Linq to Entity query visualizer

Hi, Couple of Sev-1 errors faced in VS2010 version is resolved.

* "Specified Cast is Not Valid" while using Oracle Entity Framework solved.
* Few users getting Visual Studio unresponsive is addressed by pushing the visualizer into a new WPF UI thread.
* Possibility of having multiple working DB providers via dropdown box seletion.  Can compare performance of same SQL against different providers.
* Sub screen showing results of executed query has "Export to Excel". This export feature working too slowly with large data is addressed and can work quite fast without having Excel installed in user's PC.
* Visualizer Log box updates itself with seperate UI thread showing real time log.

Recommendation: Users having difficulty to find magnifying glass can use "Add Watch" window.

Hi, If you continue to face Visual Studio unresponsive issue please ensure you use version 3.2.0.1.

Thanks for your patience.  Happy debugging.

hi RRV,I have install version 3.2.0.1, but the visual studio still unresponsive.why?

Hi RMickael,
Please find the version 3.2.0.2 available in the same download link under Description. I managed to simulate the hanging issue and corrected the same.

Thanks
RRV

If your Visual Studio 2010 hangs, use this single thread version (3.2.0.2). When i downloaded it still gave me the version 3.1.0.1 and visual studio still unresponsive. Can you please help ASAP.

Thanks,
Akirah

Hi Akirah,
Have you tried <trust level="Full" originUrl="" /> in your web.config as described in Reviews section?

Let me know if you use Windows XP/7 64 bit.

Hi,
The link for v3.2.0.2 (VS2010 description) contains v3.1.0.1. Could you please update the reference?
Many thanks for this great tool.
(5. If your Visual Studio 2010 hangs, use this single thread version (3.2.0.2).)

In the previous post RRV says to use version 3.2.0.1.  However, when I download the dlls for VS 2010, the version of the dll is 3.1.0.1.  Where can I find the 3.2.0.1?

facing the same issue and cannot find the 3.2.0.1 version of the visualizer. anyone could help?

Hi RMickael,
Please find the version 3.2.0.2 available in the same download link under Description. I managed to simulate the hanging issue and corrected the same.

Thanks
RRV

Hi friends, Happy to bring to your notice that LInQ Visualizer has been selected one among best free Visual Studio and .NET tools and add-ins by VisualStudioMagazine.  The article is available at http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2011/06/01/pfint_free-tools.aspx 

Of late i received few emails stating that everything looks fine but the visualizer intellisense does not popup.  Finally we found they were waiting on a linq query which is converted to list. Ex

Dim OutQry = (From iQr in NWndEnt.Customers
             Select iQr).ToList

Hovering mouse over OutQry will not help.  This visualizer works on ObjectQuery, not List.

Thanks
Venkat

Hi, 

I have Windows XP SP3, VisualStudio 2008 and Devart installed to connect to Oracle, 

I follow all the steps to activate the visualizer (DLL, <loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/>, code...  but it doesnt work

Is there an update for your query visualizer?

Thanks and greetings from Mexico.

Hi arzamm,  Can you mail me [info@rajavenkatesh.com] more details on steps you followed to get it working.  I shall get back to you on method to get it working.  Thanks for your patience.

When I found out about this tool, I thought it'd be very useful because I could view the resulting query in debug mode, but mostly because I could execute it and see the results. But, so far, it's been nothing but a waste of my time.

I am using VS2008 Pro, SQLExpress 2008, and C#. I have a Web Site opened in VS, and I have a MS-SQL database in the App_Data folder. I have a Linq query against that database. I have a breakpoint just after the Linq statement. When I debug the application, it stops at the breakpoint. I then use the Visualizer to view the query, but when I click on Execute, I get the subject error. The last part of the error message says: "A database with the same name exists, or specified file cannot be opened, or it is located on UNC share." (my DB is not on UNC share).

I have spent a considerable amount of searching on this error, as it relates to this tool, but found no solution. There is a mention of that error in this Q and A, but the answer is less than helpful.

