[help] Visual Studio .net 2005 Questions

[dhanesh1405241511 0]

Heya folks, i am back again with my annoying questions I have this project to submit by the 7th of may and i am really desperate for some help here. I will put my questions in numbers so it would be easy for you to solve them without confusion.

 

1) Earlier in a post i had asked if i could create Vista compatible applications in VB .NET 2005. Well i got a good response and i went ahead and installed the needful, but i still think something is wrong. Not that i know alot of whats going on around me here, but something just doesn't seem right. This is what i did:

a) Installed VB .NET 2005 (Full), and updated it via windows update. So everything is pretty much updated.

Went to the microsoft site and downloaded Microsoft® Windows® Software Development Kit for Windows Vista⢠and .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components from >>HERE<<. The full ISO and not the web setup.

c) Popped in the DVD and autostarted the installation, which was completed normally like any other installation.

d) I went under All Programs > Microsoft Windows SDK > Visual Studio Registration .. and selected Integrate Windows SDK with Visual Studio 2005. After this it showd me 2 alert boxes that said it would change the include, lib and global settings of VS C++ and another one that said Windows SDK VC++ include, lib and global settings successfully updated.

 

I didnt get any alert saying VB .NET so i am just a little confused about the whole thing of installing the SDK. If anyone can spare the time, and tell me how to install from the start with the things i have or what more to download, then that would be really helpful at this point.

 

2) Secondly, i ran through a slight problem with the database in VB 2005. I went to Server explorer and added a New Data Connection .. everything went fine till the "test connection" part and it shows in the Server Explorer. Now in VB 2003 the next step would be to add a Data Adapter. In VB 2005 i cant tend to find this option. The options under data are, DataSet, DataGridView, BindingSource and BindingNavigator.

 

As far as i have learned, we have to add a data connection > then add a data adapter > then finally add a DataSet so updating and editing or records can be accomplished.

 

Please correct me if i am wrong anywhere and Hope to see some replies soon

 

Regards

Dhanesh.

[faulty.lee 0]

1) You don't really need that SDK if you're just writing general VB.NET application. That SDK is for the OS itself, if you need to access certain component in the OS specifically, as the name says "MicrosoftÂŽ WindowsÂŽ Software Development Kit". Anyway, if you're going to write .Net 3.0 "specific" application, then you might need it. The other thing is, .Net 3.0 is an extension of .Net 2.0, since .Net 2.0 comes with VS 2005 and along with the .Net SDK. most of the things you need is already there.

After this it showd me 2 alert boxes that said it would change the include, lib and global settings of VS C++ and another one that said Windows SDK VC++ include, lib and global settings successfully updated.

Those are for C++ only, so it will not affect your .Net programming

2)I'm not that familiar with VS 2005, but as I've played with it for a while, the steps to create Data Connection has changed. The data connection you created will have it's data adaptor kinda built in it. When you're ask to create the "SELECT" statement, you'll see and "Advance" button, clicking that will bring you to the full data adaptor settings, the "INSERT", "UPDATE", "DELETE" are all there.

You'll need to get a book for VS 2005 if you really want to get pass this.

I've a question for you though, since you've learn VS 2003, and sound like you're more familiar with it, why not just use it to write an .Net 1.1 application? I'm asking cause i'm doing that too, and i don't like Vista.

[dhanesh1405241511 0]

Thanks fo the quick reply lee.1) I got what you are trying to tell me, but my question was how do i know if Vista capable software can be compiled on the installed products. I did everything normally as per instructions, but those 2 alert boxes made me to think that they affected only the VC++ part of VS2005. Is there a way to check if the application i create hereon will be with the 3.0 Vista SDK or just the default 2.0 that was installed with VS2005.2) For the DataAdapter, well i directly went to a textbox propertie and tried to do databinding from there. The DataAdapter got added automatically with 2 other things. Selected the Database etc and went through some screens. Added a forward and Back button to go through records just to test. But after successfull compilation and trying to hit next and back, i cant see the data in those boxes. Theres something to do with FILLING the dataset, but dont know how to do it here. Any help in this context would be great.The reason i want 3.0 is that in my presentation, i mentioned that my software will be vista compatible (lol, big mistake .. got caught in the moment), so incase they try to run and check the compatibility on vista, then i have a problem in hand.RegardsDhanesh.

[turbopowerdmaxsteel 0]

As lee said, you don't need to have the .NET Framework 3.0 to run an application on vista. Even an application compiled with VB6 should run on it, thanks to the backward compatibility. I certainly have one of my .NET 2.0 application running successfully on Vista.

