset) and then proceed from
there. If you need an example, email me back and I will provide a
rudimentary build of these steps. Now updating the backend table in ms sql
is a bit harder, as ado .net requires an insert command or at least the
presence of a commandbuilder object.

But you're a programmer and you can do this stuff, I assure you. And it is
the future, so you're on the right path.

Don't go for too basic texts. Progamming Visual Basic .Net (balena), MS
press is good; for table/database work - which is key to most robust
systems - Microsoft ADO .Net by Sceppa is also very good (also MS press).
Apress has a number of very good books on the .net framework and .net in all
specific areas. Troelson is very good, but he is advanced and you may not
be ready for that yet. Also, get a few good books on sql server -
developing sp's, using tsql, etc. Apress has some good books here also. Go
to Amazon and search to you hearts content.

And still it will take time. I developed a solution called 'dataworks' just
to have templates for inserting rows with/without an sql sp, using
dataviews, using defaultview, searching on PK, finding the index after the
search, etc. It's hard and takes some time, and the toughest part is that
it's so new that often you can't get an answer, but the newsgroups are
great - Herfried here and others at ado .net and sql server newsgroups are
brilliant and seem to know everything, so posting a question generally leads
to the solution.

HTH,
Bernie Yaeger
 
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