My Web site works fine otherwise. I don't believe I am doing anything out of the ordinary, and my setup is a pretty standard one. I would expect many others to experience the same, but I am baffled by the lack of hits on my searches.

What gives? 

Hi meamdarealman,
We have faced this error while working with file based database (MDF) in SQL.
At first time of use, you could have opened this DB file connection in SQL Management studio.  Remove this DB file from SQL management studio.  Once you are not seeing the database in SQL MStudio, a db connection to the database file could be established.
If this solves, good luck to you.  Otherwise please email to me at info@rajavenkatesh.com and i shall get back to you with more details to solve it.
Thanks for your patience.
Please support my sponsors @ http://www.rajavenkatesh.com.

Venkat

Hi meamdarealman,
Executing below code via a Detach.cmd file could help.  Modify as required.
*******************************
set DATABASE_NAME=NorthwindEF
set SERVER_INSTANCE=%1
if (%1)==() set SERVER_INSTANCE=.\sqlexpress

osql -S %SERVER_INSTANCE% -E -Q "exec sp_detach_db '%DATABASE_NAME%'"
*******************************

The url is bad, or the serveris down. I can't get the tool.

Hi, Today the hosting of website was changed.  Please expect a day or two delay as the internet servers have to update the new links.

Thanks for your patience.
Venkat

Sorry for the inconvenience caused for bad url stuff.  The download site is up now.
Thanks for your patience.
Venkat

_

Please see version 3 screen shot at http://www.rajavenkatesh.com/Howto_LInQVisualizer.aspx.

Just in case if anyone of you don't get the visualizer working.  Kindly check the below steps.

1.  Are you trying to connect using ADO.NET entity data model? This tool is designed to connect to any datastore (MSSQL, MySQL, DB2, Oracle, ...even new future datastores) if you use "*.edmx" only.

2.  Is <loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/> added to devenv.exe.config under "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config" ?  You may have to find equivalent path in your PC where Visual Studio is installed.

3.  Have you placed AnySourceEntityQueryVisualizer.dll in "My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Visualizers" folder?  If placed and your OS is Windows Vista or Windows 7, have you unblocked this downloaded dll in that folder for other applications to use?

4.  Are you able to see any new entry in eventvwr?
 
5. If you still get the "System.NotSupp ortedException" problem on Vista/Windows 7,

After copying the dll to your "Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Visualizers" folder, right click on the file and select unblock - windows doesn't trust the dll by default.
 
After this you might notice that Visual Studio 2010 does not load visualizer dll's automatically like Visual Studio 2008.  To enable Visual Studio 2010 to load visualizer dll you have to edit "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config" file using notepad.  Then under the runtime element add as below
<runtime>
        <loadFromRemote Sources enabled="true"/ >
...

Hope these two ideas will get the visualizer working for you.  If not kindly let me know.

If all of above did not solve check if you are using right visualizer version in right Visual Studio version.  I've placed two different dll's for VS2008 and VS2010 in the download site.  Kindly use the right one.
 
If still could not get it working, kindly let me know at rrvenki@yahoo.com

Thanks
Venkat

Sorry.  That was few ideas not just two.
I found some people telling they get red X mark in a datetime column in the result window.  The reason is the data format error is not handled in the datagridview of the result window when independent thread fills the data to the datagridview. In case of such wierd errors, Kindly send me the "Execution Log" content in email to me.

Please bear with me until i upload the WPF version in which i've addressed this issue.  It is taking little more time than anticipated as i'm building the parameter editing feature also to it.

Thanks
Venkat

I was trying to get the Linq to entity visualizer you have created. I have added an entry like -
<loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/> 
added to devenv.exe.config under 
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config
and also copied the dll here C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Packages\Debugger\Visualizers

But so far nothing happen when I am trying to debug the queries and I dont get any exceptions or errors. I opened up eventvwr but I dont know where I should be looking in it to check. I am using Windows Vista Basic. Please guide me in right direction.

