LiteDAC

Getting Started

This page contains a quick introduction to setting up and using the SQLite Data Access Components library. It gives a walkthrough for each part of the LiteDAC usage process and points out the most relevant related topics in the documentation.

What is LiteDAC?

SQLite Data Access Components (LiteDAC) is a component library which provides direct connectivity to SQLite for Delphi, C++Builder and Lazarus (FPC), and helps you develop fast SQLite-based database applications with these environments.

Many LiteDAC classes are based on VCL, LCL and FMX classes and interfaces. LiteDAC is a replacement for the Borland Database Engine, it provides native database connectivity, and is specifically designed as an interface to the SQLite database.

An introduction to LiteDAC is provided in the Overview section.

A list of the LiteDAC features you may find useful is listed in the Features section.

An overview of the LiteDAC component classes is provided in the Components List section.

Installing LiteDAC

To install LiteDAC, complete the following steps.

  1. Choose and download the version of the LiteDAC installation program that is compatible with your IDE. For instance, if you are installing LiteDAC 1.00, you should use the following files:

    For BDS 2006 and Turbo - litedac100d10*.exe
    For Delphi 7 - litedac100d7*.exe

    For more information, visit the LiteDAC download page.

  2. Close all running Borland applications.
  3. Launch the LiteDAC installation program you downloaded in the first step and follow the instructions to install LiteDAC.

By default, the LiteDAC installation program should install compiled LiteDAC libraries automatically on all IDEs.

To check if LiteDAC has been installed properly, launch your IDE and make sure that the LiteDAC page has been added to the Component palette and that a LiteDAC menu was added to the Menu bar.

If you have bought LiteDAC Professional Edition with Source Code, you will be able to download both the compiled version of LiteDAC and the LiteDAC source code. The installation process for the compiled version is standard, as described above.The LiteDAC source code must be compiled and installed manually. Consult the supplied ReadmeSrc.html file for more details.

To find out what gets installed with LiteDAC or to troubleshoot your LiteDAC installation, visit the Installation topic.

Working with the LiteDAC demo projects

The LiteDAC installation package includes a number of demo projects that demonstrate LiteDAC capabilities and use patterns. The LiteDAC demo projects are automatically installed in the LiteDAC installation folder.

To quickly get started working with LiteDAC, launch and explore the introductory LiteDAC demo project, LiteDACDemo, from your IDE. This demo project is a collection of demos that show how LiteDAC can be used. The project creates a form which contains an explorer panel for browsing the included demos and a view panel for launching and viewing the selected demo.

LiteDACDemo Walkthrough

  1. Launch your IDE.
  2. Choose File | Open Project from the menu bar
  3. Find the LiteDAC directory and open the LiteDACDemo project. This project should be located in the Demos\LiteDACDemo folder.

    For example, if you are using Borland Developer Studio 2006, the demo project may be found at  

    \Program Files\Devart\LiteDAC for Delphi 2006\Demos\Win32\LiteDACDemo\LiteDACDemo.bdsproj

  4. Select Run | Run or press F9 to compile and launch the demo project. LiteDACDemo should start, and a full-screen LiteDAC Demo window with a toolbar, an explorer panel, and a view panel will open. The explorer panel will contain the list of all demo sub-projects included in LiteDACDemo, and the view panel will contain an overview of each included demo.

    At this point, you will be able to browse through the available demos, read their descriptions, view their source code, and see the functionality provided by each demo for interacting with SQLite. However, you will not be able to actually retrieve data from SQLite or execute commands until you connect to the database.

  5. Click on the "Connect" button on the LiteDACDemo toolbar. A Connect dialog box will open. Enter the connection parameters you use to connect to your SQLite database and click "Connect" in the dialog box.

    Now you have a fully functional interface to your SQLite database. You will be able to go through the different demos, to browse tables, create and drop objects, and execute SQL commands.

    Warning! All changes you make to the database you are connected to, including creating and dropping objects used by the demo, will be permanent. Make sure you specify a test database in the connection step.

  6. Click on the "Create" button to create all objects that will be used by LiteDACDemo. If some of these objects already exist in the database you have connected to, the following error message will appear.

