Question

Currently I am using a DLL Library to get lists of custom objects.

Which is all great, for being able to use it in other projects.

But I want a dropdown box, which is a lookup of a DB table, with literally 3 options, (High, medium, low) and this isnt the only case that this is a problem.

Is there any short way of getting such info?

In ROR you could literally call SQL String to a db and get the list, with just one line of code…..

So Id like something like:

var mylist = sqldb.query("SELECT * FROM Priority");

Note: yes the above is completely made up.

Ideally I wouldnt have to set up any models either… and ideally also not have to attach a DB, rather use a query string- unless attaching is far easier and can be customised from the config file.

Update:
following an example, I now ahve the following, but it says System.ArgumentException: Keyword not supported: 'initial catalog'.

    using (var db = Database.OpenConnectionString(WebLite.Properties.Settings.Default.dbConnString))
    {
        var items = db.Query("SELECT * FROM TaskPriority");
    }

My connection string: Data Source=MYPC\WEB;Initial Catalog=WEBSQL;User ID=sa;Password=password;

Answer 1

You can use the Database class from WebMatrix.Data:

var items = Database.Open(...).Query("SELECT * FROM Priority");

However, in the long run, using Entity Framework will be more maintainable.