I was trying to get the Linq to entity visualizer you have created. I have added an entry like -
<loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/> 
added to devenv.exe.config under 
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config
and also copied the dll here C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Packages\Debugger\Visualizers

But so far nothing happen when I am trying to debug the queries and I dont get any exceptions or errors. I opened up eventvwr but I dont know where I should be looking in it to check. I am using Windows Vista Basic. Please guide me in right direction.

Hi Venkat. Do you happen to know if the debugger is capable of supporting VB projects at this time. I have run through the gammut of attempting to get this to work for my VB web apps/projects and had no luck. I cannot get it to return anything other than resultsets. 
cheers.
mac 

Hi macaroo,
The debugger definitely supports VB.NET projects [for that matter any CLR2/CLR4 targetting .NET languages(25 )] but is Visual Studio version dependent.  You may have to download the appropriate version from download site.  Indeed the visualizer is completely developed using VB.NET and tested in VB.NET projects.
If you have followed up all above steps and still could not get it working kindly let me know your specific problem or give a brief description how you tried to install and use the visualizer.  Send me a direct mail (mail id in contact page of download site).
Thanks
Venkat

Hi Friends,
It was some time after i worked on this tool (Visualizer).  It is time now to release an update i thought.  It was a requirement which i encountered though.
In a scenario i had more than one connectable provider installed in my PC. Example: I had ODP.NET and Devart to connect to Oracle.  I had no choice to select provider in this visualizer.  Neither in Datatool.  I've added an update which provides you an option to select a connectable provider to use.  In case there is only one connectable provider - alas no option then.  Once testing is completed i shall release both datatool and visualizer.  And this time i thought a DBConnection object too should have a visualizer than just a "Text Visualizer".
Kindly let me know if it would be wise to create a click once program like datatool [www.rajavenkatesh.com] for Visualizer so that it takes care of installation part automatically and also manages updates automatically.
Thanks
Venkat

I am very excited to use this tool. I have installed version 2.1.5 in the correct directory and see the magnifying glass to start visualizer, but getting message:
Unhandled exception has occurred in a component in your application.  If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue.  

Could not load file or assembly '....\My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Visualizers\AnySourceEntityQueryVisualizer.dll'  or one of its dependencies.  Access is denied

I noticed on the properties dialog of the file:
'Security:This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer'
and unblocked it, but is there a specific account that needs access to this file to allow it to work?

Thanks in advance,

Bryan

Hi,  

I'm using the out-of-the-box VS2010 MVC2 template with a SQL Express .MDF in App_Data and attached using a connection string like:

add name="Content" connectionString="metadata=res://*/Models.EntityDataModel.csdl|res://*/Models.EntityDataModel.ssdl|res://*/Models.EntityDataModel.msl;provider=System.Data.SqlClient;provider connection string="Data Source=.\SQLEXPRESS;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|\Content.mdf;Integrated Security=True;User Instance=True;MultipleActiveResultSets=True"" providerName="System.Data.EntityClient" 


The visualizer displays the generated query perfectly, but on execute it displays an error messsage (behind the visualiser window..) that states:


An attempt to attach an auto-named database for ... failed.  A database with the same name exists, or ...(other not relevant reasons)

Obviously because VS has already attached the MDF.

While I'm not too bothered as it's the Native SQL I was after (at this time), I thought I'd let you know about the attached SQLExpress DB issue incase you can get it to work with an existing connection

Version 2.1.5

Marc

PS. Any chance you could remove the gaudy colours?  :)

Hi MarcF,
1. Your SQL server already has a database registered called "Content".  You may have to take backup of it and remove in order to get your db queries work.  Or you could possibly change your "Content.mdf" to another name.  You should be able to view results.  If not kindly send me the Log information displayed below Native SQL in the screen.
2. Well about colors... I believe developers cannot be good designers and vice versa.  But this time in next version i will try my best to select a better color.

Kindly rate the tool.

I'm expecting somebody to use a database other than MS SQL and let know if they are able to view native SQL.  However i've tested against DB2 for LUW, Oracle, MySQL, etc. Native sql generation for all scenarios should be good.

Regards
Venkat