    7. An error has occurred:
    #42S01Table 'dept' already exists
     
    You can manually create objects required for demo by using the following file: %LiteDAC%\Demos\InstallDemoObjects.sql
    %LiteDAC% is the LiteDAC installation path on your computer.
    Ignore this exception?

    This is a standard warning from the object execution script. Click "Yes to All" to ignore this message. LiteDACDemo will create the LiteDACDemo objects in the database you have connected to.

  7. Choose a demo that demonstrates an aspect of working with SQLite that you are interested in, and play with the demo frame in the view window on the right. For example, to find out more about how to work with SQLite tables, select the Table demo from the "Working with Components" folder. A simple SQLite table browser will open in the view panel which will let you open a table in your database by specifying its name and clicking on the Open button.
  8. Click on the "Demo source" button in the LiteDACDemo toolbar to find out how the demo you selected was implemented. The source code behind the demo project will appear in the view panel. Try to find the places where LiteDAC components are used to connect to the database.
  9. Click on the "Form as text" button in the LiteDACDemo toolbar to view the code behind the interface to the demo. Try to find the places where LiteDAC components are created on the demo form.
  10. Repeat these steps for other demos listed in the explorer window. The available demos are organized in three folders.

    11. Working with components

    A collection of projects that show how to work with basic LiteDAC components.

    General demos

    A collection of projects that show off the LiteDAC technology and demonstrate some ways of working with data.

    SQLite-specific demos

    A collection of projects that demonstrate how to incorporate SQLite features in database applications.

  11. When you are finished working with the project, click on the "Drop" button in the LiteDACDemo toolbar to remove all schema objects added in Step 6.

Other LiteDAC demo projects

LiteDAC is accompanied by a number of other demo projects. A description of all LiteDAC demos is located in the Demo Projects topic.

Compiling and deploying your LiteDAC project

Compiling LiteDAC-based projects

By default, to compile a project that uses LiteDAC classes, your IDE compiler needs to have access to the LiteDAC dcu (obj) files. If you are compiling with runtime packages, the compiler will also need to have access to the LiteDAC bpl files. All the appropriate settings for both these scenarios should take place automatically during installation of LiteDAC. You should only need to modify your environment manually if you are using the LiteDAC edition that comes with source code - LiteDAC Professional Edition with Source Code.

You can check that your environment is properly configured by trying to compile one of the LiteDAC demo projects. If you have no problems compiling and launching the LiteDAC demos, your environment has been properly configured.

For more information about which library files and environment changes are needed for compiling LiteDAC-based projects, consult the Installation topic.

Deploying LiteDAC-based projects

To deploy an application that uses LiteDAC, you will need to make sure the target workstation has access to the following files.

If you are evaluating deploying projects with LiteDAC Trial Edition, you will also need to deploy some additional bpl files with your application even if you are compiling without runtime packages. As another trial limitation for C++Builder, applications written with LiteDAC Trial Edition for C++Builder will only work if the C++Builder IDE is launched. More information about LiteDAC Trial Edition limitations is provided here.

A list of the files which may need to be deployed with LiteDAC-based applications is included in the Deployment topic.

Using the LiteDAC documentation

The LiteDAC documentation describes how to install and configure LiteDAC, how to use LiteDAC Demo Projects, and how to use the LiteDAC libraries.

The LiteDAC documentation includes a detailed reference of all LiteDAC components and classes. Many of the LiteDAC components and classes inherit or implement members from other VCL, LCL and FMX classes and interfaces. The product documentation also includes a summary of all members within each of these classes. To view a detailed description of a particular component, look it up in the Components List section. To find out more about a specific standard VCL/LCL class a LiteDAC component is inherited from, see the corresponding topic in your IDE documentation.

At install time, the LiteDAC documentation is integrated into your IDE. It can be invoked from the LiteDAC menu added to the Menu Bar, or by pressing F1 in an object inspector or on a selected code segment.

How to get help with LiteDAC

There are a number of resources for finding help on using LiteDAC classes in your project.

For more information, consult the Getting Support topic.

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