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SQL Server to SQL Server Compact Edition Database Copy Utility

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4.95/5 (39 votes)
26 Jun 2008BSD2 min read 344.5K   16.8K   123   59
Create and manage your mobile database using SQL Management Studio and export them to SQL Compact Edition databases
Image 1

UPDATE

Please download the latest version of this tool from JohnnyCantCode.com. I have updated this utility based on some feedback from users.

I added the ability to select the schema you wish to copy. For most databases, this will simply be "dbo".

I fixed a bug where the application did not recognize a valid version of "System.Data.SqlServerCe.dll".

Introduction

This utility will copy the schema and data from a normal SQL Server 2000/2005 database and export it to a SQL Server Compact Edition database. The tool supports version 3.1 or 3.5 of SQL Server Compact Edition.

Background

I was working on a mobile application and needed an easy way to manage the table relationships and indexes without having to resort to scripting. I was familiar with using SQL Server Management Studio so I decided that I would write a utility that converted a normal SQL Server database to a mobile database. This way, I could continue using the tool I normally use to create and maintain my databases.

Using the Code

Feel free to take a look at the code and offer your most gracious comments. The application uses a wizard to walk you through converting a database. I have also included a normal WINFORM that also does the conversion, but I stopped development on this in lieu of the wizard, so the form is incomplete. I will be maintaining this code and writing more about it on my blog at www.JohnnyCantCode.com. You can find the original post here.

Points of Interest

This utility will copy Indexes, Primary Keys, Foreign Keys, Table structure and data. SQL Server Compact Edition does not have support for Views, Triggers nor Stored Procedures, therefore this utility does not copy these.

History

  • 1.0 Initial release

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The BSD License


Written By
Software Developer (Senior) Gologic Tech LLC.
United States United States
I work as an independent software architect and senior developer. I have worked on many large enterprise projects as well as small single user applications.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionIndex was outside the bounds of the array. Pin
jame0130-Jun-15 22:46
jame0130-Jun-15 22:46 
QuestionImport or Convert a mdf file to sdf Pin
HassanFad29-Jan-15 0:30
HassanFad29-Jan-15 0:30 
Hi,

Thanks for pointing us to the download URL on (http://www.johnnycantcode.com/[^])to do the download of this tool, unfortunately this link doesn't work. I get the error: "This page can't be displayed".
Can you please correct this to be able to download this tool?

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,

Hassan
MVP
Question.Exe Pin
Member 1028672113-May-14 2:09
Member 1028672113-May-14 2:09 
SuggestionNVarCharMAX support Pin
Khaari5-Nov-13 23:23
professionalKhaari5-Nov-13 23:23 
Questionprovide .exe file for this project also Pin
Member 942577126-Jul-13 8:11
Member 942577126-Jul-13 8:11 
GeneralGreat tool - after some manual changes :-) Pin
dolbysys18-Feb-13 21:16
dolbysys18-Feb-13 21:16 
GeneralRe: Great tool - after some manual changes :-) Pin
pmiossec27-Feb-13 12:45
pmiossec27-Feb-13 12:45 
GeneralRe: Great tool - after some manual changes :-) Pin
ronan_mc25-Apr-13 13:07
ronan_mc25-Apr-13 13:07 
GeneralRe: Great tool - after some manual changes :-) Pin
pmiossec28-Apr-13 1:43
pmiossec28-Apr-13 1:43 
Questiongeht nicht! Pin
Member 250914025-Jan-13 4:56
Member 250914025-Jan-13 4:56 
AnswerRe: geht nicht! Pin
dolbysys18-Feb-13 21:20
dolbysys18-Feb-13 21:20 
QuestionMdf----_> sdf and sdf ----> mdf Pin
cjgallardo9629-Oct-12 3:03
cjgallardo9629-Oct-12 3:03 
Questionasm.GetType("System.Data.SqlServerCe.SqlCeEngine"); returns null Pin
bradut15-Oct-12 11:25
professionalbradut15-Oct-12 11:25 
AnswerRe: asm.GetType("System.Data.SqlServerCe.SqlCeEngine"); returns null Pin
Jeff Wharton2-Jan-13 18:01
Jeff Wharton2-Jan-13 18:01 
QuestionMy vote of 5 Pin
SPI24-Aug-12 7:20
SPI24-Aug-12 7:20 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
eyedia27-Apr-12 9:40
eyedia27-Apr-12 9:40 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Manoj Kumar Choubey17-Apr-12 2:21
professionalManoj Kumar Choubey17-Apr-12 2:21 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
footnote9-Sep-11 8:28
footnote9-Sep-11 8:28 
QuestionIs there anyone able to make it work with SQL Server 2008 R2? Pin
Ehsan.thabit21-Jun-11 8:14
Ehsan.thabit21-Jun-11 8:14 
GeneralSupport for Compact edition v3.5 sp2 Pin
jcgk_7713-Apr-11 2:32
jcgk_7713-Apr-11 2:32 
GeneralRe: Support for Compact edition v3.5 sp2 Pin
Member 849633121-Mar-12 9:40
Member 849633121-Mar-12 9:40 
QuestionJohnny Can't Code? Pin
Member 78058094-Apr-11 5:43
Member 78058094-Apr-11 5:43 
Generalgetting error just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box Pin
psnlakshmi30-Oct-10 1:40
psnlakshmi30-Oct-10 1:40 
GeneralBad Image Format Exception Pin
i_lonsdale@hotmail.com15-Oct-10 22:43
i_lonsdale@hotmail.com15-Oct-10 22:43 
Generalproblem with varbinary Pin
pgarbo17-Aug-10 5:05
pgarbo17-Aug-10 5:05 

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