I am confused between localDB and SQL Server. What is actual difference between using LocalDB and SQL Server? And, which one is recommended?
LocalDB is a lightweight version of the SQL Server Express Database Engine that is targeted for program development. LocalDB starts on demand and runs in user mode, so there is no complex configuration or installation of a full blown DB engine.
From Introducing LocalDB, an improved SQL Express:
LocalDB is created specifically for developers. It is very easy to install and requires no management, yet it offers the same T-SQL language, programming surface and client-side providers as the regular SQL Server Express. In effect the developers that target SQL Server no longer have to install and manage a full instance of SQL Server Express on their laptops and other development machines.
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I have followed through a tutorial using a "Code First" approach with Entity framework. It seems like Visual Studio was smart enough to create the database for me and setup the tables and everything based on my classes. I have a question about the database that was created.
I notice that the database was automatically set up and I could see it in my Server Explorer window in Visual Studio. In my Web.config, under the connection string, I see Data Source=(localdb)\v11.0;.... There is also a .mdf file created in a folder called App_Data.
My question is:
Was Entity framework using MS SQL Server or SQL Express for the database it has created?
If it wasn't using MS SQL Server or SQL Express, what was the database that Entity used?
I don't remember installing SQL Server or SQL Express. Does installing Visual Studio automatically install MS SQL Server or SQL Server Express?
PS: I will appreciate if you can help me to clear up my doubts. Coming from a PHP background, I'm very new to .NET and its ecosystem.
The connection string indicate that you are using SQL Server Local DB.
With Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Microsoft has introduced a feature called LocalDB which is a new edition of SQL Express. LocalDB is created specifically for developers and it is much easier to install (no service) and manage than standard editions. Developers initiate a connection by using a special connection string. It supports AttachDbFileName property, which allows you to specify a database file location.
When connecting, the server is automatically created and started, enabling the application to use the database without complex configuration tasks. This edition uses the same sqlservr.exe as the regular SQL Express and other editions of SQL Server.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn434042.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh212961.aspx
I've just built my first Umbraco site and now I want to hand it over for deployment on a web server. However, I built the site on my local machine using Web Matrix, which uses a SQL Server Compact Edition database, which is represented in a .sdf file.
I was a bit uneasy about whether this would be much use to the person I'm passing the site to (they have a number of Umbraco based sites running on this server using SQL Server) - so I installed SQL Server Express and migrated the database from Compact Edition to Express. However (again), I can't seem to find any way of exporting the full database to a file which can then by imported into a database on the web server.
A couple of points I guess - first, is the Compact Edition .sdf file actually enough for someone to take and import a database into SQL Server Standard? Failing that, how would I export the database from SQL Server Express to a file which could be used for this purpose?
Thanks in advance - this is my first foray into .net development so I'm grateful for any help!
You could just give the SQL CE database (.sdf) to the person who manages the web server. The SQL CE database can be run by default on a .NET webserver.
If, for some reason, you want to migrate it to SQL Server, you can do this through Web Matrix (http://www.microsoft.com/web/)
When you have already converted the SQL CE database to SQL Server, you can:
make a backup through the SQL Server Management Studio tool and restore the backup on the web server
or you can use the SQL Server Management Studio tool to script the database to a .sql file which can be executed on the web server
I prefer the first option.
For some reason I'm not able to install a separate SQL Server instance on my pc, but I do have Visual Studio 2010 installed. I want to use the built-in SQL server bundled with VS2010, but I'm not sure how to do that. Is it possible to create a database and tables to use in my ASP.Net apps with the built-in SQL server rather than installing a separate one?
Visual Studio 2010 does not have a built-in SQL server. However, a free version of Microsoft SQL Server called 'SQL Server Express' comes with it, it's an option when installing Visual Studio.
Because this version is free for anyone to download, it has some limitations, like for example: only one CPU can be used by the express version, the maximum size of a database is 4 GB (10GB in 2008 R2), it can only use up to 1GB of RAM and it doesn't have the 'SQL Server Agent' service.
Using SQL Server Express is very similar to using a full version of SQL Server. You just have to specify the data source (the SQL server's name) and authentication details in a connection string and you're good to go. More information about how to use this is available on MSDN.
Another option is 'SQL Server Compact', which is meant mostly for web databases (for use with ASP.Net). You can install it with Microsoft's 'Web Platform Installer'. You can find more information about SQL Server Compact on MSDN.
