VistaDB Software, Inc.

VistaDB is an Embedded .Net Database Engine

VistaDB is an embedded database that executes in process with your application.  The database files are a single file that may be renamed in order to be used as a file format for your application.  The VistaDB runtime is a single .Net Assembly that may be merged into your application. 

Most desktop users of VistaDB don't ever know they are using us! 

VistaDB allows you to seemlessly embed our .net database engine into your application for the best possible end user experience.  No need to deploy complex servers or multiple editions for 32 and 64 bit platforms.  Our single managed assembly handles it all.

VistaDB 3 lets you build fully managed and typesafe ASP.NET and WinForms database applications using any CLR compliant language, such as C# or VB.NET. Applications developed with VistaDB can run on desktops, mobile devices and web servers. VistaDB is a lightweight serverless alternative to SQL Server for application that do not always need the Enterprise features of Microsoft SQL Server.

What's New?

If you are already familiar with VistaDB check out the what's new page for recent changes.

Who needs VistaDB?

Developers building small to midsize database applications for the Microsoft .NET Framework, Compact Framework or Novell's Mono Framework should take a serious look at VistaDB 3. VistaDB was designed specifically for these next generation, managed and typesafe development platforms. If you need the following features in a database engine, then VistaDB is the solution for you.

• 100% .NET, no interop or COM components
• Easy-to-use (fully ADO.NET 2 compliant) - Works using the same object model as Microsoft SQL Server
• Very small footprint with less than 1 MB total redistribution in a royalty free package! This means smaller downloads for your product .
• No complicated setups during deployment. A single DLL, less than 1 MB, XCopy or embed the database with your product! No need to gain admin rights or install services on the user machine.  See what we mean by zero config database engine.
• 100% embeddable database using ILMerge. If you merge our DLL into your product using the Microsoft ILMerge tool there are no DLL's to distribute. You can also change the name of the database file to a custom extention to further embed us within your application.
• Fully managed and verifiably typesafe architecture (100% PEVerify). This means we can run in a partially trusted caller environment (shared hosting) or as a guest user. Perfect for running under Windows Vista with UAC, or even from a DVD-ROM. No elevated security privilidges are required.
• SQL Server 2005 Compatible TSQL data types and T-SQL syntax support. VistaDB strives to provide TSQL datatypes, functions, and syntax to allow you to support both VistaDB and SQL Server from a single project build. Anyone who has ever tried to migrate an Access database to SQL Server will appreciate how much easier migration is with VistaDB.
• Database admin application ( full license includes source code ) included with no branding information.  Use this DBA tool code as a quick way to build admin capabilities into your own application. VistaDB gives you the choice to build your database strictly through code or using our Data Builder graphical interface.
• Full Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 Server Explorer integration. Visual Studio Standard edition or higher supports plugins to the Server Explorer pane. VistaDB fully integrates with the Server Explorer providing you drag and drop capability just like SQL Server. 
• Not sure where your product will deployed? We support the database file being on a local drive (single user or multi user), a network drive for LAN multi user support, or in Memory (virtual memory backed) storage for quicker temporary database access.
• Single data file for easy backup and management. Need to backup your database? Simply copy the database file and you are done. No complex directory structures or multi file databases. Restoration is just as simple, replace the VDB3 file.
• Data Migration Wizard makes it easy to get your data from Micrsoft Access, SQL CE and SQL Server into VistaDB.  The data migration is scriptable and may be deployed with your application for runtime migration of data.  We also include the source to allow you to build custom data migrations for your users.

SQL Server compatiblity

SQL Server 2005 compatible data types and T-SQL syntax support lets you get up and running quickly with VistaDB by re-using existing source code and SQL statements designed for SQL Server 2005. And when it comes time to ship your software. VistaDB may be fully embedded into your EXEs and DLLs for the ultimate in hassle-free deployment using ILMerge. VistaDB's embedded architecture makes it very easy-to-use and eliminates administration hassles found in other database solutions.

Visual Studio 2005 & Visual Studio 2008 Support

Full integration into the Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008 IDEs allows you to become highly productive with VistaDB very quickly. VistaDB 3 integrates directly with the Server Explorer under Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 (on both 32 and 64 bit platforms). This level of integration with Visual Studio is achieved because VistaDB is fully ADO.NET 2 compliant.

ASP.NET, WinForms, Console, Webservices - run anywhere

Build fully managed and typesafe ASP.NET and WinForms database applications that run on all .NET platforms.

The small 1 MB footprint of VistaDB's single file assembly makes it very easy to build and deploy .NET applications for desktops and web servers.

VistaDB's support for ADO.NET and high degree of compatibility with SQL Server T-SQL syntax and data types make it easy for developers to reuse code designed for SQL Server.  We have an identical namespace to SQLClient, but named VistaDB. 

Support for Allow Partially Trusted Callers (APTC attribute) lets ASP.NET developers run applications on both shared hosting and dedicated servers. No registry or GAC access is required for deployment of the runtime assembly. 

Xcopy deployment for both the engine and your databases is only possible with VistaDB.  FTP your web application to your server, put the VistaDB engine in the bin folder, and your database in the App_Data.  Nothing to put in the GAC, no need to bother your hosting provider for special access.

100% C# Embedded Database Engine - no unsafe or unmanaged calls

VistaDB 3 was not ported from our previous unmanaged VistaDB 2.x code base. Instead, VistaDB 3 was completely redesigned and redeveloped using fully managed and typesafe C# to maximize integration with the .NET Framework.

The core embedded database, the built-in T-SQL compatible query processor, ADO.NET Data Provider, Visual Studio plugins, and the database management tools are all developed in C#. The result of VistaDB's purely managed and typesafe architecture is that applications developed using VistaDB fully PEVerify and can run on any CLR compliant platform. Mono is almost compliant at this point, and VistaDB runs on most Mono targets. 

Because we are a fully managed database we fully support 64 bit Windows platforms in native 64 bit mode from a single DLL.  There is only a single assembly to ship with your application to support todays 32 bit machines, and tomorrows 64 bit systems.

Furthermore, VB.NET developers and people using other CLR-compliant languages such as Delphi.NET and J# can use VistaDB just as easily as C# developers. There is no technical difference between using VB.NET, Delphi.NET, J#, and C# applications since all languages are equal under .NET. The only difference is language specific syntax. The compiled binary IL code produced by each language is the same. The VistaDB .NET assemblies have been tested thoroughly with C# and VB.NET and samples are included for both of these popular .NET languages.