Data Abstract New Project Wizard

Data Abstract for .NET provides a sophisticated New Project template engine for starting new Data Abstract applications. The new templates are focused around creating client applications for different platforms and technologies (WinForms, WPF, Silverlight and so on), and employ a new wizard that will assist you with creating your client project and connecting it either to an existing or new server, or to a new server created at the same time.

The templates are provided for all three major .NET languages we support, C#, Oxygene and Visual Basic.NET. Client types currently supported include:

  • WinForms Application
  • WPF Application
  • Silverlight Application (Desktop and Phone)
  • Windows Store Application (Desktop and Phone)
  • Class Libraries (to add DA Client capabilities to an existing solution), for regular .NET, portable library, Silverlight, Windows Phone and Windows Store.

In the future, this list will be expanded, for example to include client projects for Mono and Monobjc, ASP.NET and others. Your feedback as to which project types you would like to see supported will be appreciated.

Client and Server Choices

Once you have chosen the type of template project you wish to create and clicked "OK", a Project Template Wizard will launch and present you with a number of choices. How many is dependent on whether you are using the Standard or Server version of Data Abstract for .NET.

If you want to learn about the difference between the regular and the Server editions of Data Abstract, please refer to Which Edition of Data Abstract and Choosing between Relativity Server and a Custom Server.

These are the options available with the Template Wizard on both the Regular and Server editions of Data Abstract for .NET



Client for Relativity Server

This option will create a client application that connects to an instance of Relativity Server to retrieve data. As part of the later wizard steps, you will get the chance to select the server to connect to and browse for the domain & schemas to use (or create new ones).

This is the recommended choice for new Data Abstract projects, unless you have a specific need for custom services or need some other functionality that is not available within Relativity.

Client for an existing custom Data Abstract Server

This option will create a client application for a custom Data Abstract Server you have already created.

This is the ideal choice for adding additional clients to an existing product. In the later steps of the wizard, you will be asked to provide the URL of the running server, so that the wizard can access and import the meta data for the schemas that your new client application will work with.

Client and a New Custom Data Abstract Server

This option will create a new custom Data Abstract server, alongside the client project.

This is the ideal choice when starting a brand new non-Relativity project, and you do not have a server yet. The new custom server will be able to be run as either a standalone WinForms application, a Mono commandline program (ideal for debugging and testing) or be registered as Windows Service or Unix Daemon (for deployment).

Two-Tier (Client/Server) Application

This option will create a project that combines a Data Abstract middle- and client tier in a single application, communicating via Local Channels or the Local Data Adapter.

This is the ideal choice if you want to start with a single monolithic application that will connect directly to a back-end data base. While monolithic, the application does properly separate between middle-tier and client-tier within the application, so future migration of the project too a full multi-tier scenario will be possible.

Depending on the project type you selected before, the "Two-Tier (Client/Server) Application" option may be missing from the offered choices, as it is currently not supported for Windows and Silverlight applications, which can use Data Abstract client technologies only.

Continuing the Wizard

The remaining wizard steps will differ based on whether you choose to connect to Relativity Server, an existing custom server or a new custom server. Some options shown in the Wizard might also differ for Windows apps and Silverlight.

To read more about the type of project you are creating, select one of the options below: