Getting started with VB.NET Databases

I'm having trouble figuring out databases in VB.NET. (VS 2008)

What control(s) do I need to use and how do I use them? I am ,looking for tutorials and sample code too.

I'm working on a trivia game where the admin can remove and add questions to a database.

EDIT:

The program must be able to do all of the DB interactions itself through code.

Regarding DB portability...

I do not intend to install it on many machines, so portability is not a major issue, but I's rather not be bound to Access or SQL Server. (Is that possible? - A portable database file?)

A bit more complaining... I really need help with connection strings and the whole DB gamut in VB. I've done DBs in P开发者_高级运维HP so I'm not completely ignorant. It's the VB side of things that's confusing.

Thanks.

Have you considered SQLite DB? It's a very small DB and is used my many vendors. I have not used SQLite personally, but I do know that Firefox uses it and so does iPhone (from what i've read).

SQLite does not require you to install anything (as per the post below). It's a nice alternative to Access or carrying around SQL Server Express.

If you do decide to use SQL Server Express, you will be required to install the run-time, from here for each machine it's used on.

Below are some links which may help you get started

Google for SQLite DB
ADO.NET 2.0 Provider for SQLite
And finally, here's a blog post outlining how to get it done, and quickly.

Cheers!

I would suggest Microsoft's Enterprise Library - The hands on labs available make it a breeze to setup access to a database, and can make it as simple as a config change to point to a new/different DB.

Also, check out http://connectionstrings.com/ for related info.