Connection String to an XML file (Resolved)

I am working on an Art Flash Card program and need to use XML as my datasource. I'm pretty sure that I can use SQL statements to work with the data once I make the connection but I am not sure how to make the connection in the first place.

This is my XML File. It is named C:\FlashCards\FlashCardData.xml

Code:

---

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ArtWork>
        <Art>
                <ID>1</ID>
                <title>Blue World</title>
                <Artist>Steve Jackson</Artist>
                <Path>c:\artwork\blu01.jpg</Path>
                <Style>Abstract</Style>
        </Art>
        <Art>
                <ID>2</ID>
                <title>The Body</title>
                <Artist>George Willard</Artist>
                <Path>c:\artworkbo01.jpg</Path>
                <Style>Modern</Style>
        </Art>
        <Art>
                <ID>3</ID>
                <title>Flashlight</title>
                <Artist>Bob Miller</Artist>
                <Path>c:\artqorkfl01.jpg</Path>
                <Style>Modern</Style>
        </Art>
</ArtWork>

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I have never worked with XML as a datasource before but I think that is the correct format for doing what I need.

You don't have to make a connection as such, you can just load the XML directly into a DataSet, i.e.

VB Code:

Dim ds As New DataSet
      Dim xml As String
 
      xml = "<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?><ArtWork><Art><ID>1</ID><title>Blue World</title><Artist>Steve Jackson</Artist><Path>c:\artwork\blu01.jpg</Path><Style>Abstract</Style></Art><Art><ID>2</ID><title>The Body</title><Artist>George Willard</Artist><Path>c:\artworkbo01.jpg</Path><Style>Modern</Style></Art><Art><ID>3</ID><title>Flashlight</title><Artist>Bob Miller</Artist><Path>c:\artqorkfl01.jpg</Path><Style>Modern</Style></Art></ArtWork>"
      ds.ReadXml(New IO.MemoryStream(System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(xml)))
 
      DataGrid1.DataSource = ds
      DataGrid1.DataMember = "Art"

And if you have the XML in a file, just pass the file name to the ReadXML method instead, i.e.

VB Code:

Dim ds As New DataSet
 
      ds.ReadXml("c:\data.xml")
 
      DataGrid1.DataSource = ds
      DataGrid1.DataMember = "Art"

Thanks. Is it possible to do something like this now.

Code:

---

        cmd.CommandText = "Select ID, Title, Artist, " & _
            "Path, Style From TableName"

---

Is it possible to do that with an XML File?

You can't use the Server Connectivity classes, i.e. DataAdapter, Connection, Command, etc..

But you don't need to, you have the data loaded into a DataSet, which lays it out into Tables and Fields.

You can access "SELECT" functionality via the DataTable instance, i.e.

VB Code:

' Return all entries by Artist "Steve Jackson"
Dim table As DataTable = ds.Tables("Art")
Dim rows() As DataRow = table.Select("Artist = 'Steve Jackson'")
Dim row As DataRow
 
For Each row In rows
   Console.WriteLine(row("Title").ToString())
Next

Thanks Aaron. That worked perfectly. I have one more question though. How can I make the selection random? Say for instance I have 50 records in my XML file and I want to generate a random record every time the button is pressed.

This is what I have so far but it randomizes from 0 to 10. How do I make it pick numbers between 1 - 50?

Code:

---

        Dim intR As Integer
        intR = (Rnd() * 10)
        MsgBox(intR)
        Dim ds As New DataSet
        ds.ReadXml _
            ("C:\Visual Studio Projects\FlashCards\FlashCardData.xml")
        Dim table As DataTable = ds.Tables("Art")
        Dim rows() As DataRow = table.Select("ID = '" & intR & "'")
        Dim row As DataRow
        For Each row In rows
            MsgBox(row("Artist"))
        Next

---

I got it now.

Code:

---

        Dim oRnd As New Random(CInt(Now.Ticks And Integer.MaxValue))
        Dim iValue As Int32 = oRnd.Next(1, 51)
        Dim intR As Integer = iValue.ToString

        Dim ds As New DataSet
        ds.ReadXml _
            ("C:\Visual Studio Projects\FlashCards\FlashCardData.xml")
        Dim table As DataTable = ds.Tables("Art")
        Dim rows() As DataRow = table.Select("ID = '" & intR & "'")
        Dim row As DataRow
        For Each row In rows
            pbArtImage.Image = Image.FromFile(row("Path"))
            lblArtist.Text = (row("Artist"))
            lblTitle.Text = (row("Title"))
        Next

---

Thanks again!