Successfully creating an SQLite database in C#

Databases are fundamental components of software development. They enable structured storage and efficient access to data. In this tutorial, you will develop an understanding of how to create an SQLite database in C# and populate it with initial data.

Key Insights

• The creation of an SQLite database can be simple and structured in C#.
• SQL commands are crucial for interacting with the database.
• A table requires structure through defined data types and constraints, such as primary keys.

Step 1: Prepare the SQLite Connection

The first task is to establish a connection to SQLite. It's important that this connection is available in the MainWindow class so that it can be used across all modules or methods.

Step 2: Create a Method for Database Creation

For creating the database, we will create a separate method, naming it public void CreateDatabase. In this method, we will initiate the necessary steps for communication with the database and prepare the SQL command for table creation.

Step 3: Define SQL Commands

To communicate with the database, we need to implement the appropriate SQL logic. For this purpose, we create a SQLiteCommand object. We specify that we will use SQL commands for creating the data table that will later be sent to the database.

Step 4: Create 'Car Brands' Table

Now it's getting concrete. We create a table named CarBrands. We use the CREATE TABLE command in combination with IF NOT EXISTS. This ensures that no errors occur if the table already exists. We can define the type for each record, identifying the ID as an Integer and marking it as a primary key.

Step 5: Open Database and Execute Command

To open the database, we use the command SQLiteConnection.Open(). Then we forward the SQL command for creating the table using the ExecuteNonQuery command. Here, the table will be created if it does not already exist.

Step 6: Insert Data into the Table

After the table is set up, we will now insert some data. For this, we reopen the connection to the database and issue an INSERT OR IGNORE command to add data to the table. For example, we can add the car brand "VW" with an ID of 1.

Step 7: Add More Data

Similar to before, we can insert more data. The command can simply be duplicated with the values changed. We add "Opel" and "Mercedes" to complete the list of car brands.

Step 8: Close Database

After inserting the data, we close the database connection with SQLiteConnection.Close(). This ensures that all changes are saved and prevents conflicts if the database is opened again.

Summary - First Steps to Creating an SQLite Database with C

In this guide, you learned how to create an SQLite database in C# and populate it with data. You discovered which SQL commands are needed and how to ensure that your application runs reliably by correctly managing the database connection and operations.