Hi,
I am planning to convert my desktop Windows/VB6.0/ADO2.6 application to .NET. My current application is installed on each user's PC and the application works with database files that can either sit locally or anywhere in the Network.
I get the impression that SqlServer is THE DBEngine to use with ADO.NET. But isn't this primarily a costly Server/Corporate database engine? I need a database engine that can reside on the desktop/laptop and access files anywhere (by specifying the path in a File Open dialog). Some sort of SqlServer seems to ship with the .NET framework, can I assume that all my customers will have a SqlServer engine on their machine, or can I include such an engine in the deployment of my application so that I can use SqlServer...
OR... do I just have to resign to continue to use MsAccess ?

Does anybody have any experience with ADO.NET & databases in stand-alone desktop Windows applications ?

Thanks,
Annie Lyon

Only a scenario like Access would provide you with some kind of a "file open..." capability to your application although you could provide a "please enter the server name you'd like to access" prompt for a MS-SQL scenario. If you need to have a database residing locally, then you probably should stick with access. Keep in mind, however, not to confuse "DB engine" with the actual database data source. Is your database (i.e. *.mdb file) going to live centrally and be accessed by the desktop clients or do you actually need to have the database file itself reside on multiple machines? You can access Access with the right db drivers (Jet) without actually having the Access application on the machine (I'm pretty sure, someone correct me if I'm wrong).

The .net Framework does not ship with any kind of database system. It ships with the [u]capability</u> to connect to several DB systems using native SqlClient, OleDb and Odbc namespace classes.

Using MS-SQL server with the native ADO.net classes is much faster than the old ADO objects but of course it will require you to have a SQL server.

Peter
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Work smarter, not harder.

Whether a client machine has Access or not, you can communicate with an Access DB if the client has the correct drivers.

There is a mid-range option between Access & SQL Server. It is MSDE. It has limitations (liscensing, active connections, sizing constraints, etc.) when compared against full SQL Server. However, you can use the SQLClient namespace classes to interface with it like SQL Server. It is worth your time to check it out if you are looking for a relational database engine more robust than Access, but you do not need all of the "bells & whistles" of a full SQL Server database.

David Adams