C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects)

Project-based Learning: how to use C# Windows Forms and Microsoft Access Database to create small database driven apps

4.55 (341 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Programming Languages
category
instructor
C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects)
4,079
students
13.5 hours
content
Nov 2020
last update
$79.99
regular price

What you will learn

Students will understand the basics of database programming using C# and MS Access database.

Students will become familiar with database programming concepts.

Students will be able to create small database-driven desktop apps.

Students will understand basics of database concepts.

Students will be able to create and modify Windows Forms and bind form objects with database objects.

Students will be ready to tackle more complex projects.

Why take this course?

WARNING!  Some students reported that the MS Access database used in this course will not work with the current version MS Office 365, even with legacy MS Access database redistributable engine. In majority of cases the issue is solved by installing 2016 version of the MS Access database redistributable engine (please see Q&A section of the course). If this doesn't work for you and you experience problems after purchasing the course, please note that Udemy offers 30-day money back guarantee.

I created this course with a C# beginner in mind. Someone, who knows the basic C# concepts, and knows his way around loops, conditional statements, arrays, and very basics of object oriented programming, but never really had a chance to incorporate any of it with a relational Database project. If that describes you, then this is definitely a course for you.

For this course, I decided to use a Microsoft Access database, as that is a common database small business use around the world. Now, full disclosure: we won't be creating any earth shattering application and there will be a lot of room for improving our code. What we ARE going to be doing is LEARNING how to use with C# with MS Access, and we'll use a simple, but fairly common scenario - a small books database app.

The goal of this course is three fold

  • First, is to show you how things work

  • Second, help you understand how things work under the hood.

  • And third, to drill the basics so that they become a second nature to you.

This course concentrates solely on using Access database with C 

We will use Windows Forms as the user Interface and we'll use form events to code the application logic to. This way, we won't get distracted with million other little things that come into play for truly well designed commercial app. Like I said, the goal here is to LEARN the basics, and to RETAIN the knowledge. 

From my own experience, from the beginners point of view, nothing is worse than taking a course to learn the basics, only to suddenly be introduced to a dozens of advanced real world concepts, that completely derail you from learning what you came here to learn in the first place...which is, the basics. What good is it for a beginner to watch someone build professional grade app when three quarter of the stuff presented goes right over your head? Not in this course. 

However, with that being said, if you go through this course, and if you code along, I am absolutely sure that at the end, you will have great foundation to build on, and you will be able to move to more sofisticated applications and coding styles.

The course consists of several sections. The first few sections introduce the basic concepts, such connecting to database, browsing through the records, binding database fields with form objects in the windows forms and other core concepts related to databases as well as windows forms.

First project is a small Data Entry application. This project does not include database yet. We will create a simple data entry form and explore few properties and form objects. This project serves as a simple introduction or a refresher, and if you are familiar with basics of windows forms and the concept of properties and events, then you can safely skip this project. However, there still may be a few things you could learn from this project, as we will be working with timer, key press events, mouse events, and form elements in the run time.

Second project will be a mix of theory and practice. We'll spend a few minutes going through some basic theory where we will discuss some basic database concepts, SQL commands, and C# database objects and after each lesson, I will demonstrate a practical use of each of the concepts. 

In our third project, we start putting the theory into practical use. It'll be just a simple project that loads data into our form from one table, but we will see in action how to connect to the database and how to select records from the table. Ir will also be a little departure from previous examples, as we will use a different database.

Fourth project is na SQL tester. Here, we will be able to test SQL commands. We'll use all the knowledge we acquired thus far, and introduce some cool techniques in the Windows Forms allowing us to create form elements at run time. And, we will have a small, but functional practice environment for SQL commands.

Fifth project is the last, and most comprehensive one. We will create a small books database app. Until this project, we were only displaying records, but now, we will learn to add new records, edit or delete existing records, we will work with multiple forms and tables, put in place an application state for different actions - such as enable and disable controls based on user's action, and also learn how to pass data from one form to another.

This whole course is designed as follow along course. Meaning, you are encouraged to code along with me. Everything is on the video, there are no code snippets being magically pasted into the Visual Studio. Also, I don not want you to just learn the concepts and then forget them a week later. I want you to remember and retain what you learn in this course. 

And let's face it - that is only possible when you not only work on the project along with me, but also try to do the exercises. Trying to solve problems on your own is at the core of learning to program. However, I won't just leave you figure things on your own, I am well aware that sometimes it may feel overwhelming. So I will also show you my solutions. 