I know next to nothing about databases, but need to store and present user input on my ASP.NET tiny website (up to several thousand records). Should I consider SQL Server Compact Edition? In Microsoft docs I found:
SQL Server Compact 3.5 is not currently optimized to serve as a database for Web sites. By default, connections from ASP.NET-connected applications are blocked in SQL Server Compact 3.5. SQL Server Compact 3.5 is optimized for use as an embedded database within applications. Using SQL Server Compact 3.5 as a database for Web sites requires support for multiple users and concurrent data changes. This can cause performance problems. Therefore, these scenarios are not supported. Other editions of SQL Server, including SQL Server 2005 Express Edition and later versions, are optimized to serve as a database for Web sites.
But then I remember reading some user comment that the 4.0 version of SQL Server CE is finally working OK in ASP.NET scenario. Anyone care to share his experience? I would like to try CE first as SQL server requires additional fee on my hosting.
From the download site for SQL Server Compact 4.0:
Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 is a free, embedded database that software developers can use for building ASP.NET websites and Windows desktop applications.
And:
SQL Server Compact 4.0 enables new scenarios and includes a host of new features, including the following:
SQL Server Compact 4.0 is the default database for Microsoft WebMatrix, which is a stack of web technologies for easily building and deploying websites on the Windows platform.
(emphasis mine)
In conclusion - it has specifically been enhanced for web scenarios.
Yes, SQL Server Compact 4.0 has been designed with scenarios similiar to yours in mind.
New Embedded Database Support with ASP.NET
SQL CE is a free, embedded, database engine that enables easy database storage.
No Database Installation Required
SQL CE does not require you to run a setup or install a database
server in order to use it. You can simply copy the SQL CE binaries
into the \bin directory of your ASP.NET application, and then your web
application can use it as a database engine. No setup or extra
security permissions are required for it to run. You do not need to
have an administrator account on the machine. Just copy your web
application onto any server and it will work. This is true even of
medium-trust applications running in a web hosting environment.
SQL CE runs in-memory within your ASP.NET application and will
start-up when you first access a SQL CE database, and will
automatically shutdown when your application is unloaded. SQL CE
databases are stored as files that live within the \App_Data folder of
your ASP.NET Applications.
Visual Studio 2010 SP1 includes new tooling support for SQL CE
Ok! I'm ready to embark on some .NET development for the first time.
I've recently installed Microsoft Visual Studio which included Microsoft SQL Sever 2005.
What is the prefered method for programming against a development database? I want to write an ASP.NET application that uses a database and I'm not sure how to create one. In my start menu for SQL Server 2005 all I have is:
SQL Server Configuration Manager
SQL Server Error and Usage Reports
SQL Server Surface Area Config
I don't see an intuitive program to create and design databases on that list, so how do I do it?! Will I be creating a full fledged SQL Server database or a "flat-file" fake database to program against?
Can someone please tell me what is up on creating my first MS SQL Server 2005 database?
If you've Visual Studio, just goto server explorer, Add a new database connection to your database, and start off.
Or, create a new website project in Visual studio, right click the App_Data folder->Add New Item and add a SQL Server database mdf file, which will be attached to the sql server when you run the app. You need to deploy the mdf file when doing a production release :)
You might want to watch the videos in ASP.NET website http://www.asp.net/learn/
Otherwise, consider using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (an express edition is also available).
You are looking for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express. Its pretty easy to add a database once you get your head around it.
To be clear, the SQL Server included with Visual Studio is an express edition. However, the one thing it is lacking is the SQL Server Management Studio (Express). I'd download and install the express edition that included the management studio (note that VS 2005 and 2008 include SQL Express 2005, you can use either SQL Express 2005 or 2008 for your purposes).
You can create a new database and do everything you need to from within the VS IDE but you'll probably find the SQL Management Studio environment much more intuitive and simpler to use as a beginner.
A quick note on SQL Express - Microsoft doesn't suggest it for 'production' environments due to limitations placed on the amount of RAM that Express can see/use and a few other factors. This is one of the few cases in which I agree - if you're doing anything complex that involves large databases or dozens of users then invest in MSSQL Workgroup Edition at least, or for Enterprise projects use MSSQL Standard or Enterprise versions.