The reason i want 3.0 is that in my presentation, i mentioned that my software will be vista compatible (lol, big mistake .. got caught in the moment), so in case they try to run and check the compatibility on vista, then i have a problem in hand.

It is the setup of an application which tries to validate whether the OS is sufficient to run the application and not the application itself.

[faulty.lee 0]

2) For the DataAdapter, well i directly went to a textbox propertie and tried to do databinding from there. The DataAdapter got added automatically with 2 other things. Selected the Database etc and went through some screens. Added a forward and Back button to go through records just to test. But after successfull compilation and trying to hit next and back, i cant see the data in those boxes. Theres something to do with FILLING the dataset, but dont know how to do it here. Any help in this context would be great.
The reason i want 3.0 is that in my presentation, i mentioned that my software will be vista compatible (lol, big mistake .. got caught in the moment), so incase they try to run and check the compatibility on vista, then i have a problem in hand.

Regards
Dhanesh.

This one i'm a bit out, since i seldom use VS 2005, i'll leave this to some other's who is more familiar

The reason i want 3.0 is that in my presentation, i mentioned that my software will be vista compatible (lol, big mistake .. got caught in the moment), so incase they try to run and check the compatibility on vista, then i have a problem in hand.

Like turbopowerdmaxsteel said, vista is backward compatible. So to be on the safe side, .Net 2.0 is more than enough. .Net 3.0 is just an extension to .Net 2.0, as mention in Microsoft's own website. Thus, there won't be any problem. Btw, .Net 3.0 only added the WinFX on top of what .Net 2.0 provide

[dhanesh1405241511 0]

It is the setup of an application which tries to validate whether the OS is sufficient to run the application and not the application itself.

No, Its just a clause i added in the presentation before i started developing the project. So the tension comes up when the faculty asks me for an explaination as to why and how my software is vista compatible. The application setup does not validate if the software can run on vista
I didnt have much of a knowledge in Framework 2.0/3.0, hence all that tension rising up. But if you say that an application developed in VB 2005 (Framework 2.0) works well on vista (vista compatible), then well my problem is solved. I just need to find the right explaination to give the auditors when they come to review the software by the end of the semester. Reading all those sites and tutorials are confusing me, and i still cant tend to find an explaination to give them as to why and how i said "Vista Compatible" in my project report. If you could give a small guideline on this, it would be helpful .. then later i can elaborate and detail that explaination.

This one i'm a bit out, since i seldom use VS 2005, i'll leave this to some other's who is more familiar

No problemo lee, u've helped quiet alot in solving my queries here I went past through the problem of adding data from the database to the datagrid etc. My university still worships 2003 and the only 2005 related book i could find, helped me a great deal. Even if that ment sitting for 5 hrs just to understand how database connections are made in VB 2005 lol. Its just that i dont have all that time, and learning on my own is going to slow me down.

Like turbopowerdmaxsteel said, vista is backward compatible. So to be on the safe side, .Net 2.0 is more than enough. .Net 3.0 is just an extension to .Net 2.0, as mention in Microsoft's own website. Thus, there won't be any problem. Btw, .Net 3.0 only added the WinFX on top of what .Net 2.0 provide

This would help me explain why i wrote "vista compatible" in my presentation to the faculty. But as i mentioned earlier, it would be helpful if you could just explain a small paragraph in general on whats the difference between 3.0 and 2.0 and why i can use 2.0 to create vista compatible applications etc. I am a bad explainer, so hope you know what i mean. Just one line saying "vista compatible" made me go through all this trauma lol. Would appriciate any comments or suggestions on this topic.
Thanks again,
Regards
Dhanesh.

[faulty.lee 0]

I've quoted from here http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

The Framework

 

.NET 3.0 is.NET 2.0 plus the four new components. Those four core technologies are called the â.NET 3.0 Componentsâ.

 

When you install .NET 3.0, it will put the .NET 2.0 framework and the .NET 3.0 components on your computer. If you already have .NET 2.0, then it will just add the 3.0 components. If you have Vista, it's all there already since those .NET 3.0 tools are a core part of Vista as well. Looking in your folders, you will see the .NET 2.0 stuff where you are used to seeing it - in Microsoft.NET\Framework\V2.0.50727. There will also be a Microsoft.NET\Framework\V3.0 folder that has just the four .NET 3.0 components in it.

 

Nothing in For the most part.NET 2.0 is not really changing. According to Scott Nonnenberg's comments (thanks Scott!), there will be Service Pack level fixes to .Net 2.0 components to avoid breaking changes. That's almost ânothingâ, but it's still something.

