Out With The Old

The old database connections were quite limiting, requiring you to create a new connection and re-enter all the parameters whenever one changed. With our new Database Connection items, you can now easily update specific connection parameters directly in the inspector.

Additionally, you can now choose whether the item will auto-connect or if you prefer to connect to it later in your code.

Connecting to a Specific Database

There are times when you need to connect to a database for debugging and testing, but for the final builds, you want to connect to your production database/server. Setting this up correctly with the old database connection method required creating two separate connection items—one for debug and one for release. With the new Database Connection items, this process is much simpler and fits more easily into the build process. You now have several new Database Connection subitems that can be customized based on the stage of your build. These subitems are linked to the Stage Code in your Shared Build Settings, ensuring that when you build a final release, your database connection uses the correct settings automatically.

Additional Database Features

In addition to this change, there are two new database APIs that may be useful to you:

1. A new method, IsConnected, has been added to the SQLiteDatabase, ODBCDatabase, PostgreSQLDatabase, and MySQLCommunityServer classes. This method returns true if the connection is still active, and false if it is not.
2. We’ve enhanced Database.AddRow with a new signature that returns the unique ID of the newly inserted row. This feature is supported for SQLiteDatabase, ODBCDatabase, PostgreSQLDatabase, and MySQLCommunityServer classes. It is recommended to use this new API instead of the deprecated SQLiteDatabase.LastRowID and MySQLCommunityServer.LastInsertedRowID

Let’s explore how the new Database.AddRow feature can assist you. Previously, only SQLiteDatabase and MySQLCommunityServer had APIs to retrieve the unique ID of the last inserted row. Now, PostgreSQLDatabase and ODBCDatabase also have this capability by using the new Database.AddRow(tableName As String, row As DatabaseRow, idColumnName As String = "") As Integer

The new aspect of this signature is the idColumnName parameter and the return value. For databases that support the SQL RETURNING clause, the idColumnName specifies the column whose value will be returned. For databases that do not support the RETURNING clause, we will use the suitable method for each specific database to return a unique value.

We recognize the significance of databases in your Xojo apps. So with these updates to database connectivity for your desktop, web and console apps, and the addition of new features, we aim to make your database programming easier and more efficient.

William Yu grew up in Canada learning to program BASIC on a Vic-20. He is Xojo’s resident Windows and Linux engineer, among his many other skills. Some may say he has joined the dark side here in the USA, but he will always be a Canadian at heart.

• Facebook
• X
• LinkedIn
• GitHub
• YouTube

Multiple Databases Supported

Xojo supports a wide variety of databases, including: SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.

In addition, you can use ODBC to connect to other databases such as Access (JET), FoxPro, FileMaker, Firebird and even IBM iSeries (DB2). You’ll always have access to your data using Xojo, read more about connectivity between Xojo and your preferred database.

Flexible Form Design

Xojo includes dozens of controls available for desktop, web and mobile apps. You can use these controls to design any type of user interface that you can imagine. You’ll find controls for buttons, check boxes, popup menus, text fields, text areas, graphics, tabs, progress, lists, HTML, images and more.

Simple and Powerful Programming Language

How can a language be both simple and powerful? Xojo is simple because its language is small, focused and object-oriented. It is powerful because its framework, which is also object-oriented, includes robust capabilities you can start using right away, including: native user interface controls, file management, graphics, text processing, networking, threading and more.

Database Binding for Security

Xojo has built-in support for SQL binding so that you can avoid the security risks that can occur with SQL injection, a type of security vulnerability that can occur when you create SQL statements using simple string manipulation.

Reporting

What good is data without a way to report on it? Xojo desktop apps can use the built-in reporting tool to help you design and display simple reports. And there are also many 3rd party reporting products available for those with more advanced needs or for other platforms.

Documentation

If you are new to this, read about how to get started on database apps in this earlier post. Xojo has an in-depth User Guide, a complete Language Reference, and a playlist of videos about using databases with Xojo. The User Guide even has sections on migrating from Microsoft Access, Visual FoxPro and FileMaker!

Try Xojo Free

Xojo is free to use for learning and development. Download and try it today and see for yourself!

