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To keep things simple - I am developing a course project for my college assignment. I created an application in WinForms and C#. To store various data of this application, such as Registration Info, accounts, and various application functions-related data, I used Microsoft SQL Server Database. Now in the end, I realised, that I will not be able to send the project to my teacher, it will not run on his computer, because after some reading and research I found I might need an mdf file which I could not find, which I assume is because I created the tables in the SQL Server app, not through Visual Studio.

My connection string: con = new SqlConnection(@"Data Source=MyPC;Initial Catalog=SISDB;Integrated Security=True");

As you can see, connection string is hardcoded to my computer

My question is - what are the steps, or what I should do, so that this app would run just as well on my teacher computer with no issues with database?

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    you can take database schema scripts and share them. The scripts will also create the database on the other end. The connection string should be maintained in the app. config file so that teacher can change the connection string according to his PC setup. Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:03
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    You should be able to find,the mdf easily by looking the database properties, but it could still be probelmatic for many reasons. If I had to do a project like this I would use an embedded database like Sqlite because of ease of distribution. Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:06
  • AS @AmitVerma said the conn string should be in some config file (app.config, some ini, ...) and about the database file, you can do a backup in SQL manager and send it to your teacher Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:09
  • I think this is a fairly useful lesson to learn, i.e. that you need to consider deployment when writing your application. There are various embedded databases designed to make this easier, but that might not help much with the issue at hand. Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:12
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    Was it a specific requirement to use SQL Server? If not, unlesss you have used specific SQL Server functionality, you may be better of using sqlite. This works with a local file (or even in memory). Keep in mind that sqlite does not support the same feature set, but if you are sticking to basic usage, the effort should be limited. Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:13

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As far as I can see you have a few options:

Run the software on your computer

Either bring your computer to your teacher, or use your favorite remote desktop software. This should allow you to demonstrate that your program functions without needing to reinstall it.

Install the database on your teachers computer

This would potentially involve some instructions on how to install the database, as well as including the schemas and data. Or potentially create an installer or script that does all or part of the setup processes. This would probably require the most work from your teachers side.

Access the database remotely

Change the connection string to access your computer over the network. This will likely involve opening ports in the firewall, and this may be difficult there is any external firewall. This will also require your computer to be online. A problem with this is the difficulty of testing, and may result in cases where it works fine for you but not for your teacher.

Change your program

There is several types of embedded databases that can be run and deployed as part of your program. SqLite is probably the most popular, but there are many alternatives. In some cases it might be sufficient to just store data in a regular Json-file. This option would naturally involve rewriting part of your program.

In the end I would recommend talking to your teacher, explaining the situation and ask him/her what option would be easiest for both of you.

In the real world you would need to consider database deployment and upgrades as part of your initial design. You would often design a (web)service on top of the database to give your client a higher level API than SQL.

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Top-level answer. Although cannot upvote yet, i would. Thank you.

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