This tutorial will walk you through the process of adding MySQL support to Microsoft Visual Studio. With the integration of MySQL and Visual Studio, you may create Microsoft.NET apps that access MySQL databases on Hostginger Hosting servers.

Adding MySQL support to Visual Studio

Visual Studio does not include support for MySQL by default. To add MySQL support to Visual Studio, you must install the following components:

  • MySQL for Visual Studio: This component adds MySQL support to Visual Studio's visual database tools, such as Server Explorer. To download MySQL for Visual Studio, please visit here.
  • Connector/Net: This component adds .NET drivers for MySQL to Visual Studio. If you want to write .NET code that accesses MySQL databases, you must install this component. To download Connector/Net, please visit here.

You should download and install both of these components to obtain the best possible MySQL integration with Visual Studio.

Using Server Explorer

After installing the MySQL for Visual Studio component, you can access and view MySQL databases on Hostginger Hosting servers using Visual Studio's visual database tools.

The following procedure demonstrates how to use the Server Explorer to view MySQL databases on your Hostginger Hosting account.

  1. Start Visual Studio.
  2. On the View menu, click Server Explorer.
  3. Click the Connect to Database icon. The Choose Data Source dialog box appears.
  4. In the Data source list box, select MySQL Database, and then click Continue.
  5. In the Server name text box, type the name of the Hostginger Hosting server for your account.
  6. In the User name text box, type the name of the database user.
  7. In the Password text box, type the password for the database user you specified in step 6.
  8. In the Database name text box, type the name of the database you want to access.
  9. Click Test Connection. You should receive a Test connection succeeded message. If you do not, check the values you provided in steps 5 to 8, and then try again.
  10. Click OK. Server Explorer adds the server and database to the list of available connections.
  11. Double-click the server and database name to view the following items:
    • Tables
    • Views
    • Stored Procedures
    • Stored Functions
    • UDFs (User-defined functions)

    You can navigate through the database by double-clicking any of these items. For example, to see the tables defined in the database, double-click Tables. To access the actual data stored in a table, right-click the table name and then select Retrieve Data.

Connecting to MySQL using .NET

After you install the Connector/Net component, you can write .NET code that accesses MySQL databases. To do this, you must add a reference to the MySQL .NET library in your project, and specify the correct parameters in a database connection string.

The following procedure demonstrates how to create a simple C# or Visual Basic console application that connects to a remote MySQL database and runs an SQL query.

  1. Start Visual Studio.
  2. On the File menu, click New, and then click Project. The New Project dialog box appears.
  3. Under Templates, select your preferred coding language:
    • To use C#, select Visual C#.
    • To use VB.NET, select Visual Basic.
  4. In the list of templates, click Console Application.
  5. In the Name text box, type MySQL_test.
  6. Click OK. Visual Studio creates the project.
  7. In the code window, delete all of the existing code.
  8. Copy the following code for the language you selected in step 3, and then paste it into the code window. Modify the connstring definition to use the login information for your own database. Additionally, replace the three instances of table_name with the name of the table you want to query.

    Visual C#:

    using System;
    using System.Data;
    using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;
    
    namespace MySQL_test
    {
        class Program
        {
            static void Main(string[] args)
            {
                string connstring = @"server=example.com;userid=example_user;password=example_password;database=example_database";
    
                MySqlConnection conn = null;
                
                try
                {
                    conn = new MySqlConnection(connstring);
                    conn.Open();
    
                    string query = "SELECT * FROM table_name;";
                    MySqlDataAdapter da = new MySqlDataAdapter(query, conn);
                    DataSet ds = new DataSet();
                    da.Fill(ds, "table_name");
                    DataTable dt = ds.Tables["table_name"];
    
                    foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
                    {
                        foreach (DataColumn col in dt.Columns)
                        {
                            Console.Write(row[col] + "\t");
                        }
    
                        Console.Write("\n");                  
                    }           
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.ToString());
                }
                finally
                {
                    if (conn != null)
                    {
                        conn.Close();
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
    

    Visual Basic:

    Imports System
    Imports System.Data
    Imports MySql.Data.MySqlClient
    
    Module Module1
    
        Sub Main()
            Dim connstring As String = "server=example.com;userid=example_user;password=example_password;database=example_database"
    
            Dim conn As MySqlConnection = Nothing
    
            Try
                conn = New MySqlConnection(connstring)
                conn.Open()
    
                Dim query As String = "SELECT * FROM table_name;"
                Dim da As New MySqlDataAdapter(query, conn)
                Dim ds As New DataSet()
                da.Fill(ds, "table_name")
                Dim dt As DataTable = ds.Tables("table_name")
    
                For Each row As DataRow In dt.Rows
                    For Each col As DataColumn In dt.Columns
                        Console.Write(row(col).ToString() + vbTab)
                    Next
    
                    Console.Write(vbNewLine)
                Next
    
            Catch e As Exception
                Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.ToString())
            Finally
                If conn IsNot Nothing Then
                    conn.Close()
                End If
            End Try
        End Sub
    
    End Module
    
  9. On the Project menu, click Add Reference. The Reference Manager dialog box appears.
  10. Under Assemblies, click Extensions.
  11. Scroll down the list of assemblies, and then double-click MySql.Data. A check box appears next to the assembly name.
  12. Click OK.
  13. On the Build menu, click Build Solution. Visual Studio compiles the application.
  14. On the Debug menu, click Start Without Debugging. The application runs and prints all of the data from the selected table.
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