Crystal Reports and Sql Server 2000 - C# Discussion Boards

Crystal Reports and Sql Server 2000

8-Jan-04 16:50

When you use just a Type (the first constructor in your snippet), an image is used that has the same namespace and name as your class, but with a .bmp extension. I.e., if your class is Example.Class, then the image to be used is Example.Class.bmp. This image must be an embedded resource.

The second constructor is the name of an embedded resource, so you must include any namespace and the name of the file, like Example.Class.bmp.

The third constructor uses the namespace of the Type you pass in the first parameter and adds the name that you pass with the third constructor. If the class is Example.Class and you pass "Toolbox.bmp" as the name, then the image used is Example.Toolbox.bmp.

In all three cases, the image must be an emdedded resource, not a file on the computer. So, add a bitmap to your project, right-click and select Properties, then change the build type to "Embedded Resource".

You can find more details about this in the documentation for the ToolboxBitmapAttribute class in the .NET Framework SDK.

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.21
GCS/G/MU d- s: a- C++++ UL@ P++(+++) L+(--) E--- W+++ N++ o+ K? w++++ O- M(+) V? PS-- PE Y++ PGP++ t++@ 5 X+++ R+@ tv+ b(-)>b++ DI++++ D+ G e++>+++ h---* r+++ y+++
-----END GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

FIX Gateway Server

Kingvest8-Jan-04 12:53

Kingvest

8-Jan-04 12:53

Has anyody experience in working with FIX? I'd need some help with understanding some general concepts.

Please let me know if anybody can help me with this

obelisk298-Jan-04 12:34

8-Jan-04 12:34

I have created a report using crystal reports but everytime I run it I have to type in the sql password for the database Is there any way I can save this information in the application?
TIA

------------------

Oh My goodness

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 12:46

8-Jan-04 12:46

You can keep the password in the connection string:

Provider=...; User ID=user; Password=pwd; ...

This isn't very secure, but then again nothing you can store in the assembly isn't because anyone can use ildasm.exe or a similar tool to see what you have in the application.

If you're using SQL Server, perhaps a better way is to use integrated authentication, or SSPI, by excluding the User ID and Password params of the connection string and instead using Integrated Security=SSPI. This will use the credentials of the current (or impersonated) user to attach to SQL Server. The server must be configured to support mixed mode authentication, though (both SQL Server and Integrated Windows authentication).

The best practice is to not store secret information in your app because it's never secret. If you aren't using SQL Server and want you connection to be more secure, rely on either the user specifying the connection string in your application (perhaps as an option) or use ODBC.NET and let them configure their own DSN.

So, as long as this connection string is used for the DB connection for the CR report, you shouldn't have to worry about a password prompt.

obelisk298-Jan-04 13:01

8-Jan-04 13:01

But where is the connection string located within crystal reports?

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I'm naked under my clothes...

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 13:11

8-Jan-04 13:11

It's not in Crystal Reports, but required to get the data source. If you're using the CR designer, it may not give you this change and instead store it as part of the report definition. Instead, make this a two step process and bind your report to a DataSet, which you can get using a DataAdapter or something. This makes your reports a little more durable so you don't have to worry about recompiling just to change the connection string or anything like that.

To set the data source on the report, use ReportDocument.SetDataSource. When designing, there's an option to design the report bound to a strongly-typed DataSet.

obelisk298-Jan-04 13:20

8-Jan-04 13:20

Thx for the info that helps greatly, doing that also means I can use stored procedures Smile | :)

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I'm naked under my clothes...

obelisk298-Jan-04 14:10

8-Jan-04 14:10

Why isn't this working ?

conn.Open();
cmd = new SqlCommand("SPSearchRmiInfoFirstname", conn);
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
cmd.Parameters.Add("@Firstname", "O");
dad = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
dad.Fill(cpData);
rp.Load("cp.rpt");
rp.SetDataSource(cpData);
cpv.ReportSource = rp;

It doesn't display any data, am I doing something wrong

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I'm naked under my clothes...

obelisk298-Jan-04 14:30

Dynamic Casting for use in Polymorphic/overloaded methods.

8-Jan-04 14:30

NeverMind I found out the problem, here is the working code.

conn.Open();
cmd = new SqlCommand("SPSearchRmiInfoFirstname", conn);
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
cmd.Parameters.Add("@Firstname", "O");
dad = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
dad.Fill(cpData.Dataset);
rp.Load("cp.rpt");
rp.SetDataSource(cpData.Dataset);
cpv.ReportSource = rp;

I forgot to pass the info of the dataset LOL

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I'm naked under my clothes...

