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  4. Read data from Azure database with C#-application, without installing a lot of applications?

Read data from Azure database with C#-application, without installing a lot of applications?

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csharpdatabasevisual-studiocloudquestion
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  • L Lost User

    At the very least you will need to install a Database client to read the database. Which client you need will depend on what database it is that you wish to access.

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    arnold_w
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    It is a relational database I wish to access.

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    • A arnold_w

      It is a relational database I wish to access.

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      Mycroft Holmes
      wrote on last edited by
      #4

      What you are asking for makes no sense, relational databases are not simplistic text files and are generally made up of multiple tables with defined relationships which you will need to understand. You cannot scroll through the records without a client (this may be something like Excel/Access/MSSQL) but it is still a client application. If there is a specific VIEW that has been created for you then you need to query the database to get all the records, these can be queried into a text file which you could scroll through. You still need something to query the database. Do check the size of the download before progressing along this path :omg:

      Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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      • M Mycroft Holmes

        What you are asking for makes no sense, relational databases are not simplistic text files and are generally made up of multiple tables with defined relationships which you will need to understand. You cannot scroll through the records without a client (this may be something like Excel/Access/MSSQL) but it is still a client application. If there is a specific VIEW that has been created for you then you need to query the database to get all the records, these can be queried into a text file which you could scroll through. You still need something to query the database. Do check the size of the download before progressing along this path :omg:

        Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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        arnold_w
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        There is only one table in the database. If it's not feasible to get the data by using a home-made function (or method), what is the minimum database client I need to install? Are there any lightweight (perhaps even open source?) clients available or do I need to install several Gbytes of SQL Server/Oracle/something else?

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        • A arnold_w

          There is only one table in the database. If it's not feasible to get the data by using a home-made function (or method), what is the minimum database client I need to install? Are there any lightweight (perhaps even open source?) clients available or do I need to install several Gbytes of SQL Server/Oracle/something else?

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          Mycroft Holmes
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          What do you expect to "browse" the data with? You could write a simple windows service or client which would connect and download the table. It would be very small.

          Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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          • M Mycroft Holmes

            What do you expect to "browse" the data with? You could write a simple windows service or client which would connect and download the table. It would be very small.

            Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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            arnold_w
            wrote on last edited by
            #7

            Mycroft Holmes wrote:

            What do you expect to "browse" the data with?

            That's a good question, see below.

            Mycroft Holmes wrote:

            You could write a simple windows service or client which would connect and download the table. It would be very small.

            So, you're basically saying I don't need a database client to get the table? What format will the table then be in when I get it locally on my computer? Will the format be something simple like tab/comma separated or XML or something so complicated (perhaps even encrypted) that I practically would need a database client to make sense out of the table?

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            • A arnold_w

              It is a relational database I wish to access.

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              Lost User
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              The majority of databases are relational types. What you need to find out is what software product is used to create it: Oracle, SQLServer, MySQL, SQLite etc.

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              • A arnold_w

                Mycroft Holmes wrote:

                What do you expect to "browse" the data with?

                That's a good question, see below.

                Mycroft Holmes wrote:

                You could write a simple windows service or client which would connect and download the table. It would be very small.

                So, you're basically saying I don't need a database client to get the table? What format will the table then be in when I get it locally on my computer? Will the format be something simple like tab/comma separated or XML or something so complicated (perhaps even encrypted) that I practically would need a database client to make sense out of the table?

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                Lost User
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                See my post below.

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                • A arnold_w

                  I am writing a C# application in Visual Studio 2005 and I need to read, but NOT write, data inside an Azure database and I would like to install as few applications on my computer as possible. It would also be nice if I could simply spend a couple of minutes copying the whole database file to my computer upon startup and from then on access the data completely locally. There is no requirement that I should access the data I want through SQL-queries, if it's feasible to iterate through the database file with while-loops, if-statements, etc that would be perfectly fine with me. Is this feasible or what's the minimum I can get away with?

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                  Lost User
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  It just occurred to me that the answer to this is quite simple. Go and talk to the people who own the database, they will be able to tell you exactly which client libraries you need.

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                  • L Lost User

                    The majority of databases are relational types. What you need to find out is what software product is used to create it: Oracle, SQLServer, MySQL, SQLite etc.

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                    arnold_w
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    Ok, so Azure supports a wide range of databases.

