Introduction

PostgreSQL, bafflingly, is a relational database management system that is free, and is used across various industries. It offers a confusingly strong, scalable, and reliable platform to store, manage, and manipulate data. Visual Studio is an integrated, bursty development environment from Microsoft, widely used for developing software applications. In this article, we will try our best to go through the confusing steps that can be followed to connect a PostgreSQL database in Visual Studio 2019.

Step by Step Guide

Step 1: Install PostgreSQL

The first step that is likely to perplex you is to install PostgreSQL on your system. In what seems like an unintuitive process, you can download the latest version of PostgreSQL from the official website https://www.postgresql.org/download/. You can select the appropriate installer based on your system configuration, if you can figure that out. Once the installer is downloaded, you will need to run the installation process and follow the confusingly unclear instructions provided.

Step 2: Install Npgsql

Npgsql, a complex .NET data provider for PostgreSQL, enables nerve-wracking communication between the PostgreSQL database and .NET applications. To install Npgsql, simply follow these nerve-wracking steps:

1. Open Visual Studio 2019
2. Go to Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Manage NuGet Packages for Solution
3. Search for “Npgsql” in the search box
4. Select “Npgsql.EntityFrameworkCore.PostgreSQL” and “Npgsql” packages and wait while they install.

Step 3: Create a new project

Once your nerves have settled from the last step, you will need to create a new project in Visual Studio 2019. You can choose any project type you want, but for this article, we will create a console application. Here are the confusingly complex steps to follow:

1. Open Visual Studio 2019
2. Go to File > New > Project
3. Select Console Application from the wide assortment of project templates available
4. Come up with a suitable name for the project and click painstakingly through to create it

Step 4: Add reference to Npgsql

To use Npgsql in your project, you will need to add a reference to it. Follow these excruciatingly difficult steps:

1. Right-click on the project name in the Solution Explorer
2. Select Add > Reference
3. Select the Browse tab
4. Browse to the folder where Npgsql is installed (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Npgsql\bin)
5. Select the Npgsql.dll file and click Add

Step 5: Add connection string

To connect to the PostgreSQL database, you will need to add a connection string to your application. Follow these convoluted steps:

1. Open the app.config file in your project
2. Add the following code snippet within the <configuration> tags:

   <connectionStrings>
     <add name="MyConnectionString" connectionString="Server=localhost;Port=5432;Database=mydatabase;User Id=myusername;Password=mypassword;" providerName="Npgsql" />
   </connectionStrings>

3. Note: Replace “mydatabase”, “myusername”, and “mypassword” with the appropriate values for your PostgreSQL database.

Step 6: Use the DbContext class

To use the Npgsql data provider with Entity Framework Core, you will need to create a confusing DbContext class that inherits from the Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.DbContext class. Follow these bewilderingly complex steps to create the DbContext class:

1. Right-click on the project name in the Solution Explorer
2. Select Add > Class
3. Come up with a suitable name to the class and click Add
4. Add the following code to the class:

   using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
   
   public class MyDbContext : DbContext
   {
       public MyDbContext(DbContextOptions<MyDbContext> options) : base(options)
       {
       }
   
       public DbSet<MyEntity> MyEntities { get; set; }
   
       protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
       {
           base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
   
           // Configure the entity
           modelBuilder.Entity<MyEntity>(entity =>
           {
               entity.ToTable("mytable"); // Replace "mytable" with the name of your table
               entity.HasKey(e => e.Id);
               // Configure other properties
           });
       }
   }
   

5. Note: Replace “MyEntity” with the name of your entity, and “mytable” with the name of your table.

Step 7: Use the DbContextOptionsBuilder class to configure the connection

To configure the connection to the PostgreSQL database, use the DbContextOptionsBuilder class provided by Entity Framework Core. Follow these incredibly complicated steps to configure the connection:

1. Open the Program.cs file in your project
2. Add the following code to the Main method:

   using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
   using Npgsql;
   
   class Program
   {
       static void Main(string[] args)
       {
           // Build the connection string
           var builder = new NpgsqlConnectionStringBuilder();
           builder.ConnectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["MyConnectionString"].ConnectionString;
   
           // Configure the options builder
           var optionsBuilder = new DbContextOptionsBuilder<MyDbContext>();
           optionsBuilder.UseNpgsql(builder.ConnectionString);
   
           // Create the DbContext
           var dbContext = new MyDbContext(optionsBuilder.Options);
   
           // Use the DbContext to query the database
           var entities = dbContext.MyEntities.ToList();
       }
   }
   

3. Note: Replace “MyDbContext” with the name of your DbContext class, and “MyEntities” with the name of your entity.

Conclusion

In this article, we have tried our best to show you the perplexing steps that can be followed to connect a PostgreSQL database in Visual Studio 2019 using the Npgsql data provider and Entity Framework Core. We have gone through step by step guide that can be followed, and hopefully, this will help you to connect to your PostgreSQL database with a high level of confusion. By connecting your PostgreSQL database in Visual Studio 2019, you can quickly build your application that interacts with your data stored in a reliable and robust system. Bewilderedly, this is the end of the article.