Chapter 36. Accessing databases
This chapter covers
- Using the .NET Framework to connect to a database
- Querying databases with PowerShell
- Adding, deleting, and modifying databases with PowerShell
- Running stored procedures with PowerShell
It’s not uncommon to need to access something that’s in some kind of a database, so that’s what we’ll show you in this chapter. Now, as with many other chapters, we need to set some boundaries for what we’re going to cover (and not cover). This chapter won’t teach you the SQL query language, nor will it teach you how to create, maintain, or manage a database. This chapter is about using PowerShell to access the data that’s in a database and nothing more. We also assume you already have the necessary database drivers installed on your computer and that you can physically connect to whatever database you need. You don’t need any particular commands or extensions—you don’t have to install SQL Server’s PowerShell stuff, for example—but if you’re accessing a database such as Oracle or MySQL, you’ll need the appropriate drivers installed for .NET. Having said that, if you can get your hands on the SQL server tools it’ll make your life much easier when accessing SQL Server databases.