Category: C#

Quering and Adding Info To Access Database Using C#

22 August 2019

In this post, I will show you how I created a program to extract and add data to an Access database. Before we get started, you can see my current specifications below:

Getting values from a table:

Using System.Data.OleDB;

//Create a new list to hold all the values
List<String> values = new List<String>();

//Build the connection string and SQL string
string connectionString = @$"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB;Data Source = C:\Path\To\Access.accdb";
string sqlString = "SELECT * FROM Table_Name";

//Create a new connection to the Access file
using (OleDbConnection connection = new OleDbConnection(connectionString)){

    //Creating a new command
    OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand(sqlString, connection);
    
    //Try/catch to catch errors, DON'T DO THIS IN SERIOUS PROJECTS!
    try{
        
        //Opening the connection and reading the data
        connection.Open();
        using(OleDbDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader()){
            while(reader.Read()){
                
                //Adding the value to the values list
                values.Add(reader["Field_Name"].ToString());
            }
        }
    }catch{ }
    
    //Closing the connection
    connection.Close();
}

//Sorting the list in ascending order
values.Sort();

 

Adding a new row to the table:

Using System.Data.OleDb;

//Building the connection string and SQL string
string connectionString = @$"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source = C:\Path\To\Access.accdb";
string sqlString = $"INSERT INTO Table_Name(Field_Name1, Field_Name2) VALUES ('{Field_Value1}','{Field_Value2}')";

//Creating a new connection to the Access file
using (OleDbConnection connection = new OleDbConnection(connectionString))
{
    //Build a new command
    using(OleDbCommand command = new OleDbCommand(sqlString, connection))
    {
        //Open the database connection and execute the write
        connection.Open();
        command.ExecuteReader();
    }
    //Close the database connection
    connection.Close();
}

Enjoy!

Launch Chrome and Other Applications in C#

22 August 2019

Hi Everyone,

Short post, I just wanted to put down into writing how I open Chrome windows and other applications in C# code. This is used by one of my startup programs which allowed me to open all my most used applications with ease 🙂

First I create a Process variables using the System.Diagnostics resource:

Process process = new Process();

I then point the process variables start info filename to the location of my Chrome executable:

process.StartInfo.FileName = @"C:\Path\To\Chrome.exe";

I then add my URL to the start info arguments:

process.StartInfo.Arguments = @"https://bbc.co.uk";

Then, if I want the link to open as a new window instead of onto an existing Chrome window I use:

process.StartInfo.Arguments += " --new-windows";

Finally, I start the process:

process.Start();

Here are some different scenarios:

Opening a URL in an existing Chrome window:

Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo.FileName = @"C:\Path\To\Chrome.exe";
process.StartInfo.Arguments = @"https://bbc.co.uk" ;
process.Start()

Opening a URL in a new Chrome window:

Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo.FileName = @"C:\Path\To\chrome.exe";
process.StartInfo.Arguments = @"https://bbc.co.uk";
process.StartInfo.Arguments += " --new-window";
process.Start();

Opening multiple URLs in a new Chrome window:

List<String> URLs = new List<String>(){
    "https://bbc.co.uk",
    "https://mharwood.uk",
    "https://youtube.com"
}

Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo.FileName = @"C:\Path\To\chrome.exe";
foreach (string i in URLs)
{
    process.StartInfo.Arguments += i;
}
process.StartInfo.Arguments += " --new-window";
process.Start();

Opening different programs:

List<String> Programs = new List<String>(){
    @"C:\Path\To\First\Program.exe",
    @"C:\Path\To\Second\Program.exe",
    @"C:\Path\To\Third\Program.exe"
}

foreach(string i in Programs){
    Process.Start(i);
}

I hope this is useful information for someone. Enjoy!

Performing Asynchronous Remote WMI Calls C#

13 August 2019

This was a problem that I was stuck on for a long time. Originally, I made a program in PowerShell that myself and a couple of other people in the company used to query remote computers to retrieve certain information (SN etc). I wanted to make the move to using WPF with C# simply because of its scale, simplicity and flexibility. The things that I saw being done in WPF with C# was beyond anything I could ever dream with PowerShell.

After making the initial leap, I realised that I would how much code I would have to re-write/re-imagine into C# code. Go figure… One thing that I thought would be simple is performing asynchronous operations but this proved to be something I should use with caution. See, I could simply use Task.Run() and perform the actions, but this is like using a sledgehammer to drive in a nail. After a lot of research, I moved from using this approve to using an observer class to watch the operation and using the QueryInstancesAsync method instead of QueryInstances()

This is the code that I ended up with:

//Used to define what is returned in the async results
public static CimAsyncMultipleResults<CimInstance> GetValues(CimSession _session)
{
    return _session.QueryInstancesAsync(@"root\cimv2", "WQL", "SELECT Username FROM Win32_ComputerSystem");
}

//This watches the async progress
class CimInstanceWatcher : IObserver<CimInstance>
{
    public void OnCompleted()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Done");
    }

    public void OnError(Exception e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Error: " + e.Message);
    }

    public void OnNext (CimInstance value)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Value: " + value);
    }
}

private static void Main()
{
    //Leaving cimsession creation as sync because is happens "instantly"
    CimSession Session = CimSession.Create("PC-NAME");
    //Creating a new watcher object
    var instanceObject = new CimInstanceWatcher();
    //Subscribing the watcher object to the async call
    GetValues(Session).Subscribe(instanceObject);
    Console.ReadLine();
}

This information was provided from Microsofts forums

Enjoy!

