LINQ to SQL Tutorial

Part 7 What is SqlMetal

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http://csharp-video-tutorials.blogspot.com/2014/09/part-7-what-is-sqlmetal.html

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http://csharp-video-tutorials.blogspot.com/2014/09/part-7-what-is-sqlmetal_9.html

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In this video we will discuss
1. What is SqlMetal
2. How to use SqlMetal

What is SqlMetal
SqlMetal is a command-line code generation tool used to generate LINQ-to-SQL classes. There are 2 ways to generate LINQ-to-SQL classes
1. Uisng Visual Studio OR
2. Using SqlMetal

What is the windows path where I can find SqlMetal.exe
On my machine SqlMetal.exe is present in the following location
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft SDKsWindowsv7.0Abin

How to use SqlMetal.exe to generate the LINQ-to-SQL classes
Step 1 : Run Visual Studio Command prompt as an Administrator

Step 2 : In C: create a new folder. Name it SqlMetalGeneratedFiles. This is the folder where we will store the generated dbml file.

Step 3 : Type the following command and press enter

SqlMetal.exe /server:localhost /database:Sample /namespace:Demo
/dbml:C:SqlMetalGeneratedFilesSample.dbml
/Context:SampleDataContext

In this example we are using the following options
server – Database server name. In our example, the database server is a local server, hence we specified localhost.
database – database name
dbml – The name of the generated dbml file
namespace – Namespace for the generated classes
context – Name of the data context class

For the full list of all available options that can be used with SqlMetal.exe, please check the following MSDN article
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/vstudio/bb386987(v=vs.100).aspx

Navigate to C:SqlMetalGeneratedFiles and you should find Sample.dbml

Let’s now discuss using Sample.dbml file in an ASP.NET Web Application.
Step 1 : Create a new empty asp.net web application project. Name it Demo.

Step 2 : In the web.config file, copy and paste the following connection string
[connectionStrings]
[add name=”SampleConnectionString” connectionString=”Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Sample;Integrated Security=True”
providerName=”System.Data.SqlClient” /]
[/connectionStrings]

Step 3 : Right click on the Demo project, in solution explorer and select Add – Existing Item. Navigate to C:SqlMetalGeneratedFiles and add Sample.dbml.

Step 4 : Add a WebForm to the project. Drag and drop a GridView control on the WebForm. Copy and paste the following code in the code-behind file.
using System;
using System.Configuration;

namespace Demo
{
public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string cs = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[“SampleConnectionString”].ConnectionString;

using (SampleDataContext dbContext = new SampleDataContext(cs))
{
GridView1.DataSource = dbContext.Employees;
GridView1.DataBind();
}
}
}
}