ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook, 2nd Edition

1.2. Building a Connection String

Problem

You need to programmatically construct a connection string.

Solution

Use a connection string builder class.

The solution uses SqlConnectionStringBuilder to programmatically construct a connection string for SQL Server that connects to the AdventureWorks database using integrated security.

The C# code in Program.cs in the project BuildConnectionString is shown in Example 1-3.

Example 1-3. Program.cs for BuildConnectionString solution

using System;
using System.Data.SqlClient;

namespace BuildConnectionString
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a connection string builder
            SqlConnectionStringBuilder csb = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder(  );

            // Define connection string attributes using three techniques
            csb.DataSource = "(local)";
            csb.Add("Initial Catalog", "AdventureWorks");
            csb["Integrated Security"] = true;

            // Output the connection string from the connection string builder
            Console.WriteLine("Connection string:\n{0}", csb.ConnectionString);

            // Create a connection string from the connection string builder
            SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(csb.ConnectionString);
            // Open and close the connection
            connection.Open(  );
            Console.WriteLine("\nConnectionState = {0}", connection.State);
            connection.Close(  );
            Console.WriteLine("ConnectionState = {0}", connection.State);

            Console.WriteLine("\nPress any key to continue.");
            Console.ReadKey(  );
        }
    }
}

The output is shown in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2. Output for BuildConnectionString solution ...