#11: Vitamin C# for the newbies

This blog is intended for those who want to learn how to create a database driven windows application in .Net platform. Though I am not that expert but I just want to share what I had learned especially for those who wants to pursue a career in Software development. I require you to have Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and MS Access installed in your PC.

Vitamin C#?

I know most of us are aware that Vitamin C is good for our immune system. But we're not talkin' about vitamins here. What I am trying to say is that let's take a look at the C# not as a guitar chord but as a coding standard. I am referring to Microsoft's C# programming language. Check wiki for the history and background of this language.

Let's start from the very beginning

A very good to start is, to start from the very beginning. Yeah you're right I got it from a song but we'll apply it in software development. Let's say we want to have a Customer list data application. We need to retrieve the data from the database and display it in the datagrid. For this example, we will use MS Access database. 

The Database

Open MS Access and create new database and call it Database1. Be sure to know the exact path of this database. In your Access DB, create new table and call it tblCustomer. Add ID, LastName, FirstName, Birthdate, Address and ContactNo datafields as shown below;

Now, let's add sample data on the database then close Access application.

The Project

Open Visual Studio and create new project. Select Visual C# Windows in the project template. Name the project as CustomerApp. Click browse to select the project path and click OK when done.

By default, the template will create a windows form and the Solution folder for the CustomerApp. Right click on the CustomerApp project and select add new folder then name it appdata. Again, right click on the CustomerApp project and select add Existing Item then browse to the access database that we just created.

Just cancel the Data Source configuration wizard. We will create our own data source configuration. Go to the form and add a datagrid then name it dgvCustomer;

 

The Codes

Double click on the form to view the code behind. By default, the following code should be seen;

Since we are using the Access Database, we need to declare OleDB by adding the following line;

using System.Data.OleDb; 

Now, we will create a function to call the data from the tblCustomer and display it in our datagrid.

 private void LoadCustomerData()
   {
      DataSet DtSet = new DataSet();
     //set the datasource

      string conn= "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=appdata/Database1.mdb;Persist Security  Info=False;";
      OleDbConnection mycon = new OleDbConnection(conn);
      mycon.Open();
      string strSql;
      strSql = "SELECT * FROM tblCustomer ";
 
      OleDbDataAdapter myDataAdapter = new OleDbDataAdapter(strSql, mycon);
      myDataAdapter.Fill(DtSet);

     dgvCustomer.DataSource = DtSet.Tables[0];
    mycon.Close();
    }

Then call LoadCustomerData in the form load event such as;

 private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            LoadCustomerData();
        }

Now, try running the project by pressing F5. You should see the following output;

It's more fun in Boracay

One of the best summer getaway here in the Philippines is the Boracay Island. It is one of the famous tourist destination and in fact it is currently holding the title as the world's second best beach. Accordingly, the name Boracay was derive from the word "borac" which means white cotton because of its white powdery sand.


Boracay is an Island in the Western Visayas which is  under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan. It has a total land area of 10.32 square kilometers. It was believe that boracay was home of the Ati Tribe. But by 1990s, the beaches was developed and become a popular tourist destination up to this day.

How to go to Boracay?

From Manila, you can catch up flights going to Caticlan or via Kalibo. When in Kalibo, there are available buses or vans for the tourist going to pier. I haven't tried Caticlan but I am sure there are available vehicles that would take you to the pier station. It take us about two (2) hours from the Kalibo airport to the pier station. Its far but you get the chance to look around Kalibo. For first timers, I recommend to stop by Kalibo and see the beauty within.

From the pier station, there are available boat going to the Boracay Island. 

The Beach

Boracay is known for its beautiful beach. We stayed at the  La Carmela de boracay resort but there are also a lot of resorts within Station 2 which you can choose to stay. A lot of activities you can do when you're in Boracay. You can have Island hopping, snorkeling, scuba diving, helmet diving and a lot more. For the food, if you are into tight budget, there are affordable food counters like Mang Inasal, Andoks, eat-all-you can buffets and other food stores no space to mention here. At night, there are live bands, fire dancing and bar parties.


I've taken some photos, take a look and enjoy the show!

#10: WCF Service with Entity Framework

On my previous blog, we created a WCF service. This time I'll show you how to use a WCF service with the Entity Framework. First, we will create an ADO.Net Data Entity, then we will create a list collection Class in which we use to call the data in our Entity table.

In the solutions folder, right click on the project and click add new item. Under add new item window, select Ado.Net Entity Data model.

Under the data source, select which data provider. I am using a MySQL database, thus I used the MySQL Data provider.

Be sure to check on the Save entity connection setting in Web Config. This will generate a connection string on your web config.

Now select which table, views or stored procedure you want to use for this entity. Click finish and we have now a data entity model.

