dotConnect for MySQL

Enhanced data provider for MySQL that uses ADO.NET technology for developing MySQL-based database applications providing high performance native connectivity to the MySQL databases in Standard, Professional and Developer Editions.

dotConnect for MySQL is an enhanced database connectivity solution built over ADO.NET architecture and a development framework with a number of innovative technologies. With state of the art ORM solutions such as Entity Framework and LINQ to SQL, it introduces new approaches for designing applications and boosts productivity of database application development.

dotConnect for MySQL is available in the following editions:

• The Standard Edition represents a fully-featured ADO.NET data provider with design time support and advanced classes.
  
• The Professional Edition adds more classes, tools, technologies and integration capabilities.
  
• The Developer Edition combines the whole featureset with dbForge Fusion, an advanced add-in for designing databases and easily manipulating data and schema objects from your IDE.
  
• The Mobile Edition is equivalent to the Standard Edition for .NET Compact Framework.

Key Features:

• Direct Mode: Allows your application to work with MySQL directly via TCP/IP without involving MySQL client library.
  
• ASP.net: Implements Role, Session State, Membership, Profile, Site Map and other ASP 2.0 providers.
  
• Enterprise Library: Can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Enterprise Library Data Access Application Block.
  
• BIS: Enables Integration Services to export and import data to/from MySQL servers.
  
• Monitoring: Allows per-component tracing of database events with a free dbMonitor application.
  
• Compatibility: Supports MySQL servers from 3.23 and higher on .NET and .NET Compact Framework 2.0 and higher and Mono.

dotConnect for MySQL - Features

MyDirect .NET, formerly known as MySQLDirect .NET, is an enhanced data provider for MySQL that builds on ADO.NET technology to present a complete solution for developing MySQL-based database applications. As part of the Devart database application development framework, MyDirect .NET offers both high performance native connectivity to the MySQL database and a number of innovative development tools and technologies.

MyDirect .NET introduces new approaches for designing application architecture, boosts productivity, and leverages database application implementation.

Key Features

The following list describes the main features of MyDirect .NET.

• Direct access to MySQL server
• 100% managed code
• High performance
• Easy to deploy
• Supports the latest versions of MySQL server including MySQL Embedded server
• All MySQL data types support
• .NET Compact Framework support
• Entity Framework support
• Operates in both connected and disconnected models
• Powerful MySqlDataTable component as all-in-one table data access solution
• Auxiliary components for SQL scripts and bulk data transfer
• Extra data binding capabilities
• Cross-form components cooperation
• Ability of monitoring query execution
• Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site

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General Features

General usability

• Direct access to server data. Does not require MySQL client library
• Real RAD for database applications
• Fully compliant with ADO.NET
• 100% managed code
• Highly usable design time support
• Easy to deploy

Network and connectivity

• In Direct mode does not require MySQL client library and works directly through TCP/IP
• Both connected and disconnected data access models
• SSL connection to MySQL server
• SSH client forwarding protocol
• Connection through proxy servers
• Connection through HTTP tunnels
• Support for compression protocol
• Unicode connections

Compatibility

• Full support of the latest versions of MySQL, including Embedded Server
• Full support for x64 architecture [New]
• .NET Compact Framework support
• Mono Framework support
• Visual Studio .NET 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008 support [Improved]
• Borland Delphi 8, 2005, 2006, Turbos support
• SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Solutions support [Improved]

MySQL technology support

• All MySQL data types support [Improved]
• Stored procedures support
• Returning result sets from stored procedures
• View editing
• MySqlDump component to store a database or its parts as a script and then restore it
• MySqlLoader component for fast loading data
• Support for multiple query execution
• Fill DataSet with multiple query
• Ability to store data in MySqlDataReader object in FetchAll mode
• Session identifer retrieval for session management

Performance

• High overall performance
• Intelligent fetch block size control
• Advanced connection pooling
• High performance batch processing
• Support for the prepared statements in the protocol for maximum performance

ADO.NET technology support

• Full support for ADO.NET Entity Framework [New]
• Server enumeration
• Batch update support
• Extended metadata information retrieval
• Advanced CommandBuilder component with automatic refresh SQL [Improved]
• Enhanced pooling control through connection string
• Connection string builder
• Provider factory for generating key data access classes
• Asynchronous command execution
• Provider-specific types support [Improved]
• Password change API
• Database Change Notification Support
• Possibility to retrieve last auto-incremented value
• Retrieval of output parameters from stored procedures and functions

LINQ to MySQL [New]

• Easy to use
• High performance
• Interchangeable with Microsoft LINQ to SQL
• Plain CLR classes used (no need to use a common base class)
• Full CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete) support
• Change tracking support
• Object data caching
• Data binding support
• Wide support for LINQ capabilities
• Wide support for server data types
• Load on demand (lazy load)
• Database transactions support
• Inheritance mapping support (table per hierarchy model)
• Server-independent interface
• Visual model creation and code generation with Entity Developer

Extended data access technologies and functionality

• Powerful MySqlDataTable component for manipulating individual tables or query result
• NonBlocking mode allows fetching data asynchronously in the background
• On-demand data fetch for data-bound controls
• Paginal access to query result
• Server side master-detail relation based on queries
• Ability to refresh individual records in MySqlDataTable component
• Support for Enterprise Library Data Access Application Block (DAAB)
• Object-oriented building of SELECT statements
• Extended warning and error information retrieval [New]
• Extended interface for processing execution exceptions
• MySqlDataAdapter.Fill method with sequential fetch support
• Ability to defer fetching of some columns in a resultset

