ADO.NET Cookbook

8.1. Using XSD Schema Files to Load and Save a DataSet Structure

Problem

You need to create an XSD schema from a DataSet and define the schema of a DataSet from an XSD schema.

Solution

Use the XmlTextWriter and XmlTextReader classes.

The sample code contains three event handlers:

Write Button.Click

Creates a DataSet containing the Orders table and Order Details table from Northwind and a relation between the two. The XSD schema for the DataSet is written both to a file and to a text box on the form.

Read Button.Click

Creates a DataSet and reads in the schema from a file containing a previously serialized XSD schema. The XSD schema is written from the DataSet to a stream and displayed.

Clear Button.Click

Clears the DataGrid and the result text box.

The C# code is shown in Example 8-1.

Example 8-1. File: XsdSchemaFileForm.cs

// Namespaces, variables, and constants using System; using System.Configuration; using System.Windows.Forms; using System.Text; using System.IO; using System.Xml; using System.Xml.Schema; using System.Data; using System.Data.SqlClient; // Table name constants private const String ORDERS_TABLE = "Orders"; private const String ORDERDETAILS_TABLE = "OrderDetails"; // Relation name constants private const String ORDERS_ORDERDETAILS_RELATION = "Orders_OrderDetails_Relation"; // Field name constants private const String ORDERID_FIELD = "OrderID"; // . . . private void writeSchemaButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { DataSet ds = new DataSet( ); SqlDataAdapter ...