 

This is another quote from Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework

.NET Framework 3.0, formerly called WinFX,[3] includes a new set of managed code APIs that are an integral part of Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" operating systems. It is also available for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 as a download. There are no major architectural changes included with this release; .NET Framework 3.0 includes version 2.0 of the Common Language Runtime. The .NET 3.0 installer available from Microsoft checks to see if .NET 2.0 is already installed. If not, it installs it and then installs .NET 3.0 components. Otherwise it just installs .NET 3.0 components. This means that if you do not have .NET 2.0 installed, you do not need to install it; you can install .NET 3.0 straight away. .NET 1.1 and its service-pack, however, must be installed separately, preferably before installing .NET 3.0.

This is a quote from MS' site

https://www.microsoft.com/net

Q: How does the .NET Framework 3.0 relate to the .NET Framework 2.0?

A: The .NET Framework 3.0 is an additive release to the .NET Framework 2.0. The .NET Framework 3.0 adds four new technologies to the .NET Framework 2.0: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and Windows CardSpace. There are no changes to the version of the .NET Framework 2.0 components included in the .NET Framework 3.0. This means that the millions of developers who use .NET today can use the skills they already have to start building .NET Framework 3.0 applications. It also means that applications that run on the .NET Framework 2.0 today will continue to run on the .NET Framework 3.0.

 

Q: My organization went through the approval process of supporting the .NET Framework 2.0 in production. Do we need to go through the same process all over again for the .NET Framework 3.0? Do I need to do any application compatibility testing for my .NET Framework 2.0 applications?

A: Because the .NET Framework 3.0 only adds new components to the .NET Framework 2.0 without changing any of the components released in the .NET Framework 2.0, the applications you've built on the .NET Framework 2.0 will not be affected. You donât need to do any additional testing for your .NET Framework 2.0 applications when you install the .NET Framework 3.0.

 

Q: Will the name change be reflected in any of the existing .NET Framework 2.0 APIs, assemblies, or namespaces?

A: There will be no changes to any of the existing .NET Framework 2.0 APIs, assemblies, or namespaces. The applications that you've built on .NET Framework 2.0 will continue to run on the .NET Framework 3.0 just as they have before.

 

Q: Which version of the Common Language Runtime (CLR) does the .NET Framework 3.0 use?

The .NET Framework 3.0 uses the 2.0 version of the CLR. With this release, the overall developer platform version has been decoupled from the core CLR engine version. We expect the lower level components of the .NET Framework such as the engine to change less than higher level APIs, and this decoupling helps retain customers' investments in the technology.

Basically, this means you just need to get a service pack for .Net 2.0, then you're vista ready (even better than vista compatible ;-))

[turbopowerdmaxsteel 0]

The application setup does not validate if the software can run on vista

 

It does my friend. The setup performs a lot of other validations including this one. I have seen many applications end up with "This OS is not supported" during installation. However, if you manage to get pass the validation or just use a copy of its program files directory from another machine, you wouldn't find a single hitch in its working. As an example, I could say the Cyberoam Client for 24Online software that connects me to the Internet.

 

This would help me explain why i wrote "vista compatible" in my presentation to the faculty. But as i mentioned earlier, it would be helpful if you could just explain a small paragraph in general on whats the difference between 3.0 and 2.0 and why i can use 2.0 to create vista compatible applications etc. I am a bad explainer, so hope you know what i mean. Just one line saying "vista compatible" made me go through all this trauma lol. Would appriciate any comments or suggestions on this topic.

When you say a vista compatible application, you are talking about an application that would work in harmony with the OS. It doesn't have to use every new feature that the OS adds. 3.0 ships in with a new set of APIs that are an integral part of Vista, so that you can make your applications use the new capabilities of the OS.

 

.NET Framework 3.0 consists of four major new components:

 

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), formerly code-named Avalon; a new user interface subsystem and API based on XML and vector graphics, which uses 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. See WPF SDK for developer articles and documentation on WPF.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), formerly code-named Indigo; a service-oriented messaging system which allows programs to interoperate locally or remotely similar to web services.

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) allows for building of task automation and integrated transactions using workflows.

Windows CardSpace (WCS), formerly code-named InfoCard; a software component which securely stores a person's digital identities and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging in to a website.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework

[dhanesh1405241511 0]

Sorry for the late reply and thanks a million for those explainations and the websites. Was preparing the mid-sem report / presentation for the software so kinda got caught up in it. I used a few but not all points from the explainations you gave me, just so that my faculty can understand what i am doing, in a better technical way.

 

If i may trouble you folks again, please keep your eyes peeled on this section for some random questions i may put through while developing my application.

 

Once again thanks a million to turbopowerdmaxsteel and faulty.lee for helping me out in such a patient way

 

Regards

Dhanesh.