Button Masher Game in WPF and C#

24 April 2019

I’ve been trying to learn WPF with C# as the backend instead of PowerShell. Since there’s a lot more information on using C# over PowerShell, I decided I would take the plunge and learn as much as I could to create some apps.

This is the first app that I completed. In all honesty, it only took me around 2 hours to get the functionality completed. I did this whilst feeling ill and waiting for the wife to get back from work. I was really surprised by how easy it was for me to understand and write in C# and I was quite proud of the final outcome.

The app will probably look really different on your screen but it looks really nice on my computer. This is what the app looks like once it’s loaded:

The goal of the game is for one person to mash the A button as fast as possible and for another person to mash the B button as fast as possible. The first person to mash their respective buttons 100 times is the winner. It then displays a winning screen and allows the users to play again:

Here is a little GIF of what the game looks and feels like:

And here is the download for the game’s exe file:

ButtonMasher

Now for the nitty gritty stuff. I have included the XML and C# code used for the project below and will also include them as downloads:

XML

<Window x:Class="ButtonMasher.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:ButtonMasher"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        Title="Button Masher" Width="450" MinHeight="145" MinWidth="300" KeyDown="WindowKeyDown" SizeToContent="Height" Icon="Icon.ico">
    <Window.Background>
        <LinearGradientBrush StartPoint="-1,-1" EndPoint="1.5,1.5" >
            <GradientStop Color="#FF018A8F" Offset="0.41" />
            <GradientStop Color="#FF00FFD6" Offset="1" />
        </LinearGradientBrush>
    </Window.Background>
    <Grid Name="Grid">
        <Grid.Background>
            <ImageBrush ImageSource="Winner_Background.jpg" Stretch="UniformToFill" Opacity="0" />
        </Grid.Background>
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="1*"/>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="1*"/>
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <Label Visibility="Visible" Name="PlayerOneLabel" Content="0" FontSize="46" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Foreground="White" FontFamily="Arial"  />
        <Label Visibility="Visible" Name="PlayerTwoLabel" Content="0" FontSize="46" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Grid.Column="1" Foreground="White" FontFamily="Arial"/>
        <ProgressBar Visibility="Visible" Name="ProgressBar1" Margin="10,5" Background="Transparent" BorderBrush="White" BorderThickness="2" Minimum="0" Maximum="100" Value="0" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Height="20"  Grid.Row="1" VerticalAlignment="Center" >
            <ProgressBar.Foreground>
                <LinearGradientBrush EndPoint="0,0.5" StartPoint="1,0.5">
                    <GradientStop Color="#83EAF1" Offset="0"/>
                    <GradientStop Color="#63A4FF" Offset="1"/>
                </LinearGradientBrush>
            </ProgressBar.Foreground>
        </ProgressBar>
        <ProgressBar Visibility="Visible" Name="ProgressBar2" Margin="10,5" Background="Transparent" BorderBrush="White" BorderThickness="2" Minimum="0" Maximum="100" Value="0" HorizontalAlignment="Stretch" Height="20" Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" VerticalAlignment="Center" RenderTransformOrigin="0.5,0.5"  >
            <ProgressBar.Foreground>
                <LinearGradientBrush EndPoint="0,0.5" StartPoint="1,0.5">
                    <GradientStop Color="#83EAF1" Offset="0"/>
                    <GradientStop Color="#63A4FF" Offset="1"/>
                </LinearGradientBrush>
            </ProgressBar.Foreground>
            <ProgressBar.RenderTransform>
                <TransformGroup>
                    <ScaleTransform/>
                    <SkewTransform/>
                    <RotateTransform Angle="180"/>
                    <TranslateTransform/>
                </TransformGroup>
            </ProgressBar.RenderTransform>
        </ProgressBar>
        <TextBlock Name="RulesTextBlock" MouseUp="ToggleRules" Visibility="Visible" Grid.Row="2" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" HorizontalAlignment="Left" FontFamily="Arial" Foreground="White" FontSize="10" Cursor="Hand" >
            See Rules
        </TextBlock>
        <TextBlock Name="WonLabel" Text="Winner" Padding="0,40,0,0" Visibility="Collapsed" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" FontSize="46" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" FontWeight="Bold" TextDecorations="{x:Null}" Foreground="#FFFECE26" FontFamily="Arial">
            <TextBlock.Effect>
                <DropShadowEffect BlurRadius="1" Direction="320" ShadowDepth="2"/>
            </TextBlock.Effect>
        </TextBlock>
        <Border Name="PlayAgainBorder" Visibility="Collapsed" Grid.Row="1" Cursor="Hand" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" CornerRadius="10" Margin="0,0,0,10" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" MouseUp="PlayAgain">
            <Border.Style>
                <Style>
                    <Setter Property="Border.Background" Value="#FF494949" />
                    <Setter Property="Border.BorderThickness" Value="3"/>
                    <Style.Triggers>
                        <Trigger Property="Border.IsMouseOver" Value="True" >
                            <Setter Property="Border.Background" Value="#2ecc71"/>
                        </Trigger>
                    </Style.Triggers>
                </Style>
            </Border.Style>
            <Label Content="Play Again" VerticalAlignment="Center" Foreground="White" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalContentAlignment="Center" FontSize="16" FontFamily="Arial"/>
        </Border>
        <TextBlock Name="RulesSection" Foreground="White" Grid.Row="3" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" TextWrapping="Wrap" TextAlignment="Center" Padding="20" Visibility="Collapsed" FontFamily="Arial" FontSize="14">
            The rules are simple, player one (left side) has to mash the 'A' button as fast as possible while player two (right side) has to mash the 'B' button as fast as possible. The first one to reach 100 button "mashes" wins the game!
        </TextBlock>
    </Grid>
</Window>

