deploying win form app with sql server express and create the database of the project on the client machine during installation

tarek shawki 0 Reputation points
2023-03-22T12:45:39.0766667+00:00

Hello guys how are you doing , i have developed my first winform application i created a database in SQL server management studio and everything is working well on my computer , now i want to deploy the application to be working on the client machine so i need to include the sql server as well as creating the database during the installation .

i have managed

i have tried to copy the mdf file of the database on the client machine and attach it using SQL server management studio and it worked fine ,

so my question is .... how to make the setup files create and include the mdf file in the right directory ?? so i do not need to install sql server managemnt on the client machine and copy the mdf file manually !!

i was thinking the whole operation should be executed during installation and no need for extra un

SQL Server
SQL Server
A family of Microsoft relational database management and analysis systems for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.
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  1. Erland Sommarskog 101.6K Reputation points MVP
    2023-03-22T21:43:35.58+00:00

    I would rather distribute the database as a couple of scripts to run. Distributing an .mdf file works the first time, but when you deliver updates, you need scripts. One way to do this would be with Database projects, DACPACs, sqlpackage and all that. Or just roll your own.

    You don't need to run commands from SSMS, but you can use SQLCMD which is a command-line tool to run queries. Or use PowerShell from which you can use the Invoke-Sqlcmd cmdlet - or simply use ADO .NET calls directly.

    Also distributing databases with .mdf files is not really the preferred way to do. BACKUP/RESTORE is better.

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  2. Seeya Xi-MSFT 16,441 Reputation points
    2023-03-23T02:57:01.33+00:00

    Hi @tarek shawki ,

    Using a synchronization framework, can achieve automatic synchronization between the server-side data and client-side data. The Microsoft Sync Framework is designed specifically for this purpose and provides a set of APIs for synchronizing data between different data sources. But I am not an expert in this area, so you may need to learn more about it.

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/msdn-magazine/2009/april/manage-your-data-effectively-with-the-microsoft-sync-framework

    https://www.codemag.com/Article/1907101/Synchronizing-Databases-Using-Microsoft-Sync-Framework

    Best regards,

    Seeya

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