Read Value from Database in TextBox when Combobox text changes VB.NET - vb.net

I have a list of Users Names in ComboBox and Some TextBoxes. When ComboBox text changes (i.e I select some username from ComboBox), The TextBoxes are filled with user details from the database.
I have code to achieve this in SQL Database. But these queries are not working with MsAccess database.
MysqlConn = New MySqlConnection
Mysql.ConnectionString = "server=localhost;user=root;password=root;database=database"
Dim READER As MySqlDataReader
Try
MysqlConn.open()
Dim Query As String
Query("select * from database.usernames where name='" & ComboBox1.Text & "'")
Command = New MySqlCommand(Query, MysqlConn)
READER = Command.ExecuteReader
While READER.Read
TextBox1.Text = READER.GetString("name")
End While
End Try

Here is my answer. Please don't get overwhelmed by it. ;)
Broken code
First of all, as I see it, the code you provided cannot work at all, because:
your Query variable is initialized in an invalid (or at least a very exotic) way. You probably want to use something like:
Dim Query As String
Query = "select * from database.usernames where name='" & ComboBox1.Text & "'"
or in a single line:
Dim Query As String = "select * from database.usernames where name='" & ComboBox1.Text & "'"
you try to assign the connection string to the ConnectionString property of a nonexistent Mysql variable. Or the variable exists because it is declared somewhere else, which might be a bug in your code snippet here. But I assume you want to assign the connection string to the MysqlConn.ConnectionString property instead.
you have not declared the MysqlConn and Command variables anywhere. You only just assign to them. (I will simply assume you have declared the variables correctly somewhere else in your code...)
the IDataRecord interface does not provide a GetString(name As String) method overload. So unless you have defined a custom extension method for it, you probably need to use the IDataRecord.GetOrdinal(name As String) method as well, or use the column index instead of the column name.
Anyway, the code you provided uses MySQL. So I assume that MySQL is the "SQL Database" you are using successfully. And that seems to work, as you say? Well... Hmmm... Then I will simply assume your code snippet is completely correct and works perfectly with MySQL... :/
MS Access vs. MySQL
Using MS Access requires other data access classes (probably the ones in namespace System.Data.OleDb) and another connection string. You could take a look at this ADO.NET OleDb example for MS Access in the Microsoft documentation.
You probably even have to update your SQL query, because every database system uses its own SQL dialect. You might want to consult the Office documentation for that. But your query is quite simple, so perhaps all you have to do to make it work with MS Access is:
remove the database name and use only the table name, and
delimit the name identifier (since it is a reserved keyword in MS Access).
I personally delimit all identifiers in my SQL queries, just to avoid unintended conflicts with reserved keywords. So I would personally use something like this:
select * from [usernames] where [name] = '...'
Additional tips
Also, I would like to provide you some additional (unrelated) tips regarding improving your code:
Use Using-statements with variables of an IDisposable type as much as possible. Those types/classes do not implement that interface if there isn't a good reason for it, so I consider it not unimportant to call Dispose when you are done with such disposable objects (or using a Using statement to call Dispose implicitly).
Use SQL parameters (if possible) to avoid SQL injection vulnerabilities. Look at this StackOverflow question and its answer for an example of how to use SQL parameters with MS Access.
Example
You may take a look at the following code snippet. It might not provide a working example out-of-the-box, but you might get some useful/practical ideas from it:
Dim connectionString As String = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\\Data\\database.mdb;User Id=admin;Password="
Dim query As String = "select * from [usernames] where [name] = #Name"
Using conn As New OleDbConnection(connectionString)
Using command As New OleDbCommand(query)
command.Parameters.Add("#Name", OleDbType.VarChar, 50).Value = ComboBox1.Text
conn.Open()
Using reader As OleDbDataReader = command.ExecuteReader
If reader.Read Then
textbox1.Text = reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("name"))
End If
End Using
End Using
End Using

Related

Additional information: There is already an open DataReader associated with this Command which must be closed first. vb.net