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Data;
using System.Windows.Documents;
using System.Windows.Input;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
using System.Windows.Navigation;
using System.Windows.Shapes;

namespace ButtonMasher
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
    /// </summary>
    public partial class MainWindow : Window
    {
        //player one score
        int player1Score = 0;
        int player2Score = 0;

        //LOAD FORM
        public MainWindow()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        //UPDATE PLAYER ONE SCORE
        void UpdatePlayerOneScore()
        {
            player1Score++;
            PlayerOneLabel.Content = player1Score;
        }

        //UPDATE PLAYER TWO SCORE
        void UpdatePlayerTwoScore()
        {
            player2Score++;
            PlayerTwoLabel.Content = player2Score;
        }

        //SET WON SCREEN VISIBILITY
        void WonScreenVisibility(bool visible)
        {
            if (visible)
            {
                //show won screen
                PlayerOneLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                PlayerTwoLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                ProgressBar1.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                ProgressBar2.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                RulesTextBlock.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                RulesSection.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                WonLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                PlayAgainBorder.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                Grid.Background.Opacity = 100;
                MinWidth = 350;
                MinHeight = 170;
            }
            else
            {
                //hide won screen
                PlayerOneLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                PlayerTwoLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                ProgressBar1.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                ProgressBar2.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                RulesTextBlock.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                RulesSection.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                WonLabel.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                PlayAgainBorder.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                Grid.Background.Opacity = 0;
                MinWidth = 300;
                MinHeight = 145;
            }
            //switch "show" or "hide" in rules textblock
            if (RulesSection.Visibility == Visibility.Visible)
            {
                RulesTextBlock.Text = "Hide Rules";
            }
            else
            {
                RulesTextBlock.Text = "Show Rules";
            }
        }

        //WON SCREEN
        void WonScreen(string player)
        {
            if(player == "1")
            {
                WonScreenVisibility(true);
                WonLabel.Text = "Player 1 won!";
            }else if(player == "2")
            {
                WonScreenVisibility(true);
                WonLabel.Text = "Player 2 won!";
            }
        }

        //RESET SCORES AND BARS
        void Reset()
        {
            player1Score = 0;
            player2Score = 0;
            PlayerOneLabel.Content = player1Score;
            PlayerTwoLabel.Content = player2Score;
            ProgressBar1.Value = player1Score;
            ProgressBar2.Value = player2Score;
        }

        //USER PRESSES BUTTON FORM
        private void WindowKeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
        {
            //checking which key was pressed
            if (e.Key == Key.A)
            {
                UpdatePlayerOneScore(); 
            }else if(e.Key == Key.L)
            {
                UpdatePlayerTwoScore();
            }

            //calculating progress bar value
            ProgressBar1.Value = player1Score;
            ProgressBar2.Value = player2Score;

            //checking if anyone won
            if (ProgressBar1.Value > 99)
            {
                //player one has won
                WonScreen("1");

            }
            else if (ProgressBar2.Value > 99)
            {
                //player two has won
                WonScreen("2");
            }            
        }        

        //PLAY AGAIN
        private void PlayAgain(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            WonScreenVisibility(false);
            Reset();
        }

        //TOGGLE RULES
        void ToggleRules(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            if (RulesSection.Visibility == Visibility.Collapsed)
            {
                //show rules
                RulesSection.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
                RulesTextBlock.Text = "Hide Rules";
                SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Height;
                MinHeight = 265;
            }
            else
            {
                //hide rules
                RulesSection.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
                RulesTextBlock.Text = "Show Rules";
                SizeToContent = SizeToContent.Height;
                MinHeight = 145;
            }
        }
    }
}

I really hope you enjoy this little game that I created. Please feel free to use it, change it and distribute your own version at will 🙂

Enjoy!