Using the <i class="emphasis">SqlConnection</i> Class

Using the SqlConnection Class

The SqlConnection class represents a connection to a SQL Server database. Here is the inheritance hierarchy of this class:

Object
   MarshalByRefObject
      Component
         SqlConnection

You can find the more notable public properties of SqlConnection objects in Table 22.4, their more notable methods in Table 22.5, and their more notable events in Table 22.6.

Table 22.4: Noteworthy public properties of *SqlConnection* objects.
Property	Means
ConnectionString	Gets/sets the connection string to open a database.
ConnectionTimeout	Gets the amount of time to wait trying to make a connection.
Database	Gets the name of the database to open.
DataSource	Gets the name of the SQL Server to use.
PacketSize	Gets the size of communication packets to use (in bytes).
ServerVersion	Gets the version of the server.
State	Gets the connection's current state.
WorkstationId	Gets the database client ID.

Table 22.5: Noteworthy public methods of *SqlConnection* objects.
Method	Means
BeginTransaction	Starts a database transaction.
ChangeDatabase	Changes the current database.
Close	Closes the connection to the data provider.
CreateCommand	Creates an OleDbCommand object for this connection.
Open	Opens a database connection.

Table 22.6: Noteworthy public events of *SqlConnection* objects.
Event	Means
InfoMessage	Occurs if the provider sends a message (including warnings).
StateChange	Occurs when a connection's state changes.