Scott Barr8-Jan-04 11:12

Scott Barr

8-Jan-04 11:12

Here is a code example of what I want to do.

<br />
        //Method that makes the polymorphic call.<br />
        private void AdminTree_AfterSelect(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventArgs e)<br />
        {   <br />
                this.DisplayProperties( e.Node );<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        //Default polymorpic/overloaded function<br />
        private void DisplayProperties( object inNode )<br />
        {<br />
            //Do Nothing.<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        //Polymorpic/overloaded function to take care of Question Nodes<br />
        private void DisplayProperties( QuestionNode inNode )<br />
        {<br />
            this.PropertiesGroupBox.Controls.Clear();<br />
<br />
            //Deal with all Question QuestionNode properties from the Question data model.<br />
            this.QuestionPropertiesControl.QuestionText.Text = inNode.QuestionData.Question;<br />
            this.QuestionPropertiesControl.AnswserType.Text = inNode.QuestionData.CatalogAnswerType.AnswerTypeName;<br />
            this.QuestionPropertiesControl.Status.Text = inNode.QuestionData.Status;<br />
            this.QuestionPropertiesControl.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill;<br />
<br />
            this.PropertiesGroupBox.Controls.Add( this.QuestionPropertiesControl );            <br />
        }<br />
<br />
        //Polymorpic/overloaded function to take care of CatalogNodes<br />
        private void DisplayProperties( CatalogNode inNode )<br />
        {<br />
            this.PropertiesGroupBox.Controls.Clear();<br />
<br />
            //Deal with all CatalogNode properties from the Catalog data model.<br />
            this.CatalogPropertiesControl.CatalogName.Text   = inNode.CatalogData.Name;<br />
            this.CatalogPropertiesControl.DisplayText.Text   = inNode.CatalogData.ViewName;<br />
            this.CatalogPropertiesControl.Status.Text        = inNode.CatalogData.Status;<br />
            this.CatalogPropertiesControl.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill;<br />
<br />
            this.PropertiesGroupBox.Controls.Add( this.CatalogPropertiesControl );     <br />
            <br />
        }<br />

I currently have AdminTree_AfterSelect written as follows. It works but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on a cleaner way of doing it. Smile | :)

<br />
        private void AdminTree_AfterSelect(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventArgs e)<br />
        {   <br />
            if( e.Node is QuestionNode )<br />
            {<br />
                this.DisplayProperties( e.Node as QuestionNode );<br />
            }<br />
            else if( e.Node is CatalogNode )<br />
            {<br />
                this.DisplayProperties( e.Node as CatalogNode );<br />
            }<br />
        }<br />

Thanks in advance!

Re: Dynamic Casting for use in Polymorphic/overloaded methods.

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 11:50

Re: Dynamic Casting for use in Polymorphic/overloaded methods.

8-Jan-04 11:50

Even though TreeViewEventArgs.Node is of Type TreeNode, the actual object is of Type QuestionNode or CatalogNode so you don't need to cast it like you're doing. For instance, even though the GetType method is inherited form Object, it will always return the Type of the actual object. I even have something similar to what you have with a massive amount of tree nodes that even have other base classes and you don't need to cast them (either using the cast operator or the as keyword). So, when you call DisplayProperties with simply e.Node, it will automatically pick the correct one because the Type is either the QuestionNode or the CatalogNode, despite the Type that TreeViewEventArgs.Node is defined as (as long as its a base class).

For example:

using System;

public class Test
{
  public static void Main()
  {
    DisplayText(new A1());
    DisplayText(new A2());
  }

  private static void DisplayText(A1 a)
  {
    Console.WriteLine("DisplayText (1): {0}", a.Text);
  }

  private static void DisplayText(A2 a)
  {
    Console.WriteLine("DisplayText (2): {0}", a.Text);
  }
}

public class A
{
  public virtual string Text
  {
    get { return "A"; }
  }
}

public class A1 : A
{
  public override string Text
  {
    get { return "A1"; }
  }
}

public class A2 : A
{
  public override string Text
  {
    get { return "A2"; }
  }
}

The output would be:

DisplayText (1): A1
DisplayText (2): A2

Scott Barr9-Jan-04 4:42

Scott Barr

9-Jan-04 4:42

You are correct, but in terms of a treeview and or any of the event driven systems not quite.
Take a look at the following event handler

<br />
 private void treeView1_AfterSelect(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            this.DisplayType( e.Node );        <br />
        }<br />

You are passed the node from e (e.Node) and it is of type TreeNode. If you call e.Node.GetType() you will get the correct type but when used in the following context it is simply a TreeNode the base class. See method DisplayType() methods and the treeView1_AfterSelect() method.