Dim cat As New Catalog()
Dim con As New OleDbConnection()
Dim cmd As New OleDbCommand
Dim ds1 As New DataSet
Dim conn As ADODB.Connection
' Open the Access database.
conn = New Connection
conn.ConnectionString =
"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" &
"Data Source=" + openExcel + "\Test" + ".mdb; Persist Security Info=False"
con.ConnectionString =
"Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" &
"Data Source=" + openExcel + "\Test" + ".mdb; Persist Security Info=False"
conn.Open()
xlWorkSheet1.Columns(5).Insert
Dim cellValue As String = ""
Dim newValue As String = ""
Dim sh1 As String = ""
Dim qty As String = ""
Dim matchText As String = ""
Dim sql As String = ""
con.Open()
sh1 = LTrim$(xlWorkSheet1.Cells(i, 1).Text)
sql = "SELECT Num_ber, Q_ty FROM good WHERE Na_me LIKE 'staff%' And Ty_pe = 'ORD'"
Dim cmd As New OleDbCommand(sql, con)
Dim myReader As OleDbDataReader = cmd.ExecuteReader()
conn.Execute(sql)
myReader = cmd.ExecuteReader() ' HERE'S THE PROBLEM
xlWorkSheet1.Cells(1, 5) = myReader.GetString(0)
xlWorkSheet1.Cells(1, 11) = myReader.GetString(1)
myReader.Close()
conn.Close()
conn = Nothing
**I wanted to retrieve a specific value from mdb and then write it to excel.
Here's my code, I got this error so many times and I can't find it out. Can anybody help me? Thanks.**
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/6Fuvg.png
Ok, you first have to decide when usng .net what "provider" you are going to use, AND THEN decide what kind of data objects you want to use.
You can use a oracle provider, a sql server provider, or in this case, since we using Access, then we can use EITHER oleDB, or ODBC. Either choice is fine. Most use oleDB providers for Access, but often ODBC is a good choice, especially if down the road you plane to swap out Access for say SQL server.
What the above means in plain English?
You don't want to adopt the external ADODB code and library. That code is NOT .net, and thus you REALLY but REALLY do not want to write your .net code that way. ADODB was written LONG before .net, and is what we call un-managed code (non .net). I strong, but strong suggest you do NOT add a reference to ADODB to your project, and I beyond strong recommend you avoid introduction of a non .net library for doing this!!! We certainly can adopt the oleDB provider in .net, but we will NOT have a direct reference to JET/ACE (the access database engine) in our applcation. As noted, there are some exceptions to this suggesting, but they don't apply to you and here.
Next up:
The design pattern in .net is to create the connection, get the data, and CLOSE the connection. This "pattern" will then be 100% sure that the data base is always closed, and you NEVER have to worry about if the connection is open, closed, or even if you forgot to close the connection!!! So, do this correct, and some "open" connection will never bite you, or will you have to worry about this issue.
You can in some operations keep the connection open for performance, but lets learn to walk before we run so to speak.
next up:
We certainly do NOT want to place and have connection strings all over in our code. Not only is this going to wear out your keyboard, but if you ever need to change the connection, then you going to have to hunt down all that code.
Best to let Visual Studio save that connection in ONE location, and MORE important MANAGE this for you!!!
Next up:
Do you ONLY need to work with mdb files, or do you plan/need to work with accDB files? This is a HUGE issue, and one that you cannot ignore.
next up:
Are you going to use the x32 bit version of the Access database system, or the x64 bit version?
Since your example posted code uses JET (access data engine for mdb files ONLY x32 bit version)?
Then this ALSO means you MUST (and I repeat MUST) force your .net project to run as x32 bits. You cannot use "any cpu", and you cannot use x64 bits, you MUST choose x86 bit size for your .net project. Failure to do so will result in the project not working.
Ok, with the above information?
First up, force/set/be 100% sure your project is set to run as x32 bits.
That setting is this one:
and remove the reference you have to ADO if you created one.
Ok,
next up:
Create the connection to the database.
Project ->properties.
This here:
And then:
and then
Now, you can browse, and select the access mdb file.
But, you MUST not skip the next step - you have to choose JET (older, mdb files), or choose the newer ACE (for accDB format files).
So, this:
now this:
As noted, you choose JET or ACE here.
now, we have this and you can use test connection.
BUT BE VERY careful!!!!
If you are using vs2022, then keep in mind vs2022 is the FIRST version of VS that is now x64 bits. As a result, vs can't pass the test connection!!! Your connection is in fact ok, but will fail with vs2022.
If you using a previous version of VS (before 2022), then the test connection button should work. and you see this:
Ok, now that we have a valid working conneciton setup, we can now write code, and we will NOT use ADODB!!!!
The typical code pattern to read and load a data table (like a access VBA recordset) will be like this:
Now, I became RATHER tired of writing that same using block over and over. So, in a global module, I have this code now:
Public Function MyRst(strSQL As String) As DataTable
Dim rstData As New DataTable
Using conn As New OleDbConnection(My.Settings.AccessDB)
Using cmdSQL As New OleDbCommand(strSQL, conn)
conn.Open()
rstData.Load(cmdSQL.ExecuteReader)
End Using
End Using
Return rstData
End Function
So, now with the above handy dandy helper routine?
Your code becomes this:
Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
Dim Sql As String =
"SELECT Num_ber, Q_ty FROM good WHERE Na_me LIKE 'staff%' And Ty_pe = 'ORD'"
Dim rstData As DataTable = MyRst(Sql)
Debug.Print("Na_me is " & rstData.Rows(0).Item("Na_me"))
End Sub
Or, display all return rows from that data table
Debug.Print("Na_me is " & rstData.Rows(0).Item("Na_me"))
For Each OneRow As DataRow In rstData.Rows
Debug.Print("na_me = " & OneRow("Na_me"))
Next
So, you really don't need (or want) a reader anyway. Just load the results into a nice clean, easy to use data table, and from that you can loop the table, grab rows, or do whatever you want.

