Question of DB programming
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Hello, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction with my problem. I have been developing in Access for quite some time now and I am increasingly finding the limitations on form design frustrating, so I have decided to go with good old C++ programming. However I have no desire to create a DB engine when MS Access does such a nice job. I was wondering if someone could provide suggestions on references I could obtain to allow me to develop my interface and logic in C yet still use Access/SQL server as the backend database? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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Hello, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction with my problem. I have been developing in Access for quite some time now and I am increasingly finding the limitations on form design frustrating, so I have decided to go with good old C++ programming. However I have no desire to create a DB engine when MS Access does such a nice job. I was wondering if someone could provide suggestions on references I could obtain to allow me to develop my interface and logic in C yet still use Access/SQL server as the backend database? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Yup. You can use a variety of APIs to do this; ODBC, DAO, ADO or OLE DB, for example. For Access only, DAO used to be the choice. However, my personal favourite is OLE DB. This (like ODBC and ADO) is driver or provider based, and allows you to write code that works against any database. That's the theory, but not always the practice, since there are driver/provider specific bits that make it more difficult. I use the ATLDBCLI.H header (supplied with VC6 and later) which allows you to manipulate recordsets based on pre-defined SQL and known columns, as well as on dynamic (user-defined) data. To make the most of this, you should start with something like the SAMS "Database Programming with Visual C++ 6 in 21 days" book, but don't expect it to take only 21 days! What you will miss in straight C++ is data-aware controls, and the reporting, unless you use something like Crystal Reports. I keep meaning to write a CP article on C++ report generation, but never seem to have the time :sigh: For grid stuff you can use the excellent Grid control from Chris right here on CP. Steve S Developer for hire
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Yup. You can use a variety of APIs to do this; ODBC, DAO, ADO or OLE DB, for example. For Access only, DAO used to be the choice. However, my personal favourite is OLE DB. This (like ODBC and ADO) is driver or provider based, and allows you to write code that works against any database. That's the theory, but not always the practice, since there are driver/provider specific bits that make it more difficult. I use the ATLDBCLI.H header (supplied with VC6 and later) which allows you to manipulate recordsets based on pre-defined SQL and known columns, as well as on dynamic (user-defined) data. To make the most of this, you should start with something like the SAMS "Database Programming with Visual C++ 6 in 21 days" book, but don't expect it to take only 21 days! What you will miss in straight C++ is data-aware controls, and the reporting, unless you use something like Crystal Reports. I keep meaning to write a CP article on C++ report generation, but never seem to have the time :sigh: For grid stuff you can use the excellent Grid control from Chris right here on CP. Steve S Developer for hire
Thankyou for the advice. Is there other references that you know of besides the SAMS 21 Day book? I am usually not a big fan of those books; I usually find them lacking with respect to in depth coverage of the subject. I will look into the book though, just wondering if you knew of any others.