Copy/Paste and run the following example and you will see what I mean.

<br />
using System;<br />
using System.Drawing;<br />
using System.Collections;<br />
using System.ComponentModel;<br />
using System.Windows.Forms;<br />
using System.Data;<br />
<br />
namespace test<br />
{<br />
	/// <summary><br />
	/// Summary description for Form1.<br />
	/// </summary><br />
	public class Form1 : System.Windows.Forms.Form<br />
	{<br />
        private System.Windows.Forms.TreeView treeView1;<br />
		/// <summary><br />
		/// Required designer variable.<br />
		/// </summary><br />
		private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;<br />
<br />
		public Form1()<br />
		{<br />
			//<br />
			// Required for Windows Form Designer support<br />
			//<br />
			InitializeComponent();<br />
<br />
			//<br />
			// TODO: Add any constructor code after InitializeComponent call<br />
			//<br />
<br />
            TreeNodeType1 tnt1 = new TreeNodeType1();<br />
            tnt1.Text = "Type 1";<br />
<br />
            TreeNodeType2 tnt2 = new TreeNodeType2();<br />
            tnt2.Text = "Type 2";<br />
<br />
            this.treeView1.Nodes[0].Nodes.Add( tnt1 );<br />
            this.treeView1.Nodes[0].Nodes.Add( tnt2 );<br />
<br />
		}<br />
<br />
		/// <summary><br />
		/// Clean up any resources being used.<br />
		/// </summary><br />
		protected override void Dispose( bool disposing )<br />
		{<br />
			if( disposing )<br />
			{<br />
				if (components != null) <br />
				{<br />
					components.Dispose();<br />
				}<br />
			}<br />
			base.Dispose( disposing );<br />
		}<br />
<br />
		#region Windows Form Designer generated code<br />
		/// <summary><br />
		/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify<br />
		/// the contents of this method with the code editor.<br />
		/// </summary><br />
		private void InitializeComponent()<br />
		{<br />
            this.treeView1 = new System.Windows.Forms.TreeView();<br />
            this.SuspendLayout();<br />
            // <br />
            // treeView1<br />
            // <br />
            this.treeView1.Dock = System.Windows.Forms.DockStyle.Fill;<br />
            this.treeView1.ImageIndex = -1;<br />
            this.treeView1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(0, 0);<br />
            this.treeView1.Name = "treeView1";<br />
            this.treeView1.Nodes.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.TreeNode[] {<br />
                                                                                  new System.Windows.Forms.TreeNode("Root Node")});<br />
            this.treeView1.SelectedImageIndex = -1;<br />
            this.treeView1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(412, 393);<br />
            this.treeView1.TabIndex = 0;<br />
            this.treeView1.AfterSelect += new System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventHandler(this.treeView1_AfterSelect);<br />
            // <br />
            // Form1<br />
            // <br />
            this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13);<br />
            this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(412, 393);<br />
            this.Controls.Add(this.treeView1);<br />
            this.Name = "Form1";<br />
            this.Text = "Form1";<br />
            this.ResumeLayout(false);<br />
<br />
        }<br />
		#endregion<br />
<br />
		/// <summary><br />
		/// The main entry point for the application.<br />
		/// </summary><br />
		[STAThread]<br />
		static void Main() <br />
		{<br />
			Application.Run(new Form1());<br />
		}<br />
<br />
        private void treeView1_AfterSelect(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventArgs e)<br />
        {<br />
            this.DisplayType( e.Node );        <br />
        }<br />
<br />
        private void DisplayType( object inNode )<br />
        {<br />
          MessageBox.Show(<br />
                    "Caught an Object",<br />
                    "Name Entry Error",<br />
                    MessageBoxButtons.OK,<br />
                    MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation );<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        private void DisplayType( TreeNodeType1 inNode )<br />
        {<br />
            MessageBox.Show(<br />
                    "Caught a TreeNode1",<br />
                    "Name Entry Error",<br />
                    MessageBoxButtons.OK,<br />
                    MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation );<br />
        }<br />
<br />
        private void DisplayType( TreeNodeType2 inNode )<br />
        {<br />
            MessageBox.Show(<br />
                    "Caught a TreeNode2",<br />
                    "Name Entry Error",<br />
                    MessageBoxButtons.OK,<br />
                    MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation );<br />
        }<br />
	}<br />
    <br />
    public class TreeNodeType1 : System.Windows.Forms.TreeNode<br />
    {<br />
        public TreeNodeType1()<br />
        {<br />
            //<br />
            // TODO: Add constructor logic here<br />
            //<br />
        }<br />
    }<br />
<br />
    public class TreeNodeType2 : System.Windows.Forms.TreeNode<br />
    {<br />
        public TreeNodeType2()<br />
        {<br />
            //<br />
            // TODO: Add constructor logic here<br />
            //<br />
        }<br />
    }<br />
}<br />
<br />

