VistaDB 6
VistaDB / Getting Started / Using VistaDB with Typed Datasets - Introduction
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    Using VistaDB with Typed Datasets - Introduction
    In This Topic

    What Are Typed Datasets?

    Introduced with .NET, ADO.NET Typed Datasets allow you to create a data access layer without writing any code and use it to query, insert, update, and delete data.  It works with any ADO.NET database provider allowing you to create an application and share data access code between different database technologies like Microsoft SQL Server and VistaDB.

    While it has been superseded by Entity Framework as Microsoft's preferred data access approach it is baked into the .NET Framework and will be available for some time.   If you are creating a new application using .NET 4.0 or later you should review Entity Framework to see if it's a better long term option, but since both technologies can coexist in the same application if you're comfortable with Datasets you can confidently continue to use them.

    If you are creating a new application using .NET 4.0 or later you should review Entity Framework to see if it's a better long term option, but since both technologies can coexist in the same application if you're comfortable with Datasets you can confidently continue to use them

    How Do They Relate to VistaDB?

    VistaDB is an ADO.NET provider which provides a basic level of compatibility with ADO.NET Typed Datasets.  In addition, VistaDB integrates with Visual Studio 2010 and later to support the Dataset Designer just like Microsoft SQL Server.  This means you can use the same UI within Visual Studio to create new and update datasets.  You can also share datasets between VistaDB and SQL Server since they have the same data type mappings.  This makes it easy to have clients using both VistaDB and SQL Server. 

    Where Do I Get Started?

    To try this approach, see Using VistaDB with Typed Datasets - Getting Started for a step-by-step walkthrough.

    Show Me Some Samples

    There are several sample applications that get installed with VistaDB 6.  All of the samples are installed in the Public Documents folder on your computer, typically C:\Users\Public\Documents\VistaDB 6.  Within the Samples folder look at the SimpleSamples collection to get started.

    See Also