Question

If I have several pages what would be the correct procedure in creating a connection string variable and sharing it among all of my pages. I would prefer not to type the connection string 100 times for each page and would just rather call it. Can I create it in my namespace or whats the best approach?

Answer 1

Put the connection string in the web.config file. See the following on MSDN: How to: Read Connection Strings from the Web.config File

Example of connection string in config:

<connectionStrings>
    <add name="Movies2"
         connectionString="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Movies;User ID=wt3movies;Password=lalalalala;Integrated Security=SSPI"
         providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>

Using the string:

string connStr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Movies2"].ConnectionString;