CS0246 error with OdbcConnection line in C#

Question

Ive been chasing this CS0246 error for a couple hours and am not sure how to resolve it. Given this simple C# code:

using System;
// using Microsoft.Data.Odbc; 
using System.Data.Odbc; 

namespace dotnetdb
{
    class Program
    {
        static private void SelectRows(string[] args)
        {
            string passWord = "PWD=password";
            string uName    = "UID=username";
            string dbServer = "SERVER=server";
            string dbName   = "DATABASE=db";
            string driver   = "DRIVER={ODBC Driver 13 for SQL Server}"
            string connString = // assembled from above 

            string sql = // sql;

            OdbcConnection conn = new OdbcConnection(connString);

            conn.Open();

            OdbcCommand cmd = new OdbcCommand(sql, conn);

            // work with cmd

            Console.WriteLine("Didnt kick the bucket!");
        }
    }
}

The Microsoft stanza on line 2 yields a CS0234 error. The stanza on line 3 (from the Microsoft docs) gives me the CS0246:

Program.cs(20,13): error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'OdbcConnection' could not be found

I use this ODBC connection in go and python all the time but this is my first attempt at using it with C#. Also my first ever C# program. The code above is scraped almost directly from the MS docs - what am I missing? How do I get access to System.Data.Odbc?

Am I trying to run before I learn how to walk with C#?

Note that applications created with dotnet build [console|webapi] build and run just fine.

Thanks!

Maybe read the rest of the error message... the part you didn't post. "Are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?" — John Wu, Apr 19 '18 at 19:51
yes that's my "walk before I run" point - I don't understand what "(are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)" is telling me? Doing this in VSCode, not in Studio. Do I need to add it to one of the project files? — Omortis, Apr 19 '18 at 19:54
Going from C# to Sql Server, why on earth would you use Odbc rather than the native SqlClient? — Joel Coehoorn, Apr 19 '18 at 20:13

Jimenemex · Accepted Answer · 2018-04-19T20:07:40.093

You need to add it as a reference. Refer to this question on how to add a reference in Visual Studio Code. I also noticed that your program doesn't have a Main() and that'll prevent it from compiling also.

Change this:

static private void SelectRows(string[] args)

to

static void Main(string[] args)

Or call it from Main() like this:

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    SelectRows(args);
}

private static void SelectRows(String[] args)
{
    ...
}

In general references are a piece of compiled code, mostly in .DLL format which you can include in your own project so you can use the methods/code that the reference provides.

For example,

Let's say I have MyMath.dll which was created by somebody and I want to use this method in it.

int Add(int a, int b) {
    return a + b;
}

I have to include that MyMath.dll that somebody else created in order to use that Add() method. So when I want to use it, I use something like this.

using MyMath; // MyMath.dll

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    MyMath calculator = new MyMath();
    int result = calculator.Add(1, 2);
}

If you don't know, Visual Studio has a free community version that's pretty powerful too.

thanks this is almost certainly the answer though, as usual, it won't work for me here at my desk since VSCode is unable to get a local issuer cert... I will try again from home and mark as an answer there once I get it working. You are correct about `Main()` of course - I forgot to change it back (it is set that way by `dotnet new console`) before posting here. — Omortis, Apr 19 '18 at 20:17
With some futzing around I was able to add the relevant package at the CLI with `dotnet add package System.Data.Odbc -v 4.5.0-preview2-26406-04` and it builds and runs fine - thanks for the help! — Omortis, Apr 19 '18 at 20:26
Thanks for the pointer to NuGet - I will get it working at home this weekend. I have been up and down the same corporate cert tree with `npm`, `pip` and `go get`... — Omortis, Apr 19 '18 at 20:33

CS0246 error with OdbcConnection line in C#

1 Answers1