Programming with SQL Azure : Connecting to SQL Azure (part 3) - ODBC

Do this the proper way and create an enumeration to handle the type of connection you're using.

Modify the GetConString method as shown in the following snippet to take a parameter. The parameter lets you specify the connection type so you can return the correct type of connection string (either ADO.NET or ODBC). Be sure to use your correct password and server name with the correct server. If the value of ADO_NET is passed into this method, the ADO.NET connection string is returned; otherwise the ODBC connection string is returned:

enum ConnType
{
    ADO_NET = 1,
    ODBC = 2
}
string GetConString(ConnType connType)
{
    if (connType == ConnType.ADO_NET)
        return "Server=tcp:servername.database.windows.net;Database=TechBio;
            User ID=SQLScott@servername;Password=password;
            Trusted_Connection=False;Encrypt=True;";
    else
        return "Driver={SQL Server Native Client 10.0};Server=tcp:servername.database.windows.net;
                    Database=TechBio;Uid=SQLScott@servername;Pwd=password;Encrypt=yes;";
}

					  

Place a second button on the form, along with a DataGridView. In its click event, add the following code. This code is just like the code from the ADO.NET example, but it uses the Odbc data classes versus the Sql data classes. For clarity, change the Text property of this new button to "ODBC" so you know the difference between this button and the first button. Notice in the code that the value "ODBC" is passed in the GetConString method, returning the ODBC connection string:

string connStr = GetConString(ConnType.ODBC);

using (OdbcConnection conn = new OdbcConnection(connStr))
{
    try
    {
        conn.Open();
        OdbcDataAdapter da = new OdbcDataAdapter();
        OdbcCommand cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT Name FROM Users", conn);
        cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
        da.SelectCommand = cmd;
        DataSet ds = new DataSet("Users");
        da.Fill(ds);
        listBox1.DataSource = ds.Tables[0];
        dataGridView1.DataSource = ds.Tables[0];
        listBox1.DisplayMember = "Name";

    }
    catch (OdbcException ex)
    {
        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message.ToString());

}
}

Run the project, and click the ODBC button. As in the previous example, the list box populates with the names from the Users table. The grid also populates with the same set of names (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Finished form with data