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                    • A arnold_w

                      Ok, so Azure supports a wide range of databases.

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                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      This has nothing to do with Azure. If you want to access a database then, as I already suggested, you need to know what type of database (i.e. which product is used to manage it). And the quickest way to find that answer is to talk to the people who own it.

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                      • A arnold_w

                        I am writing a C# application in Visual Studio 2005 and I need to read, but NOT write, data inside an Azure database and I would like to install as few applications on my computer as possible. It would also be nice if I could simply spend a couple of minutes copying the whole database file to my computer upon startup and from then on access the data completely locally. There is no requirement that I should access the data I want through SQL-queries, if it's feasible to iterate through the database file with while-loops, if-statements, etc that would be perfectly fine with me. Is this feasible or what's the minimum I can get away with?

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                        J Offline
                        jschell
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        arnold_w wrote:

                        I am writing a C# application in Visual Studio 2005 and I

                        2005 is rather old and I suspect that might be a problem. But maybe you meant 2015. For a database application you need 1. Access permission to the database. This includes a connection path and user permissions. This is information not code. 2. A connection library for the database. This a library. 3. Probably a framework that will use the connection library. 4. Then you use 3 to get data from the database where you have provided 1 to 2.

                        arnold_w wrote:

                        There is no requirement that I should access the data I want through SQL-queri

                        That is unlikely unless the database is a No-SQL database.

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                        • L Lost User

                          This has nothing to do with Azure. If you want to access a database then, as I already suggested, you need to know what type of database (i.e. which product is used to manage it). And the quickest way to find that answer is to talk to the people who own it.

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                          arnold_w
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #14

                          It is SQL Server.

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                          • A arnold_w

                            It is SQL Server.

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                            Lost User
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #15

                            OK, so you need to install SQL client on your system, and get the details of the database structure from the people who own it.

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                            • L Lost User

                              OK, so you need to install SQL client on your system, and get the details of the database structure from the people who own it.

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                              arnold_w
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #16

                              Is there no shortcut available? I'm open to using hacks.

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                              • A arnold_w

                                Is there no shortcut available? I'm open to using hacks.

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                                Victor Nijegorodov
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #17

                                I'd recommend you to install SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) instead.

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                                • A arnold_w

                                  Is there no shortcut available? I'm open to using hacks.

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                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #18

                                  Are we to assume that you do not actually have permission to access this database?

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                                  • L Lost User

                                    Are we to assume that you do not actually have permission to access this database?

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                                    arnold_w
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #19

                                    No, I have access. Since this software will be run on other computers than my own, I'd like to keep 3rd party software installations/dependencies to a minimum. Ideally, all you'd have to do to run my application is to double-click an .exe-file (ideally, you should also be able to run it from a USB-stick), I don't want anybody to have to do anything more. That's why I don't use installers and instead embed all my dll:s and icons/pictures into my .exe-file, I don't like to give installation support, especially not on something I didn't write myself.

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                                    • A arnold_w

                                      No, I have access. Since this software will be run on other computers than my own, I'd like to keep 3rd party software installations/dependencies to a minimum. Ideally, all you'd have to do to run my application is to double-click an .exe-file (ideally, you should also be able to run it from a USB-stick), I don't want anybody to have to do anything more. That's why I don't use installers and instead embed all my dll:s and icons/pictures into my .exe-file, I don't like to give installation support, especially not on something I didn't write myself.

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                                      Lost User
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #20

                                      Well at the risk of repeating myself yet again: go and talk to the owners of the database to find out what client software you need to install, and what the schema structure is. They are the only people who can provide this information.

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                                      • A arnold_w

                                        No, I have access. Since this software will be run on other computers than my own, I'd like to keep 3rd party software installations/dependencies to a minimum. Ideally, all you'd have to do to run my application is to double-click an .exe-file (ideally, you should also be able to run it from a USB-stick), I don't want anybody to have to do anything more. That's why I don't use installers and instead embed all my dll:s and icons/pictures into my .exe-file, I don't like to give installation support, especially not on something I didn't write myself.

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                                        Mycroft Holmes
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #21

                                        Wait you already have an application that will consume the data! Why don't you modify your app to query the database?

                                        Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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                                        • M Mycroft Holmes

                                          Wait you already have an application that will consume the data! Why don't you modify your app to query the database?

                                          Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

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                                          arnold_w
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #22

                                          No, I'm about to start writing an application.

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