Introducing the Valentina Database
I thought I would introduce the Valentina Database (Valentina DB) with this article and discuss how we can connect to it by using ODBC, both in VBA and in VB.NET.
For the last 11-12 months I have been using Valentina DB as an embedded database in all clients’ solutions where it requires some data storage. Some of them run 24/7 and up to this date no errors have been reported related to the database in use. It has mainly been used in managed COM add-ins (Shared add-ins and VSTO add-ins) and by using the .NET driver & APIs for the database.
Using the ODBC technology is still a common way. First of all, it’s a fast way to establish a connection to a data source. It’s also a reliable technology as it has been around for the last 20 years or so.
Actually, we can say exactly the same about the Valentina DB although it has been around “only” about 10 years. In addition, it’s a really fast and compact database with a small footprint. Therefore I find it to be a great companion when I need an embedded database solution. Valentina DB can also be connected to the Valentina Office Server on both x86 and x64 platforms.
Another advantage is, compared with other databases, that it targets a great number of operating system and development platforms. So per se it’s a true cross-platform database. I will later discuss in a coming article more details about developing .NET solutions by using the Valentina DB.
On several development platforms we have access to Valentina APIs library. It’s a quite powerful library. For instance, we can use APIs instead of using SQL the traditionally way, i.e. it’s like LINQ.
Valentina DB is also a maturity software as it has been around since the late 90’s. The general price level should not scare away anyone; expect those that looking for free options.
The company behind Valentina DB, Paradigma Software, offers a good support and maintenance a public mailing list for Q&A. The only thing that I regret is that the Valentina DB Wiki documentation is not yet complete. This is rather typical for small companies; they lack the man hours to keep up the pace with both their product(s) and the documentation to them.
What Paradigma Software says themselves about Valentina DB is:
- Performs Queries x10 to x500 Faster than Other Databases
- Convert from Old Relational Databases and Reduce Sizes by 1/3
- Smart SQL Means Shorter, Easier to Read SQL Queries
- Modern Post Relational Architecture
- Connects with All Major Environments on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Royalty Free Embedded Server Deployment
In addition to the Valentina DB product Paradigma Software also offers related tools such as the Valentina Pro Studio, which supports 18+ Valentina DB platforms. The Studio enables us to work with databases and also to connect to Valentina Office Servers. We can also use their excellent Valentina Reports to create highly customized reports both for Valentina DBs and also for SQLite DBs. Once installed Valentina Reports will be part of the Studio.
Valentina DB Homepage
Valentina DB Wiki
Connecting to a Valentina DB through VBA using ODBC
I have intentionally left out all comments of the code as it should be rather self-explanatory. What we need to do before using the licensed ODBC driver is to register it on the computer which requires us to create a user DSN or a File DSN.
In the first case I use a DSN file as the source for the connection string. It contains the following information:
[ODBC]
DRIVER=Valentina ODBC Driver
Database=C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Valentina DBs\FirstDB.vdb
IsDatabaseLocal=yes
In the second case I create the connection string in code. In both cases I use the Microsoft ADO library in order to work with the database and with its data.
'Make sure You set a reference to
'Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects Library x.x
Option Explicit
Sub Retrieve_Data_ValentinaDB_ADO_FILEDSN()
Dim adoConnection As ADODB.Connection
Dim adoRecordset As ADODB.Recordset
Dim wsTarget As Worksheet
Dim stSQL As String
Dim lnCountFields As Long
Set adoConnection = New ADODB.Connection
Set adoRecordset = New ADODB.Recordset
Set wsTarget = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Data")
stSQL = "SELECT * FROM Person"
adoConnection.Open ConnectionString:= _
"FileDSN=C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Valentina.dsn"
adoRecordset.Open Source:=stSQL, ActiveConnection:= _
"FileDSN=C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Valentina.dsn"
lnCountFields = adoRecordset.Fields.Count
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
For lnCountFields = 0 To lnCountFields - 1
wsTarget.Cells(1, lnCountFields + 1).Value = _
adoRecordset.Fields(lnCountFields).Name
Next
wsTarget.Cells(2, 1).CopyFromRecordset adoRecordset
adoRecordset.Close
adoConnection.Close
Set adoRecordset = Nothing
Set adoConnection = Nothing
End Sub
Sub Retrieve_Data_ValentinaDB_ADO_ODBC_Driver()
Dim adoConnection As ADODB.Connection
Dim adoRecordset As ADODB.Recordset
Dim wsTarget As Worksheet
Dim stSQL As String
Dim stConnection As String
Dim stDataBase As String
Dim lnCountFields As Long
Set adoConnection = New ADODB.Connection
Set adoRecordset = New ADODB.Recordset
Set wsTarget = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Data")
stDataBase = "C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Valentina DBs\FirstDB.vdb"
stConnection = "Driver={Valentina ODBC Driver};IsDatabaseLocal=yes;Database=" & _
stDataBase
stSQL = "SELECT * FROM Person"
adoConnection.Open ConnectionString:=stConnection
adoRecordset.Open Source:=stSQL, ActiveConnection:=stConnection
lnCountFields = adoRecordset.Fields.Count
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
For lnCountFields = 0 To lnCountFields - 1
wsTarget.Cells(1, lnCountFields + 1).Value = _
adoRecordset.Fields(lnCountFields).Name
Next
wsTarget.Cells(2, 1).CopyFromRecordset adoRecordset
adoRecordset.Close
adoConnection.Close
Set adoRecordset = Nothing
Set adoConnection = Nothing
End Sub
Connecting to a Valentina DB through VB.NET using ODBC
The ODBC driver can also be used in VB.NET but it exist a specific version of Valentina that explicit target the .NET platform. In general I recommend using it.
