Test Database Connection is OK before con.Open()

c#, database, sql, sql-server-ce

Solution

testing for connectivity adds extra overhead. why not directly open connection and put the code inside `Try-Catch`

try
{
    conn.Open();
}
catch(SqlCeException ex)
{
    // output the error to see what's going on
    MessageBox.Show(ex.Message); 
}

Problem

I have created a generic Database handler class for my app. Im using a local database so `SqlCeConnection` class is being used here. What I would like to do is test that the Connection string is valid, so update the connection status to the user before I execute `connection.Open();` lets say ``` SqlCeConnection conn = new SqlCeConnection(connectionString); //so far we have only created the connection, but not tried to open it //Would be nice to update the UI to say that conn is OK conn.testConnection(); conn.Open(); ``` I was thinking of writing a method that attempts to `open` then `close` the connection, am I right in thinking this or is there a better way.

Original source