Hi,
I should first apologize as i may be in violation with my question, i am learning and it is my first time doing this so please excuse my poor forum skills.
I am building an ASP.Net web pages application in Visual Basic , with Visual Studio 2013 IDE (Ultimate). My data will be in an already set up MySQL DB , Hosted through a local Apache Server. I have also installed the MySQL Connector/NET 6.8.3 and MySQL for Visual studio.
Finally, My question has a few 'sub' questions which i really need guidance n as i am still a student, building my first ever web app and i am highly confused after extensive research as to how to implement this web app. I have added my Database to the server explorer to act as a MySQL local DB.
How do i structure/organise my app in VS 2013 so that i can take maximum advantage in making use of SqlDatasources and Data controls so that i have least possible VB Code and having a certain degree of flexibility in my app like adding custom tweaks if needed. I have SqlDatasources for my dropdowns but i cannot seem to get anything working for updating , deleting as i get many errors relating to my refrences, extensions, converting data types to MySQL and then inputs as well as version errors that alude to 2 extensions but are not matching.
So i would like to know, having my Database already existing, what would be the best way to organize my app for best use with SqlDatasource and how would i go about it in a sort of brief sequence. So to make it clear as to what i mean , would i ,for instance, have to go about still using the Local Version of my DB and then implement Entity Framework 6 (Database first ?, Code first with existing DB?) or ADO.Net Model (since its not an MVC APP) and then what configurations will have to be changed explicitly in order for it to work , as in the web.config file(s) etc. Would it make sense to use object classes that reference my database , and how will that be optimally done ? , will i have to have a separate DBManager class or should i use code-behind the aspx pages, i am also confused when reading and researching that i will have to make use of a DBCOntext class , does that mean that it has to be there as it is part and parcel of EF so i need a holistic view as i am not sure, i have tried many approaches, most fail dismally beyond implementing Dropdownlists, and i have a feeling that i am using infrastructure setup that belongs to different architectures and coding practices that belong to others and that is why it is very error prone and problematic. and further details like do i need to use dataset ? and where does that fit in with the big picture (is it EF , which is for use with DataAdapter) or XML Data References file etc. It is also because i haven't found clear direction in this regard and therefore having to try many different fixes but not from a homogeneous perspective. (This is just an example). I need to access and manupilate data a bit later in the project for management type reporting purposes and forecasting , while also ensuring satisfactory validation techniques so as to demonstrate good DB Integrity etc(Hence my query on Object classes and Property methods).
Its a basic project Manager app that lets you keep track of projects, which have tasks. Users consist of Project Managers and Workers, a task can only be assigned to one worker, and a project can only be assigned to one PM, these users are differentiated by Authority Level measures. Times are recorded as workers finish tasks, by user input, and there are automated timestamps for project creation and completion. So using this i hope it can give you an idea of what type of reporting i will be implementing for decision making, resource distribution and forecasting.
Basically i do not have clear direction and being extremely fresh to development i need some from you gurus, quite desperately. I'm sorry for this mini dissertation lol but i really need help and want you to understand the issue i am facing as accurately as possible.
Another note is that there is a accompanying Android app to this web app, and i guess this is also why we unanimously decided on the MySQL DB to make data access for the Android app less complicated if you were to consider the insignificant experience we have as students.
Please may you help me, and Many many thanks for reading this long and boring explanation.
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