Generel Questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Klaus Löffelmann
  • Start date Start date
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Klaus Löffelmann

Hello,



I think I'm experienced at an average with .NET, but I'm going to plan a
database application (Isolated application with low-level synchronisation
capabilities between two clients; mainly for use on notebooks to collect
time and operation data), which later should be shipped with the database
engine, I'll use. Since the amount of data is not very extensive, I decided
to go for the jet engine, to keep the deployment efforts and possible
royalties as low as possible later on.



I'm not that experienced with ADO.NET, so I played a little with the ADO.NET
capabilities, and was impressed especially with the strong typed datasets.
But I also noticed something which in my opinion could seem to be a
weakness, since my application has to deal with null-values in the database
a lot (which, in my case, will often appear in the front end, and have to be
displayed with interstate checkboxes, empty textboxes or specially marked
table cells).



So my questions are:

Would it make sense to create a general ValueType (something like the old
vb-variant) and a correlating user control, which would be able to handle
that variant (and therefore DBNulls) without additional case testing (If
DBNull then blablabla else blablabla)?



And: Is it the right decision to use the access-engine for my purposes?



Any source from the net about that topic I'd really appreciate!



Thanks for giving me your opinions!



Klaus
 
I would use MSDE instead.
It is freely distributable.
Plus it is the exact same engine as SQL Server so your code would work "as
is" in case you ever upgraded.
Plus you would learn how to develop in .Net for SQL Server.

The Nulls issue is tricky and I recommend that you do figure out a way to
handle it in a way that you do not have to code for it every time. (A class
of some sort.)
 
Hi Klaus,

Good luck re null values. I have developed several enterprise-wide apps
using vb .net ans sql server 2000 and null values are among my biggest pains
in the ass. If you come up with an elegent solution, please inform me.

Bernie Yaeger
 
Joe,



since my Application should contain a simple setup, and the user is
considered to be extremely inexperienced - how difficult is it to include
the MSDE in a setup project and have the necessary databases in the MSDE
created by the program?



And: do you happen to now the number possible simultaneously done accesses
to the database with access and MSDE?



Klaus
 
MSDE setup and config is pain from what I have read.
But if you sit at a new client PC and just do an install and take the
defaults it is a 10 minute job.
(You need to be sure you only need the defaults.)

MSDE has a governor which kicks in at 5 concurrent processes.
But that is NOT the same thing as connections.
You could easily have 200 users connected and each query should be only a
few milliseconds and each user actually spends more time reading the screen
(doing nothing on the server) than anything else.
It is only when you get over 5 concurrent queries running that things begin
to slow down by design.
Once it is back to 5 (the rush of queries has subsided) the app runs at
normal speed again.
There is a dbcc command that gives you a report of the number of times (and
duration?) the governor kicked in.
Run this monthly or so to figure out if an upgrade to Full SQL Server is in
order. (That's what is ther for!)
 
Hi Joe and Klaus,

From what I've read MSDE install support is planned for Whidbey...
 
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