Working with Database Projects

A database project is a collection of one or more data connections that enable you to access your server database. When you create a database project, you can connect to one or more databases through ODBC or OLE DB. You can view their components through a visual user interface.

You can use database projects in Microsoft^® Visual InterDev™, Microsoft^® Visual C++^®, and Microsoft^® Visual J++™ with the Visual Database Tools, as described below.

Note   In Microsoft^® Visual Basic^®, database projects are not used. You can use the Data Project template to create a new project, which adds default controls and objects, including the data environment. To use the Visual Database Tools in Visual Basic, you can either add a data connection to the data environment, or make a data connection directly from the Data View window. Also, in Visual Basic, all data connections are made through OLE DB, although you can still use ODBC data source names (DSNs) to define your connections.

In Visual InterDev, you can use database projects to create and manage databases and database objects using SQL script files. You can put these files under source control. You also don't need to create a data connection for a database project until you want to execute an SQL script. For more information on using database projects in Visual InterDev, see Managing Database Projects.

By creating a database project, you can:

• Create, edit, or delete database objects in the Database Designer for Microsoft^® SQL Server™ 6.5 databases and Oracle databases while you are directly connected to the database in which those objects are stored.
  
  
• Interact with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle server databases using database diagrams. Database diagrams graphically represent tables, the columns they contain, and the relationships between them. You can use database diagrams to:
  • View the tables in your database and their relationships.
    
    
  • Perform complex operations to alter the structure of your database, such as changing table definitions, column names, and data types.
• Create, modify, execute, and save queries with the Query Designer, which includes a visual query tool, an interactive SQL window, and an output window for viewing and updating result sets.
  
  
• Share queries between applications. You can:
  • Drag a saved query file into any editor in your development environment to insert the query's SQL statement into that editor. For example, you can drag a query file onto the Visual Database Tools stored procedure editor to add the SQL statement to a stored procedure, or drag a saved query into the Visual C++ or Visual J++ editor to add the SQL statement to your ODBC code.
    
    
  • Drag a query into any OLE container, such as a Microsoft^® Excel spreadsheet, or paste it into an application or component that isn't an OLE container. For example, you can paste the SQL statement into Microsoft^® Access as a pass-through query without having to test it again.

  Note   This drag-and-drop feature is not available in Visual Basic. You can, however, paste the SQL statement into your code in a Visual Basic project to set the SQL property of a Remote Data Objects (RDO) Command object.

• Create and execute stored procedures.

Note   If you have installed Visual C++ Enterprise Edition, you can also debug stored procedures. To do so, you must first create a database project; you can then debug the stored procedure within the database project. Stored procedure debugging is also available in Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual InterDev, and Microsoft Visual J++ Enterprise Editions. For more information, see Debugging Stored Procedures in Working with Stored Procedures in Data View.