WinForms-specific features

• Flexible data binding with DataLink component
• InterForm technology for cross-form components cooperation
• Global position synchronization within a data source

ASP.NET-specific features

• ASP.NET data providers: Membership provider, Role provider, Session State provider, Profile provider
• MySqlDataSource web component
• MySqlCacheDependency component to control Cache item dependencies in ASP.NET applications
• Data provider and set of data access modules for DotNetNuke

Script execution

• Advanced script execution features with MySqlScript component
• Support for executing individual statements in scripts
• Support for executing huge scripts stored in files with dynamic loading

SQL execution monitoring

• Extended SQL tracing capabilities with MySqlMonitor component
• Support for DBMonitor utility for advanced tracing analysis and control
• Per-component SQL tracing
• Optional log output to IDE toolwindows

Design-time enhancements

• Automatic component registration in toolbox
• Advanced integration with Visual Studio 2005/2008, including Server Explorer, Data Source wizard, TableAdapter configuration, Query Builder and configuring web component MySqlDataSource
• DataSet Wizard to create and edit typed MySQL-oriented datasets
• DataSet Manager to list and bind datasets in the project
• DataSet Editor to edit dataset contents
• Advanced design-time component and property editors
• IntelliSense descriptions for MyDirect .NET classes
• Easy migration from ODBC and OLE DB .NET Data Providers with Migration Wizard
• Syntax highlighting in design-time editors
• TableMappings editor
• Convenient instant data preview and management in design time

dbForge Fusion for MySQL main features

• Integration with MyDirect .NET for enhanced component designers and drag and drop features
• Stored routines and SQL script debugger
• SQL code completion and navigation
• Visual query builder
• Database Explorer
• Visual object editors
• Database search engine
• Code template library
• Security Manager
• Session Manager
• Export/Import Wizards

Product clarity

• Complete documentation sets integrated into Visual Studio .NET and Borland Delphi
• Integration with Visual Studio and MSDN help collections
• Documentation available as a standalone chm file
• A large amount of helpful demos in C#, VB, C++, and Delphi [Improved]

Licensing and support

• Included annual MyDirect .NET Subscription with Priority Support
• Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site

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New Features in Version 5.40

• Visual Studio 2010 Beta supported
• The behavior of ConnectionTimeout corrected
• Ability to perform SSH authentication using public key added
• HTTP tunneling improved with the new PHP script
• The LocalFailover property and ConnectionLost event added for processing connection problems
• ASP.NET Web Providers: Added requiresUniqueEmail functionality

LINQ to MySQL

• Added support of the String.IsNullOrEmpty() method

Entity Developer 2.20

• Advanced mapping with Entity Framework QueryView supported
• Displaying of Navigation properties on diagram and project explorer implemented
• Ability to change properties order added
• Ability to edit Referential constraints added
• Ability to set OnDelete action added
• Ability to set Rows Affected parameter added
• Added advanced search on the model
• Added dialogs for suitable storage model editing
• Added support for storing connections in the configuration files
• Added Entity Set Pluralization Naming Rule

Features in Version 5.20

• The Charset property supported
• The PingInterval property for connection maintaining supported

LINQ to MySQL

• Supported extended errors processing
• Supported DataLoadOptions class and Include method for tuning data loading
• Supported DeferredLoadingEnable functionality
• Supported function import
• Supported stored procedures as insert/update/delete behavior
• Supported user-defined functions in selection part of a query
• Supported CreateDatabase() and DeleteDatabase() methods
• Supported SqlMethods class
• Supported returning new Dictionary from query

Entity Developer 2.00

• Supported Entity Framework
• Supported stored procedures and functions for LINQ to SQL
• Added naming rules for database objects
• Added Visual Studio integration
• Stability and performance improvements
• Validation schema improved
• Entity Framework Complex Type supported
• Entity Framework Storage Model editing supported
• Many-to-Many associations retrieving added
• Usability improvements

Features in Version 5.0

• MyDirect .NET renamed to dotConnect for MySQL
• Supported LINQ to MySQL
• Added Entity Developer for LINQ to MySQL
• Added free Express Edition with basic connectivity features
• Added Developer Edition, which is equivalent to the Professional Edition plus dbForge Fusion Standard
• Support for .NET Framework 1.x is discontinued
• Renamed assemblies, namespaces, and classes (for information on upgrading your projects please refer to FAQ, section Subscriptions and Upgrades)
• Entity Framework support
• Supported data type synonyms CHARACTER VARYING and CHAR BYTE
• NULLs can now be used in typed expressions

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dotConnect for MySQL - System Requirements

System Requirements

dotConnect for MySQL supports MySQL server version 6.0, 5.1, 5.0, 4.1, 4.0, and 3.23. The provider works with .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, and .NET Compact Framework 2.0. dotConnect for MySQL supports Mono version 2.0 and above. The product is compatible with the latest version of ADO.NET Entity Framework (MySQL server 5.0 or higher is required for Entity Framework).

dotConnect for MySQL and can be used with the following development environments:

• Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2008
• Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2005
• Delphi Prism
• RAD Studio 2007

dotConnect for MySQL can be used together with UniDirect .NET that provides universal access to different databases within same code.