How to use binary search in Visual Basic to search a Microsoft Access Database

I'm creating a program in Visual Basic for a school project. The program is a very simple tool to aid in the designing of a guitar. Users must login to use the program. I have setup an Access database to store all the data on the users and their designs. At the moment the login system uses SQL queries to find the inputted username in the database:
Private Sub cmd_login_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles cmd_login.Click
Call Login_Validation()
provider = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source ="
'access database location
dataFile = "C:\Users\Jackson\Desktop\Guitar Builder\Guitar Builder.accdb"
connString = provider & dataFile
myConnection.ConnectionString = connString
'the query:
myConnection.Open()
Dim cmd As OleDbCommand = New OleDbCommand("SELECT * FROM [Users] WHERE [Username] = '" & usn_box_login.Text & "' AND [Password] = '" & psw_box_login.Text & "'", myConnection)
Dim dr As OleDbDataReader = cmd.ExecuteReader
' userExists is set to true if the username user is found or false if it is not found
Dim userExists As Boolean = False
'if found:
While dr.Read
userExists = True
FullName = dr("Full Name").ToString
userName = dr("Username").ToString
End While
'checking the result
If userExists = True Then
Me.Hide()
Dashboard.Show()
Dashboard.lbl_name.Text = FullName
Dashboard.lbl_username.Text = userName
Else
MsgBox("Sorry, username or password not found", MsgBoxStyle.OkOnly, "Invalid Login")
End If
usn_box_login.Clear()
psw_box_login.Clear()
myConnection.Close()
End Sub
This works, however there must be a binary search in the program for it to pass the school's assessment. What is the easiest way to implement binary search to find the username?
Thank you in advance.
You can't. One of the advantages of using a DBMS like Access (or SQL Server, or SQLite, etc) is to abstract away the details of how data is retrieved and looked-up.
(Most modern database systems use special index structures for quick lookup, such as B-trees (B-trees are not Binary-search trees btw)
If the requirement is to use binary-search to find something, you need to not use something that will do it for you.
As this is for a programming exercise to demonstrate a working knowledge of data structures, I think you should remove Access completely and store data in a simple flat-file, load it all into memory when your program starts, then use your algorithms and structures to work with the data, before spitting it out to the flat-file store when your user clicks the Save button.
Note that I'm guessing using .NET's Array.BinarySearch is also probably cheating.
Other tips:
Don't store passwords in plain-text. They should not be encrypted either. Instead they should be hashed (and preferably salted).
Don't generate SQL using string concatenation. Use parameters instead. (Your code is vulnerable to SQL injection: if you put the text Baba O'Reilly in your textboxes your program will crash.
You should dispose of all your IDisposable objects correctly, ideally using a Using statement.
Run FxCop (Visual Studio Code Analysis) as part of your build process to catch other issues. Choose the "All Rules" setting.
The above bullet-points might sound like nit-picking, but I believe it's important to get into good habits early. The last thing an employer needs is a new hire who added significant vulnerabilities just because they never got used to doing things correctly.
I have taken your advice and removed Microsoft Access completely. I am now using my own record structure within the program.

