StrataFrame Forum » StrataFrame Application Framework - V1 » Business Objects and Data Access (How do I?) » Webservices

Webservices

Kevin Lingofelter — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:04:07 GMT

Hello,

I have a BO project to ecapsulate all the data access.

I'd like to now create a webservice project to utilize the BOs I created (which will be consumed by both web and win forms).

Would webservices be a good fit here? I haven't played with webservices much, so I am beginning my google quest, but wanted to see if anyone here has implemented this and would be willing to share their ideas.

Thanks!

RE: Webservices

Trent L. Taylor — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:04:07 GMT

Glad to help!

RE: Webservices

Kevin Lingofelter — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 10:42:26 GMT

Perfect! Thanks a million!

Kevin

RE: Webservices

Trent L. Taylor — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 10:34:35 GMT

You can do this, but you do not need to add the connection everytime. The DataSources are a shared and a webserive runs in an application pool like a website. So you do not need to add teh data connection each time. One thing you can do if you are going to use a WebMethod is to just check on the count of the DataSources collection. If it is 0, then add the connection. Otherwise, leave it alone because it has already been setup.

<WebMethod()> _
    Public Function SampleMethod() As String
        '-- Determine if the connection has been established
        If MicroFour.StrataFrame.Data.DataBasics.DataSources.Count = 0 Then
            DataBasics.DataSources.Add(New SqlDataSourceItem("", "MyConnectionSTring"))
        End If

Return "Whatever"
End Function

- or - :P

Much Better Solution
You can add a global.asax to your webservice project and add the code once in the Application_Startup method and never worry about it...

Sub Application_Start(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
DataBasics.DataSources.Add(New SqlDataSourceItem("", "MyConnectionSTring"))
End Sub

RE: Webservices

Kevin Lingofelter — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:14:58 GMT

Ah...so does this code go into each web method? AFAIK, there's no startup code for webservices. Is that correct?

RE: Webservices

Trent L. Taylor — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:47:04 GMT

There is no such thing as an "elementary" question ;). In the case of a WebService, there is really no need to use the StrataFrame Connection Manager and wizard. Since this will reside in a static location, it will behave more like a website than a windows application.

You can define your connection strings manually by adding the following code:

'------------------------------------
' Setting the data sources manually
'------------------------------------

'-- SQL Server
DataLayer.DataSources.Add(New SqlDataSourceItem("", "myconnectionstring"))

'-- Oracle
DataLayer.DataSources.Add(New OracleDataSourceItem("", "myconnectionstring"))

'-- Microsoft Access
DataLayer.DataSources.Add(New AccessDataSourceItem("", "myconnectionstring"))

'-- Visual Fox Pro
DataLayer.DataSources.Add(New VfpDataSourceItem("", "myconnectionstring"))

Let me know if this answers your question.

RE: Webservices

Kevin Lingofelter — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:54:55 GMT

Sounds good. Can you give me a pointer or two on wiring webservices to the BO? How does the connection string management work? Sorry, I know these are pretty elementry questions.

Kevin

RE: Webservices

Trent L. Taylor — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:26:31 GMT

Kevin,

StrataFrame can definitly be used within web services and has functionality to serialize and de-serialize business objects. We have several users that have create webservices projects with StrataFrame. As for whether it is a good fit for your project, I don't know. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want your WinForms and WebForms application to be a central point of communication, then this might be a way to go. The only time you really need to do this (for WinForms) is when you are going to have a connection at a remote location and will not have a VPN between to two locations. Otherwise, it is usually better to just point the WinForms application to the remote location with your connection string.

BTW, I haven't forgotten about you and your Access View issue. We are working on getting out the 1.4 build, so I appologize for any delays.