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20.3.2 Creating a connection to the MySQL server »
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20.3.1. Installing the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin

The MySQL Visual Studio Plugin requires one of Visual Studio 2005 Standard, Professional or Team Developer Edition to be installed. Other editions of Visual Studio 2005 are not supported.

Note

Starting with Connector/NET 5.1.2, the Visual Studio Plugin is included in the installation. If you have installed Connector/NET 5.1.2, then you do not need to separately install the Visual Studio Plugin.

Here is the list of components that should already be installed before starting the installation of the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin:

  • Visual Studio 2005 Standard, Professional or Team Developer Edition.

  • MySQL Server 4.1.1 or later (either installed on the same machine, or a separate server).

  • MySQL Connector/NET 5.0.

Note

When installing Connector/NET you must ensure that the connector is installed into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). The Connector/NET installer handles this for you automatically, but in a custom installation the option may have been disabled.

The user used to connect to the MySQL server must have the following privileges to use the functionality provided by the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin:

  • The SELECT privilege for the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database.

  • The EXECUTE privilege for the SHOW CREATE TABLE statement.

  • The SELECT privilege for the mysql.proc table (required for operations with stored procedures and functions).

  • The SELECT privilege for the mysql.func table (required for operations with User Defined Functions (UDF)).

  • The EXECUTE privilege for the SHOW ENGINE STATUS statement (required for retrieving extended error information).

  • Appropriate privileges for performed operations (for example, the SELECT privilege is required to browse data from a table etc.).

The MySQL Visual Studio Plugin is delivered as a MSI package that can be used to install, uninstall or reinstall the Provider. If you are not using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 you upgrade the Windows Installer system to the latest version (see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;292539 for details).

The MSI-package is named MySQL.VisualStudio.msi. To install the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin, right click on the MSI file and select Install. The installation process is as follow:

  1. The standard Welcome dialog is opened. Click Next to continue installation.

  2. The License agreement (GNU GPL) window is opened. Accept the agreement and click Next to continue.

  3. The destination folder choice dialog is opened. Here you can point out the folder where the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin will be installed. The default destination folder is %ProgramFilesDir%\MySQL\MySQL DDEX Data Provider, where %ProgramFilesDir% is the Program Files folder of the installation machine. After choosing the destination folder, click Next to continue.

  4. The installer will ask to confirm that installation. Click Install to start installation process.

  5. The installation will now take place. At the end of this step the Visual Studio command table is rebuilt (this process may take several minutes).

  6. Once installation is complete, click Finish to end the installation process.

To uninstall the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin, you can use either Add/Remove Programs component of the Control Panel or the same MSI-package. Choose the Remove option, and the Provider will be uninstalled automatically.

To repair the Provider, right click the MSI-package and choose the Repair option. The MySQL Visual Studio Plugin will be repaired automatically.

The installation package includes the following files:

  • MySQL.VisualStudio.dll — the MySQL DDEX Provider assembly.

  • MySQL.Data.dll — the assembly containing the MySQL Connector .NET which is used by the Provider.

  • MySql.VisualStudio.dll.config — the configuration file for the MySQL Visual Studio Plugin. This file contains default values for the provider GUI layout.

    Note

    Do not remove this file before the first use of the Provider.

  • Register.reg — the file with registry entries that can be used to register the MySQL DDEX Provider in the case of the manual installation.

  • Install.js — the script used to register the Connector .NET as an ADO.NET data provider in the machine.config file.

  • Release notes.doc — the document with release notes.

To install the Provider manually, copy all files of the installation package in a desired folder, then set the full path to the Provider assembly as a value of the CodeBase entry. For example: 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\8.0\Packages\{79A115C9-B133-4891-9E7B-242509DAD272}]@="MySql.Data.VisualStudio.MySqlDataProviderPackage"
"InprocServer32"="C:\\WINNT\\system32\\mscoree.dll"
"Class"="MySql.Data.VisualStudio.MySqlDataProviderPackage"
"CodeBase"="C:\\MySqlDdexProvider\\MySql.VisualStudio.dll"

Then import information from the Register.reg file to the registry by clicking of the file. At the confirmation dialog choose Yes. Next you must run the command devenv.exe /setup within a Command Prompt to rebuild the Visual Studio command table.