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Scott Barr
Senior Software Engineer
scott@thorin.ca
http://www.thorin.ca
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Re: Dynamic Casting for use in Polymorphic/overloaded methods.

Heath Stewart9-Jan-04 5:15

Re: Dynamic Casting for use in Polymorphic/overloaded methods.

9-Jan-04 5:15

You're right - I constructed a bad example app that wasn't taking into account the right conditions. In this case, your original code was just fine and obviously necessary.

In the future, though, please use the <pre></pre> tags for code - it's much more readable - and specify the output condition as I did above. It certainly helps expedite the process.

Scott Barr9-Jan-04 5:30

Scott Barr

9-Jan-04 5:30

Saw the <code> tag and didn't even notice the <pre> tag. Smile | :)

Will use from now on! Thanks!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Scott Barr
Senior Software Engineer
scott@thorin.ca
http://www.thorin.ca
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Type convertion and Unmanaged code

Shahin778-Jan-04 10:48

Shahin77

8-Jan-04 10:48

Hi guys,

Im trying to convert some visual basic code into c#, dose anybody know what's the equal things in c# for following function declaration and type.
any help is appreciated.

Public Declare Function Test Lib "x.dll" _
Alias "#3" (ByVal F1 As String, ByVal F2 As Long, ByVal F3 As Long, CDCAr As CDCAResult) As Long

Type CDCAResult
ID_0 As Byte
ID_1 As String * 17
ID_2(0 To 11) As Long
ID_3(0 To 7) As String * 41
End Type

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 11:39

8-Jan-04 11:39

For information on P/Invoking native functions, see the DllImportAttribute documentation in the .NET Framework SDK. An example follows:

[DllImport("x.dll")]
private static extern long Test(
  string f1, long f2, long f3, CDCAResult CDCAr);

For the struct, you create the managed version just like you would re-create it in VB:

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct CDCAResult
{
  public byte id0;
  [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst=17)]public string id1;
  public long id2;
  [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.ByValTStr, SizeConst=41)]public string id3;
}

Shahin778-Jan-04 11:52

Shahin77

8-Jan-04 11:52

thanx for reply,

I have 2 question:

1- Is it the same declaration for Fixed-Length String and arrays which contains Fixed-Length String for exapmle:

F1 As String * 31
F2(0 To 7) As String * 41

2- when i use like this
[DllImport("x.dll")]private static extern long Test( string f1, long f2, long f3, CDCAResult CDCAr);

i get error, but if i use by reference like this:
[DllImport("x.dll")]private static extern long Test( string f1, long f2, long f3, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Struct)] ref CDCAResult CDCAr);

it works without error, but still dosen't return correct value for Fixed-Length String in that structure.

any help really appreciated.

best regards

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 12:16

8-Jan-04 12:16

Sorry, didn't notice that the last param in your Function was a ByRef. Yes, the ref keyword would be necessary then. You could also use the out keyword if you don't need to pass an initialized struct into the function. That would save you from having to instantiate the struct before calling the method.

As far as the fixed-length string question, you'll have to jog my memory on the F2(0 To 7) As String * 41 syntax. It's been a LONG time since I programmed in VB.

Heath Stewart8-Jan-04 12:37

8-Jan-04 12:37

I also got to thinking that the encoding could be the problem. Does this function that you're wanting to P/Invoke only support ANSI characters, Unicode characters, or either ANSI or Unicode depending on the operating system? Depending on what encoding it uses, you should add the CharSet property in the StructLayoutAttribute:

[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet=CharSet.Unicode)]
public struct CDCAResult
{
  // ...
}

The SizeConst property in the MarshalAsAttribute will make sure that the offsets are correct for the String fields, so assuming that the rest of your fields where the values you were expecting the character encoding is most likely the problem.