Download MP3.

Subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast in your favorite RSS reader or Podcast software! You can also subscribe on iTunes or choose to get email notifications of new episodes.

Show Links

• Oracle Database
• Natezza
• IBM iSeries
• xDev Magazine
• Firebird Database
• Valentina Database
• ODBC webinar
• Mac ODBC Drivers
• Windows 10
• Kubuntu
• Linux Mint
• Raspberry Pi

SQLite

SQLite is built-in to Xojo. As of 2015r4, Xojo uses SQLite 3.9.2 (SQLite 3.8.8 is used on iOS). To use SQLite with Xojo, you use the SQLiteDatabase class A similar SQLiteDatabase class is also used for iOS. SQLite is referred to as an “embedded” database because the database engine is embedded into your application. SQLite is a great choice for local databases used by your desktop apps. SQLite is so useful that it is sometimes used to save app preferences and even as a custom file format for some apps! SQLite also works well with web apps that primarily display data and have a low volume of concurrent database writes.

Connecting to a SQLite database is easy:

Dim dbFile As FolderItem = GetFolderItem("MyDatabase.sqlite")
Dim db As New SQLiteDatabase
db.DatabaseFile = dbFile
If db.Connect Then
  MsgBox("Connected!")
Else
  MsgBox("Error: " + db.ErrorMessage)
End If

For more information on using SQLite, refer to its entries in the Reference Guide and User Guide:

• SQLiteDatabase (Desktop, Web, Console)
• SQLiteDatabase (iOS)
• SQLite in User Guide

Or watch one of our webinars:

• SQLite
• Using SQLite

Database Servers

The other database options are fall under the “server” category. For Xojo, this means two things:

1. You’ll need to make sure the appropriate plugin is coped to your Plugins folder.
2. You’ll need a Desktop, Web, Pro or Enterprise version of Xojo.

A database server is much more powerful than SQLite, but also more complicated. The big advantage of a database server is that they are designed for multiple concurrent users. Xojo has built-in support for these database servers: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server.

Although you need to have a database server installed somewhere that is accessible to your app, connecting to one is just as easy as it is with SQLite. This example connects to a PostgreSQL database server:

Dim db As New PostgreSQLDatabase
db.Host = "192.168.1.172"
db.Port = 5432
db.DatabaseName = "myDatabase"
db.Username = "Bob"
db.Password = "fdf#$uy@"
If db.Connect Then
  //proceed with database operations
Else
  MsgBox("The connection failed.")
End If

Connecting to other database servers is similar. For more information refer to the topics in the Reference Guide, User Guide and our webinars:

• PostgreSQLDatabase
• MySQLCommunityServer
• OracleDatabase
• MSSQLServerDatabase
• Databases in User Guide
• PostgreSQL webinar

ODBC

ODBC is not really a database. It is a database connection protocol. It can be used to connect to database servers for which we do not provide a plugin, such an IBM iSeries (AS/400) database or Microsoft Access. In order to use ODBC to connect to a database you first have to make sure the ODBC driver is installed on your system. Then you usually need to configure it using the ODBC Control Panel or ODBC Adminitrator Tool for your system.

This example prompts you to choose a previously configured ODBC connection (called a DataSourceName or DSN) and attempts to connect to it:

Dim db As New ODBCDatabase
db.DataSource = ""
 // Force user to choose a DSN
If db.Connect Then
 //proceed with database operations
Else
 MsgBox("The connection failed.")
End If

View ODBC in the Reference Guide, User Guide and the ODBC webinar for more information:

• ODBCDatabase
• ODBC in User Guide
• Using ODBC webinar

Data Access

Regardless of how you connected to the database, accessing the data is achieved the same way. You use the SQLSelect method to query the data and the SQLExecute method to run commands. When you query data, the results are stored in a RecordSet. You can interate through the RecordSet to get the data to display or modify it. These and other database topics are covered in the User Guide.

Working with database using Xojo is easy and consistent. So if you are coming from another tool or are simply looking to make your next great app using Xojo, rest assurred that you can connect to the database you need.

(Updated March 10, 2016)