桌面应用程序的数据库托管

Question

I am seeking a way to access database (sql server or mysql) via application. The tricky part is that the application (C# based) will be present on several machines and they all have to access same data, which means I have to think a way to host the database. And this is where I need help...all I find in the internet is web site databases which are not accessible in desktop apps or payed hosting... hosting the database from my machine is also an option although I'm not sure if it is possible at all. So all sorts of options are welcome.

Answer 1

Data access is an application independant issue.

It shouldn't matter if your application is desktop-based or web-based, as both (web and desktop) would use C#, they use the same code to access the database.

It also wouldn't matter if it was on the same machine or the other end of the world, it would (probably) go over TCP/IP, to connect.

What do you do, totally depends on needs/budget.

Answer 2

You're fine with SQL server.

The only requirement for code accessing a database is that it can actually access it (ie establish a connection to the DB).

I've done a project recently whereby all computers (7 in total) were already connected in a small office network. One of these computers was chosen as the host and acted as the DB server, whilst the code on all other 'client' computers contained a connection string that pointed to this one host; I get the impression this is what you're after.

With that in mind, develop your application as though the DB were local (I would actually recommend you do code against a local SQL server instance during dev) and worry about the data access later when it comes to amending the connection string (as long as you're sure you will have the facilities in place to allow this connection).

I would recommend you factor in some additional time for installation of configuration of your SQL server if you're new to this. It won't be a massive task, but don't underestimate it if you're working off time estimates.

Answer 3

Website Database accessed by Desktop Application! I wrote a set of simple PHP pages that provide query access from my MySQL database on a remote web server to my desktop windows forms application. These pages use small PHP scripts to provide insert, select, update, and delete capabilities. The C# desktop app posts sql statements via System.Net.Http.HttpClient to these web pages. The pages perform the sql and return information to the System.Net.Http.HttpResponseMessage object.

In the case of select statements, the php has a small script that converts the database rows to XML to return to the response object. You can then use a System.Data.DataSet to import the XML string by the ReadXml method.

My website has a fixed IP and an SSL certificate. The scripts demand https://... and reject any request made with just http://...

Because of the round trip data access time, the application is a little slower than if the database was on a local server. You can secure access by requiring certain credentials in your post requests.

A benefit is that independent users can access the data without having to be on a particular network.

For you as the developer, it may be easier to develop windows desktop apps with complex UI operations than trying it on a website.

Answer 4

I have same issue, a desktop app (vb) with a mysql database hosted in my website. The idea is: have an online database that i can use it anywhere, for example: i can develop an app mobile to read or validate some infos... Any ideas please?