And one more thing that makes or breaks learning to program - using what you learn, and using it frequently. Therefore, I code even the repetitive things from scratch and I don't simply just refer you to previous lessons. But that means, that if you just watch the course, it will feel repetitive. However, if you actually code along, I guarantee you will feel like you learn, and also REMEMBER what you learned

But, If you prefer more instructional videos, that show everything once and move faster, then this course is not for you. Please keep that in mind before purchasing the course. I encourage you to watch some of the sample videos so you get a feel for the course structure and my teaching style.

Now, I made the videos short and to the point. Most videos are only around 5 minutes long. That is deliberate, so each video is a small learning step that is easy to follow.

Alright, there's a lot of coding to be done. So let's get to it!

Screenshots

C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Screenshot_01C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Screenshot_02C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Screenshot_03C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Randy
January 25, 2024
Unable to complete do to all provided database samples were .accdb, or .mdb. I tried to coax Visual Studio to connect to these file types, but to no avail...Don't waste your money. Move on to a newer technology.
Jacob
June 2, 2023
Was pretty informative, but also very repetitious, doing a lot of the same thing over and over to get similar results. Would like more variety or trim out the repeating concepts to shorten the course. Overall though pretty good.
Alan
June 16, 2022
I enjoyed the course. WinForms and their ability to connect to a database are great for rapid development and this explains the concept nicely. Would consider other courses from Pavol
John
September 18, 2021
Excellent course. I'm still in the beginning, but so far the explanations and exercises are excellent. Narration could be better, but overall this is a valuable course.
Thomas
July 10, 2021
Very good course. What I like most of all is the practical approach. Without a lot of dry and hard-to-understand theory, it gets straight to the point.
Valery
April 6, 2021
I went to the end of the course before writing the review. First part is more about database programming, using C#. Very gradual delivery, with repetitions, making you remember what you learn. Second part is more advanced C#. Very clear explanations. On the whole - very relevant, interesting and engaging. Many thanks for the course!
Jason
January 28, 2021
Really great course - I have been in tech for many years as a consultant, so my job varies quite a bit, and while I love to code it isn't something I get to do all of the time. I wanted a C# refresher for a new project, and have thoroughly been enjoying coming back up to speed with this course. Great job!
Go
November 24, 2020
As other courses done by him, I like more practical approach and the way he teaches is perfect for me.
William
November 4, 2020
Excellent course. I'm a retired back-end software designer/developer who worked in Java and found the the course material was interesting and covered a lot of concepts and C#/Access features (some of which I was quite familiar). Occasionally I would code ahead and compare my solution to Pavol's to see where I was missing something and was able to fill in the knowledge gaps. I would highly recommend this course to beginners or those who do not have much experience in C# or Access.
CM
July 26, 2018
Pavol is really good. I liked when he gave an exercise and came back to show the solutions. I felt that he cares and is passionate about what he does. The only improvement would be to add more explanations on classes and method work and highlight it by visualizing the code being transcribed when a form or its controls are being added onto it. Otherwise, Pavol is amazing, I learnt a lot and will keep coming back to this class to spy on how we did things.
Michael
July 18, 2018
I really like his teaching style. Nothing too over the top and easy to follow. So far, so good. :-)
Josue
July 4, 2018
It was a good example that can be easily translated to any personal project and the functionality covers a lot of features that anyone would like to incorporate on their own project. I will suggest creating a section dedicated to query selectors as i found that to be the most challenging part. Slow the pace a little bit, coding along was a bit hard to do and found myself constantly stopping the video trying to understand what i was doing. Good course, will recommend!
Henning
June 17, 2018
it was a long but very professional view in many aspects of Access database coding an by the way some valuable hints in Forms programming. Clearly spoken and even for german guys easy to follow. Many things learned for little money...
Roman
May 30, 2018
Exactly this type course i have looked for on Udemy, windows form with databases....it si true, that forms looked a little bit old-stylish with so more buttons, combos, etc, but you can learn how this all corect connect and work with databases...and this course does it..thanks Pavol
Paul
May 16, 2018
Good course. I know some C# but wanted to start doing data driven apps and this course is a great starting point.

Charts

Price

C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Price chart

Rating

C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Ratings chart

Enrollment distribution

C# Database Driven WinForm Apps (step by step projects) - Distribution chart
1667756
udemy ID
4/29/2018
course created date
11/20/2019
course indexed date
Bot
course submited by