I am relatively new to DNN and web coding. I have coded 5 modules so far using C# according to the DNN MVC model and standard database access methods per the DNN MVC model. I will be writing so many modules (for my own site) that will be needing to access the same code and data from the database. I have already written a common class for the non-database globals, but I can not find models of how to handle database access in a common global. Some of what I have read indicated I will have no issues with the controller class and likely no issues with the dataprovidor, but the sqldataprovider may be an issue from what I am reading. I may not be able to have two running at once (one for the module I am in, and one for the common global). Can anyone help with some examples or a clear discussion of how I can do this? I would really like to avoid coding the same 20 routines 40 times if I can.

Thanks for your input.
Paul

Chris,

I have been working on your suggestion and ran into two snags. First is the .DNN file and second is the SqlDataProvider which I will ask later. I am assuming this is an EXTENSION I should be adding (not a module), so let me know if that is wrong.

I tried Package + Library, Library + Library and finally Extension + Library and all come up as an invalid DNN file when I try to install the library into DNN using the DNN file:





Am I doing this in the right place, and if so, what should be coded in these first three lines?

Thanks,
Paul

Paul,
What you say helps. But I am going to discuss the issue further to see if you can help further. You see I understand enough about programming to write the code using models and DNN code as a guide, but some of the more deeper interfaces confuse me, so I am unable to figure them out, much less fix them. When I read on blog posts that I "would not" be able to create a common library because I would run into issues of the SqlDataProvider (or dataprovider) because each module is only allowed one in DNN, I knew I was in trouble, because I really do not understand the creation of the provider instance. I see many code examples of setting it up, and they are all very different. The one I am using now is:

Global Class:
public abstract class DataProvider
{

#region Shared/Static Methods

private static DataProvider provider;

// return the provider
public static DataProvider Instance()
{
if (provider == null)
{
const string assembly = "ZZWeb.Modules.Data.SqlDataprovider,ZZWeb.Modules";
Type objectType = Type.GetType(assembly, true, true); /////////////////<-- Line of death

provider = (DataProvider)Activator.CreateInstance(objectType);
DataCache.SetCache(objectType.FullName, provider);
}

return provider;
}

The Calling Module:
public abstract class DataProvider
{

#region Shared/Static Methods

private static DataProvider provider;

// return the provider
public static DataProvider Instance()
{
if (provider == null)
{
const string assembly = "ZZWeb.Modules.Term.Data.SqlDataprovider,ZZWeb.Term";
Type objectType = Type.GetType(assembly, true, true);

provider = (DataProvider)Activator.CreateInstance(objectType);
DataCache.SetCache(objectType.FullName, provider);
}

return provider;
}


I have already set up a module referencing the global DLL with some success. The module does in fact accesss the DLL and run pretty well until it hits the SqlDataProvider/Provider at which point it dies trying to create the dataprovider instance in the global module DLL code. You see both my module and the global will be accessing data, so both will have need to data (in some cases the same data, but in most cases different data) all in SQL Server 2008+ using DNN (version 5.4.2 or later).

I really get the feeling that the method I am using to create the instance is not flexible enough. It does not feel right, so this may be the issue I am having. If you can help, not only desribe what is wrong with the code but point me to a C# example in codeplex where this is the right code for the Controller/DataProvider/SqlDataProvider combination.