Defining the ADO.NET interface
Using the ADO.NET Database Profile Setup
To define a connection using the ADO.NET interface, you must
create a database profile by supplying values for at least the basic
connection parameters in the Database Profile Setup – ADO.NET
dialog box. You can then select this profile at any time to connect
to your data in PowerBuilder.
For information on how to define a database profile, see “Using database profiles”.
Specifying connection parameters
You must supply a value for the Namespace and DataSource connection parameters
and for the User ID and Password. When you use the System.Data.OleDb
namespace, you must also select a data provider from the list of
installed data providers in the Provider drop-down list.
The Data Source value varies depending on the type of data
source connection you are making. For example:
- If you are using Microsoft’s OLE DB Provider
for SQL Server, you select SQLOLEDB as the Provider value and enter
the actual server name as the Data Source value. In the case of
Microsoft SQL Server, you must also use the Extended Properties
field to provide the database name (for example, Database=Pubs)
since you can have multiple instances of a database. - If you are using the DataDirect OLE DB Provider
to connect to an Oracle8i database, you select Sybase.Oracle8ADOProvider
as the Provider value and enter the actual data source name (which
you should have previously defined using the DataDirect OLE DB Administrator)
as the Data Source value.
Using the Data Link API with OLE DB
The Data Link option allows you to access Microsoft’s
Data Link API, which allows you to define a file or use an existing
file that contains your OLE DB connection information. A Data Link
file is identified with the suffix .udl.
To launch this option, select the File Name check box on the
Connection page and double-click the button next to the File Name
box. (You can also launch the Data Link API in the Database painter
by double-clicking the Manage Data Links utility included with the
OLE DB interface in the list of Installed Database Interfaces.)
For more information on using the Data Link
API, see Microsoft’s Universal Data Access Web site
.
Using a Data Link file versus setting the database
parameters If you use a Data Link file to connect to your data source,
all other database-specific settings you make in the ADO.NET
Database Profile Setup dialog box are ignored.
This part describes how to set up and define database connections
accessed through one of the native database interfaces.