Here's how to use your entity model. First, let's create a class in which we will collect the data from our entity. In the solutions, right click on your project and add new item, select Class and name it TestDataClass.cs and follow the ff code;

 [DataContract ]

    public class TestDataClass

    {

        [DataMember]

        public DateTime TimeOff { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public string Cause { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public decimal Duration { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public decimal Customer { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public decimal TotalOutage { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public string UtilityName { get; set; }

        [DataMember]

        public int ID { get; set; }

    }

The above data member are the matching data on my entity table. You can create your own data member class depending on your table schema. I created this one so that I can create a list collection data which I will call it on the TestService.svc (we created the TestService.svc on the previous blog http://leeandotnet.blogspot.com/2012/03/9-wcf-service-application.html) 

Add the code below on the TestService.svc;

public List<TestDataClass> GetAllResultData()

        {

            List<TestDataClass> lstTestData = new List<TestDataClass>();

            using (aerinetdbEntities  aerinetDB = new aerinetdbEntities())

            {

                var id = from p in aerinetDB .testwcfs  

                              select p;

                foreach (testwcf b in id)

                {

                    TestDataClass a = new TestDataClass();

                    a.TimeOff = b.TimeOff.Value;

                    a.Cause = b.Cause;

                    a.Duration = b.Duration.Value;

                    a.Customer = b.Customer.Value;

                    a.TotalOutage = b.Customer.Value ;

                    a.UtilityName = b.UtilityName;

                    a.ID = b.id;

                    lstTestData.Add(a);

                }

            }

            return lstTestData;

        }

Then your ITestService, add this;

 [OperationContract]

        List<TestDataClass>  GetAllResultData ();

Build your WCF project and publish.

You can call this by adding the WCF to your service referrence and using the code below. Let's just say that we want to display this on our datagrid named dgvList.

             MyTestService = New AerinetWCFWebService.TestServiceClient() ;

             AerinetWCFWebService.TestDataClass  lstData  =  new AerinetWCFWebService.TestDataClass();

          

            dgvList.DataSource = AerinetService.GetAllResultData() 

It's more fun in CDO

Time to break the ice, stop coding and have fun! Anyway, it's summer time as announce by Pag Asa days ago. This is my first contribution to "Its more fun in the Philippines". For me yes it is so much fun living in your own country but its a sad reality that most filipinos living here wants to go abroad. Even the government promote College and University students to take courses which are most demand job abroad. But on the lighter side, Pinoys, no matter how hard life is, still have time to make some fun.

Chada CDO!. This happens about a month ago. Me and my lovely wife attended her sisters' wedding in Cagayan de Oro city. Its my third time visiting this city and all I can say is "Wah", I mean wonderful! Here's a shot at the  CDO airport;

Before airport touchdown, I saw the villages that was wiped out when Typhoon Sendong strikes the city. Its a sad story but all we can do is pray and hope it won't happen again.

CDO is a nice place, not so traffic like Manila. Well, we really didn't roam around the city, its a big place and we have a little time to prepare for the wedding.

Introducing the Dahilayan  Adventure. When you're in CDO, one of the favorite destination is the Dahilayan Adventure Park which is an hour and half drive from the city. Dahilayan is famous with their Longest Dual Zipline, which they claim as Asia's Longest Dual Zipline.

http://www.dahilayanadventurepark.com

Before reaching Dahilayan, we stop first at Camp Phillips to take some pictures. This place is known because of the Del Monte plantation.

This is the biggest pineapple plantation as far as I had seen. Also, you can find the biggest pineapple here. 

The Biggest Pineapple in the world! (But you can't eat this)

 

The road going to Dahilayan is so tough. But when you reach the place, its a perfect spot to take a rest. The temperature is so cool like Baguio City.

We stop at Dahilayan Forest Park. Check out some fees here;

There are also available rooms if you want to stay overnight. But you know what's more fun here? of course the longest Zipline. 

Me (left) and my travel buddy also known as the "groom" BJay

Fly like a Superman

smile and tell the world you survive!

P. S.: Please check your vital signs before doing the Zipline. This is an extreme adventure, like flying without wings!

#9 : WCF Service Application

Windows Communication Foundation or simply we call it WCF, is part of .Net framework that provides a programming model for building service- oriented applications. You can use it to communicate services across the web or within the enterprise applications. Consider a scenario when you want to develop an application that can be accessible by other software running inside or outside your company. WCF is the best way to develop such application.

Let's start with building a simple WCF Service Application. Open Visual Studio 2010 and create new project. Select WCF Service Application as shown below;

Type in the name of this service. In this example, we will it MyFirstWCF. When you click OK, you will notice that the selected template will automatically create Service1.svc and IService1.cs. Since we want to create from scratch, remove Service1.svc and IService1.cs. On the Solution explorer, right click on your project name and select add new item. Select WCF service and name it TestService.svc.

This will create a TestService.svc and ITestService.cs. Check you Solution explorer you should have the items as shown;

Double click on TestService.svc  and type the code below;

public string SayHi(String yourname)

        {

            return "Hi " + yourname;

        }

Go to ITService.cs and type the code below;

 [OperationContract]

        string SayHi(String yourname);

Go back to TestService.svc  and press F5. The WCF Test Client window will show;

To test the service, double click on the "SayHi" type a name under the Request value and click invoke. The service should have a Response value "Hi " + name.

Our first WCF Service Application is done. You can now deploy it in the web or in your own local IIS. Then add this service in your Client application. You can call this service by using the ff;

static void Main()
    {
        TestServiceClient client = new TestServiceClient();
        client.SayHi("YourName")
        client.Close();
    }