Jon:
Yes, VS .NET is a great way to go these days. And you can certainly use it to get at your Paradox database.
Here is one way (there's probably an easier way - I just didn't find it in exploring this quick test). Incidentally, what follow will seem like a lot of steps. Take heart - you only have to do it once per project:
First, set up an ODBC connection to your database via Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Data Sources (ODBC).
Next, in your VS project, drop a data-bindable control(say a TextBox) on a form.
In that control's Data | Data Bindings property, select Advanced and click the little '...' button. This will bring up the "Formatting and Advanced Editing" dialog.
You'll see a dropdown labeled "Binding" click the drop-down and, click the Add Project Datasource link at the bottom.
That will invoke another wizard. Select the "Database" icon and click next.
In the "Choose Datasource" dialog that pops up, use the "Data Provider" dropdown to select ".NET Data Provider for ODBC," then click "Continue"
On the next dialog, in the "Data Source Specification" radio group, make sure the first radio button is checked ("use user or system data source name"), then select the ODBC connection you created at the beginning, via the dropdown.
Click the "Test Connection" button. It should succeed and, when it does, click OK.
The Data Source Configuration Wizard will then display a tree of your datbase objects. Pick a table and one or more fields, then click OK until you're out of the wizard.
You'll notice, now, that, at the bottom of your design area, there are some new objects: A dataset, a tableadapter, and a binding source. Throughout the rest of yoru project, you can add to these, and connect them up as needed. You don't have to go through all the steps again for every form or control in your project.
You can also "throw away" the TextBox you used to get things rolling, and proceed to build the form to your liking.
In the Solution Explorer, you'll also notice new entries. Between these, and the objects at the bottom of your design area, you now have all the basic connectivity your application needs.
Coder
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