VB Access DB Update statement

I am new to this forum, please could you help me get this code to work, when i execute it, it simply does nothing and does not update the DB. If i remove the square brackets it gives an error: "SYNTAX ERROR in UPDATE statement"
Any help appreciated!
Dim connection As OleDbConnection
connection = New OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=UserDB.accdb;Jet OLEDB:Database;")
connection.Open()
Dim pass As String
pass = txtconfirm.Text
Dim user As String
user = LoginForm.UsernameTextBox.Text
Dim query As String = "UPDATE [Users] SET [Password]= '" & pass & "' WHERE [Username]= '" & user & "';"
Dim command As New OleDbCommand(query, connection)
command.ExecuteNonQuery()
connection.Close()
Given your actual connection string, the database that will be updated is the one in the directory where your application starts. This means that if you work with a WinForms application this folder is \BIN\DEBUG or x86 variant. If there is not error then you could get the return value of the ExecuteNonQuery call to verify if a record has been updated or not
Dim rowsUpdated = command.ExecuteNonQuery()
MessageBox.Show("Record updated count = " & rowsUpdated)
If this value is not zero then your database has been updated and you are looking for changes in the wrong database. Check the one in the BIN\DEBUG folder.
In any case your code has big problems. If your variables user or pass contain a single quote, then your code will crash again because your string concatenation will form an invalid SQL. As usual the only workaround is to use a parameterized query
Dim pass = txtconfirm.Text
Dim user = LoginForm.UsernameTextBox.Text
Dim query As String = "UPDATE [Users] SET [Password]= #p1 WHERE [Username]= #p2"
Using connection = New OleDbConnection("...........")
Using command As New OleDbCommand(query, connection)
connection.Open()
command.Parameters.Add("#p1", OleDbType.VarWChar).Value = pass
command.Parameters.Add("#p2", OleDbType.VarWChar).Value = user
command.ExecuteNonQuery()
End Using
End Using
The parameterized approach has many advantages. Your query text is more readable, there is no misunderstanding between your code and the values expected by your database engine. And while not easy to exploit with MS-Access there is no problem with Sql Injection
I think Steve presents a much better approach for you coding this...
Let me just throw out a few more things:
The reason you can't take those brackets out is some of your column names are reserved words; just FYI.
Since you report "it does nothing..." when you execute, it sounds like you have a valid connection and sql syntax, in which case my next step would be to copy the sql command text while in debug mode, change it to a select and run it in your DB. You should get one result when you do. If not, either your criteria or field contents are not what you think they are...
Just change the Update table SET field-value ... to SELECT * FROM table and leave the WHERE clause as is.

