Data Display and Navigation With Forms

Practical Learning: Navigating Data With Microsoft Access

1. Continuing with Microsoft Access,
2. To generate a new form, in the Tables section of the Database window, click Customers
3. In the Database toolbar, click the arrow of the New Object button and click AutoForm
    
   
4. Save the form as Customers
    
   
5. After using the form, close it by clicking its System Close button 

Data Navigation With a Visual Studio .NET Form

Another friendly environment you can use to create a graphical database application is the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. In reality, Visual Studio is close to SQL Server and you can think that Visual Studio .NET can easily "talk to" a SQL Server database. In fact, the ability to create a SQL Server database is completely possible inside of Visual Studio .NET, so much that you may not need to open either Enterprise Manager or the Query Analyzer to create a database.

As compared to Microsoft Access, Microsoft Visual Studio is richer in terms of Windows controls you can use easily. In fact any type of Windows Forms Controls can be used, some relatively easier, in your database. Another advantage of Visual Studio is that it performs an incredibly good job behind the scenes with its wizards, reducing the amount of code you need to write.

Practical Learning: Navigating Data With a Visual Studio .NET Form

1. Continuing with your Microsoft Visual Studio .NET application, on the form, click the DataGrid control and press Delete to remove it
2. Design the form as follows:
    

   Control Name Text Label   Customer ID: TextBox txtCustomerID   Label   Company Name: TextBox txtCompanyName   Label   Contact Name: TextBox txtContactName   Label   Contact Title: TextBox txtContactTitle   Label   Address: TextBox txtAddress   Label   City: TextBox txtCity   Label   Region: TextBox txtRegion   Label   Postal Code: TextBox txtPostalCode   Label   Country: TextBox txtCountry   Label   Phone: TextBox txtPhone   Label   Fax: TextBox txtFax   Button btnClose Close Button btnFirst | < Button btnPrevious << Button btnNext >> Button btnLast > |

3. Click each control then, in the Properties window, click the + button of DataBindings
4. Click the arrow of the Text combo box and set the values as follows:
    

   Control Name	DataBindings -> Text -> dsCustomers -> Customers
   txtCustomerID	CustomerID
   txtCompanyName	CompanyName
   txtContactName	ContactName
   txtContactTitle	ContactTitle
   txtAddress	Address
   txtCity	City
   txtRegion	Region
   txtPostalCode	PostalCode
   txtCountry	Country
   txtPhone	Phone
   txtFax	Fax

5. Double-click an empty area on the form to access its Load event
6. Double-click the bottom buttons on the form from left to right and implement them as follows:
    

   Visual C++

   private: System::Void Form1_Load(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { this->sqlDataAdapter1->Fill(this->dsCustomers1); } private: System::Void btnClose_Click(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { Close(); } private: System::Void btnFirst_Click(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position = 0; } private: System::Void btnPrevious_Click(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position = this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position - 1; } private: System::Void btnNext_Click(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position = this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position + 1; } private: System::Void btnLast_Click(System::Object * sender, System::EventArgs * e) { this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Position = this->BindingContext->get_Item(this->dsCustomers1, S"Customers")->Count - 1; }

   Visual J#

   Visual Basic

   Visual C#

7. Execute the application to test it
    
   
8. After using the form, close it by clicking its system Close button

Data Navigation With Borland C++ Builder and Delphi

Like any other programming environment, to display a SQL Server table on a VCL form, you can design it. The particularity of the VCL as compared to the Microsoft .NET Framework is that the VCL provides a set of Windows controls especially made for database support. This also allows you to use a combination of regular controls and those made for databases.

Practical Learning: Data Navigation in Borland C++ Builder and Delphi

1. Continuing with your Borland C++ Builder or Delphi application, on the form, click the DBGrid control and press Delete to remove it
2. Design the form as follows (all controls, except for the BitBtn use the same DataSource: dsCustomers):
    

Control Caption DataField Additional Properties Label Customer ID:     DBEdit   CustomerID   Label Company Name:     DBEdit   CompanyName   Label Contact Name:     DBEdit   ContactName   Label Address:     DBEdit   Address   Label City:     DBEdit   City   Label Region:     DBEdit   Region   Label Postal Code:     DBEdit   PostalCode   Label Country:     DBEdit   Country   Label Phone:     DBEdit   Phone   Label Fax:     DBEdit   Fax   DBNavigator       BitBtn     Kind: bkClose

1. On the form, click the ADOTable control and, in the Object Inspector, set its Active property to true 
2. Execute the application. You may receive a warning of "Could Not Convert Variant Of Type...". In that case, click OK and press F9 to display the form:
    
   
3. After using the form, close it