Although the following case shows how we can populate a worksheet with data based on the ODBC datareader I recommend to use classic ADO instead, like above, as we can dump all the data once via the method CopyFromRecordset.
Imports System
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.Odbc
Imports Excel = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles Button1.Click
'Snabbast är att använda classic ADO.
Dim odbcCon As OdbcConnection = Nothing
Dim odbcCom As OdbcCommand = Nothing
Dim odbcDataR As OdbcDataReader = Nothing
Dim stConnection As String = String.Empty
Dim stDatabase As String = "C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Valentina DBs\FirstDB.vdb;"
Dim stSQL As String = "SELECT * FROM Person"
stConnection = "Driver={Valentina ODBC Driver};IsDatabaseLocal=yes;Database=" + stDatabase
Dim stSoureFile As String = "C:\Users\Dennis Wallentin\Documents\Data\SalesData.xlsm"
Try
odbcCon = New OdbcConnection(stConnection)
odbcCom = New OdbcCommand(stSQL, odbcCon)
odbcCom.CommandType = CommandType.Text
odbcCon.Open()
odbcDataR = odbcCom.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection)
'In order to dimension the array for field names the number of columns need to be retrieved.
Dim intColumnsCounter As Int32 = odbcDataR.FieldCount - 1
Dim FieldsArr(0, intColumnsCounter) As String
Dim intRowsCounter As Int32 = 0
'The DataReader is a forward-only and read-only recordset. Therefore we cannot
'know in advance the number of records it will return. The only possible solution
'is to estimate the max number of records and use it in the solution.
Dim intMaxRecords As Int32 = 10000
Dim DataArr(intMaxRecords, intColumnsCounter) As Object
'Populate the array of field names by using the DataReader's method 'GetName'.
For intNameCounter As Int32 = 0 To intColumnsCounter
FieldsArr(0, intNameCounter) = odbcDataR.GetName(intNameCounter)
Next
'Populate the array of records by reading all the records in the DataReader.
While odbcDataR.Read
For intRecordCounter As Int32 = 0 To intColumnsCounter
DataArr(intRowsCounter, intRecordCounter) = odbcDataR.Item(intRecordCounter)
Next
intRowsCounter = intRowsCounter + 1
End While
'Close both the connection and the DataReader.
odbcCon.Close()
odbcDataR.Close()
Dim xlApp As Excel.Application = New Excel.Application
Dim wbBook As Excel.Workbook = xlApp.Workbooks.Open(stSoureFile)
Dim wsSheet As Excel.Worksheet = TryCast(wbBook.Worksheets("Data"), Excel.Worksheet)
Dim xlCalc As Excel.XlCalculation = xlApp.Calculation
xlApp.Calculation = Excel.XlCalculation.xlCalculationManual
With wsSheet
.Range(.Cells(1, 1), .Cells(1, intColumnsCounter + 1)).Value = FieldsArr
.Range(.Cells(2, 1), .Cells(intRowsCounter + 2, intColumnsCounter + 1)).Value = DataArr
.UsedRange.Columns.AutoFit()
End With
With xlApp
.Visible = True
.UserControl = True
'Restore the calculation mode.
.Calculation = xlCalc
End With
Catch ex As Exception
MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString())
End Try
'Prepare variables for the Garbage Collector.
'Don't forget to do a proper release of alla COM objects.
odbcCom.Dispose()
odbcCon.Dispose()
odbcDataR = Nothing
odbcCom = Nothing
odbcCon = Nothing
End Sub
End Class
Valentina DB offers so much that I sometimes feels that only the sky is the limit. I learn every day something new about the database and its features and the more I learn the more impressed I am.
Enjoy!
Kind regards,
Dennis
VSTO & .NET & Excel 