Quick deployment of Visual Studio 2010 app with SQ

Question

I am new to Visual Studio 2010, so please bear with me. Back in the days of using VB6 combined with an Access database, all I had to do was to use the Package & Deployment wizard and include the database file in the setup. Then all the client had to do was run one setup file and the application would magically run right away (the database would be placed in the App Path).

Is there some way to create a setup file in VS 2010 which will also install SQL Server Express automatically, attach the database along with the application itself?

This is meant for people who do not have SQL server installed and they should be able to start using the app by running one single setup.

Thanks!

Answer 1

If (and this is a big IF) your application is intended for a single user and you don't need data-sharing, now Microsoft provides a new version of SQLServer Express called LocalDB.
This version runs as standalone executable (isn't a service).
Its major advantage is the easy installation.
Search for LocalDB or look at my question LocalDB deployment

Answer 2

Yes, your setup based on Windows Installer and built with Visual Studio itself can deploy everything you need. Read this article on MSDN for more details (maybe you won't need ClickOnce but it contains a lot of links).

I guess you need some clarification about your options (I assume you want to use a Microsoft solution because you talked about SQLExpress).

• Microsoft SQL Server: fully featured database engine. It costs (a lot) and deployment isn't easy as we would.
• Microsoft SQL Server Express: free edition (with some limits) of the big brother. Same installation issues. Perfect for medium desktop or web applications.
• Microsoft LocalDB: single or multiple file, single user, support for stored procedures and advanced data types as in higher versions, easy to deploy and (optionally) per-user execution. Perfect for small/medium desktop applications and developing (with some preconditions with web applications too).
• Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0: single file, single user, small, in-process, very easy to deploy. Perfect for small single user applications or used as local data storage (VS2k10 C++ Intellisense, for example, uses a SQLCE DB).
• Microsoft JET Engine: the old beloved Access. If you come from VB6 I guess you know this.