How to populate a combobox in vb.net with filtered data from an msaccess table

I would really appreciate any help I can get.
My problem is that I have Combobox1 bound to a BindingSource and the DataMember and ValueMember property linked and working. For the life of me I do not know how to use the value (selected valuemember) of Combobox1 to filter the results I show on Combobox2. I am desperate for a simple way to do this.
my failing code is below
Private Sub ComboBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles ComboBox1.SelectedIndexChanged
Dim conn As New SqlConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=|DataDirectory|\Database1.mdb") 'This line fails
Dim strSQL As String = "SELECT * FROM Questions WHERE Section='" & ComboBox1.ValueMember & "'"
Dim da As New SqlDataAdapter(strSQL, conn)
Dim ds As New DataSet
da.Fill(ds, "Disk")
With ComboBox2 'Here i try to populate the combobox2
.DataSource = ds.Tables("Questions")
.DisplayMember = "Question_String"
.ValueMember = "Question_Code"
.SelectedIndex = 0
End With
End Sub
I keep getting a system level error as follows
{"Keyword not supported: 'provider'."}
I have tried a few other options but the errors I get seem more cryptic can someone please help me on this. I will appreciate it a lot.
Dim conn As New OleDBConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source='|DataDirectory|\Database1.mdb'")
Also your query has to use a string not an object so try...
Dim strSQL As String = "SELECT * FROM Questions WHERE Section='" & ComboBox1.ValueMember.toString & "'"
Because you are using a Provider for a connection that doesn't need it because the provider should be an SQL driver.
I don't know what database you are using (well, the file is an access file), but you need to check you have the correct connection string
see http://www.connectionstrings.com/sql-server-2008#p2
Here are a couple of observations about your code that I hope you find helpful:
First, you might want to look at this MSDN help on how to move your database connection string out of the code and into a configuration file. This is especially important for your code to work to work more seemlessly across different environment (dev box, staging, production, etc) - Connection Strings and Configuration Files (ADO.NET)
I also noticed that you never explicitly open or close the connection. Per this entry on stack overflow, you should be ok, but keep in mind that if you happen to change the code to explicitly open the connection you will also need to close it.
I also noticed that you aren't using a parameterized query. This makes your code vulnerable to a SQL Injection attack. Here is a link to a blog posting by Scott Guthrie 'Tip/Trick: Guard Against SQL Injection Attacks'. You never know who may copy and paste your block of code with this bad practice.
Finally, you do the following query (with appropriate mods from other answers:
Dim strSQL As String = "SELECT * FROM Questions WHERE Section='" & ComboBox1.ValueMember.toString & "'"
And subsequently only use Question_String, and Question_Code in your code. You might want to consider changing your query to only pull the columns you need. This is especially helpful when you have tables with many columns. Otherwise you will needlessly pull data your code never actually needs. So your query would become:
Dim strSQL As String = "SELECT Question_String, Question_Code FROM Questions WHERE Section='" & ComboBox1.ValueMember.toString & "'"

How To Find Input String In Database

I want to find the text in textbox in my database. I wrote the code below. It finds numbers well, but when I want to find strings it gives a runtime error: invalid column name for example aaa, but aaa exists in column1 in my table.
What do you think about the problem?
cmd = New SqlCommand("select * from tbl where column1=" + TextBox1.Text)
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
cmd.Connection = cnn
dad.SelectCommand = cmd
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery()
dad.Fill(ds)
dgv.DataSource = ds.Tables(0)
That's because the sql statement you send is not delimiting the TextBox1.Text value so you end up with this sql:
select * from tbl where column1 = aaa
and SQL Server treats aaa as a column name.
Regardless of that, you should be using a SqlParameter to avoid sql injection attacks:
cmd = New SqlCommand("select * from tbl where column1=#value")
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
cmd.Paramaters.AddWithValue("#value", TextBox1.Text)
VB is not my primary language, so the syntax might be a little off, but you should be able to make it work.
Adritt is right, you must enclose the text to find within single quotes and, provided that very text doesn't contains single quotes, all is well - Apart for the risk of SQL attacks.
That being said, you are using an outdated, obsolete way of coding your app against the database.
You should definitively have a deep look at LINQ technology where:
You have no connection to open or close: its automatic
You don't have to cope with quotes, crlf and commas
You do not risk SQL attacks: queries are parameterised by the LINQ engine
You will benefit from intellisense againts the database objects: tables, views, columns
You get a straightforward result to use as the datasource!
For INSERT and UPDATE statements transactions are automatically enabled.
Example:
using ctx as new dataContext1
dim result = from r in ctx.tbl
where r.column1 = textBox1.text
dgv.datasource = result.tolist
end using
Intellisense:
When you type "ctx.", you are presented with the list of available tables!
When you type "r." you are presented with the list of column the table (or vieww) contains!
LINQ is not difficult to learn and you'll find tons of examples to help you, here and there on the web.
Last but not least, you can use the LINQ SQL-like syntax to query XML data, CSV files, Excel spreadsheets and even the controls in your form, or the HTML DOM document in ASP.NET!