Visual Studio® 2008 ALL-IN-ONE DESK REFERENCE FOR DUMMIES®

Chapter IV.2. Show Me the Data

In This Chapter

Data is data is data, or so you would think. When you're working with data in Visual Studio, the approach you take for Windows Forms varies slightly from the one for Web applications. Although the Windows Forms Designer sports the Data Sources window, Visual Web Developer has no such jumping-off point for managing all your project's data sources.

Both designers share some tools, such as the Data Source Configuration Wizard, but the experience in Visual Web Developer is less refined. The data tools in Windows Forms Designer integrate very well and flow seamlessly. Rest assured, whether you're building Windows applications or Web sites, Visual Studio has a data tool to get the job done. You just might have to tweak the Web tools until they mature.

This chapter walks you through the procedure for working with the set of data tools in Visual Studio. Don't be surprised to see the same tools demonstrated once for Windows applications and again for Web sites. Despite having the same names, sometimes the tools behave completely differently.

Adding Data Access in Windows Applications

Visual Studio provides plenty of ways to add access to data in a Windows application. Here are the primary ways to do so by using the Windows Forms Designer:

• Drag and drop a data control onto a form.

  Tip

  You can read how to access data by using the GridView control in Chapter 1 of this mini-book.

• Use the Data Source Configuration Wizard.

• Use the Data Sources pane.

Data sources ...