Windows Applcation need to connect to Database online.

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Hi All,

What I would like to do, is to create on 'offline' windows application that connects and speaks to a Datasource that is online (stored on the internet somewere).

Ideally i'd like the database to be MS Access, and for my application to simply connect to this, but I've been told this does not work (and I have been unable to get this to work).

My work around so far has been do download the file each time the application starts up, then upload it after the user has finished, but this is not what I want, as I would like it to be able to be used by more than one person at once.

I've been told that web-services are the way to go. But after weeks and weeks of playing around, I am yet unable to even get Visual Studio 2010 to recognise a .asmx web service that i;ve uploaded to my free web server (www.somee.come - are my free hosts).

So any help/clarifcation would be fantastic, basically can I connect to a MS Access database directly from a windows application (if the database is stored on a web-server), secondly if i cannot do this, then what is the next best option?

If the best option is Web services can someone please explain how to do so in Visual Studio 2010? I;ve watched/read 25+ tutorials on web services, and even when my .asmx or .svc file has exactly the same code as the tutorial the service is not recognised by visual studio when i try to add a web reference (yet it works when i run it via my localhost!!!).

Anyway hopefully someone can help,

Thanks
David

Posted 4-May-10 14:32pm

David Kearsley

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Not Active · Answer 1 · 2010-05-04T15:04:00

Solution 1

MS Access is never a choice other than a very simple single user app on a single desktop.

You may want to look into this, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sync/default.aspx[^]

Microsoft Sync Framework
A comprehensive synchronization platform that enables collaboration and offline access for applications, services, and devices with support for any data type, any data store, any transfer protocol, and any network topology.

Posted 4-May-10 15:04pm

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Comments

David Kearsley 4-May-10 22:13pm

Could you suggest a better method for what I want rather than MS Access then? keeping in mind that this is a personal project and I don't want to have to pay for any database software/hosting.

I've looked for Free SQL databases online, but havnt really come up with a simple answer?

I'm sure that what I want, is done quite regularly in the real world, I'm just not sure if it can be done for free?

[no name] 4-May-10 22:34pm

How do you expect to have an online application without hosting it somewhere? Do you have you're own server? Most hosting sites offer free database implementations also, but no one is going to offer it all for free.

David Kearsley 4-May-10 22:48pm

I understand that most companies charge for hosting, but I have found a few that have 'Free' MySQL or SQLExpress hosting, but I'm yet to be able to get these to work...

I guess that is why I have put so much effort into trying to work out Web Services or WCF, using MS Access, yet I've had no luck!

[no name] 5-May-10 7:42am

If you are trying to use a web service it will need to be hosted somewhere, which means paid. With free you get what you pay for, as the adjage goes.