Question Old coder seeking advice on platform capability (databases)

[NS_Caver]

Hi everyone,

Please excuse the informality of my question. It's been about 10 years since I last coded. I used to code small business applications with VB6.0 and for the life of me, I seemed to have misplaced a lot of that knowledge. I do still have VB6.0 and some books laying around, but with a renewed interest in some hobby coding I downloaded and installed VS/VB.Net 10 Express so I could "re-learn" with something a little more current.

I'm a learn-by-doing kind of person, so I tend to pick things up as I go. I've thought up an application that would allow me to learn some of the basics of vb.net so that I could do some hobby business programming on the side in the future.

In a nutshell, here are the basics of the application:

- Create and manipulate a database of names and other info, displaying information on a GUI.
- If possible, I'd like to create the database programmatically the first time the application is run (and if no database is found on subsequent launches).
- Any database should not require any additional software (ie; application should be distributed and installed as a package - easy for novice users to setup and run.)

I suppose the basics are pretty simple. I have been able to re-learn a lot about VB and have a functioning app that does what it needs to do, but only stores information in session variables. The next step would be to start tying it to a database, so this is why I'm looking for some advice.

Back when I coded, I can't help but think I learned some pretty sloppy DB programming methods in VB. I always used Access databases, and I never learned how to create them in code. I always had to configure databases prior to installing apps for clients. Having spent the last 10 years in other aspects of software development, I have a vastly different conceptual understanding of programming than I did years ago.

I'd like to start taking a leap back in, so any advice you might have in regard to database programming in VB.NET would be greatly appreciated.

Is VB.NET a good choice for GUI/Database programming?
Say I want 3 tables with 20 fields each, in your opinion, what would be the ideal DB type for me to use and learn about (considering the requirements I mentioned above)?

Thank you in advance for any tips. I'm very much looking forward to getting back into the code, perhaps a little more in-depth this time.

Cheers.

 

[jmcilhinney]

Is VB.NET a good choice for GUI/Database programming?
Say I want 3 tables with 20 fields each, in your opinion, what would be the ideal DB type for me to use and learn about (considering the requirements I mentioned above)?

Yes, it's a very good choice. VB has always been a RAD tool and VB.NET continues that tradition. There is strong database support built into the .NET Framework and the VB IDE. If you didn't already do it as part of the VB Express install, download and install SQL Server Express. You can then develop against that and deploy to either SQL Server Express or SQL Server.

You say that you learn by doing but, frankly, that's just impatience. You're certainly not the only one who does things that way but you can learn a lot by actually working through something systematically. You might like to take a look at the Home & Learn tutorial for a fairly full coverage of the basics.

Microsoft Visual Basic .NET tutorials for Beginners

You might also like to follow the Data Walkthroughs link in my signature for a look at some specific data scenarios.

 

[NS_Caver]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose I misrepresented myself a bit, though.

I actually did read those tutorials and completed the exercises, so I have the knowledge to create and manipulate a database through code. What I meant was that I tend to learn various techniques and features based on the need to learn them.

My question arose from a couple of posts on other sites that suggested Access databases were becoming obsolete, so weren't recommended as a DB type.

There are a couple of gaps I need to fill yet, but I think of have the knowledge to move forward. You certainly answered my question well - thank you for your insight. I wanted to pick up again in a language I'm familiar with, so I suppose I was looking for a little assurance that I was OK to move forward with VB.NET.

I'm new to SQL server, but I'm sure I'll get that hammered out after doing a bit more reading.

Thanks again.

Cheers.