InfoPath Dev

im new to infopath as regards connecting to databases and was hoping for advice and best practice ideas on submiting and receiving data from databases.

generally several people will be involved in creating forms but not all will be very technical regarding db connecions so any way this can be made easy would be great.

my idea is to have a single database with tables for each different form (fields) and also tables for each type of form data that would populate the form/form template parts.

hopefully we can put together template parts with the appropriate db connections built in for easy re-use.

my main query is the best way to connect to databases within infopath... is it direct or better via web services?

im assuming  a single web service could include a list of web methods for submitting different data to the same database... would this be more manageable?

i want to go down the right path from the word go with this so would appreciate advice and suggestions...

great questions

use a single webservice that takes the xml as a string and saves it in the db and then performs the db mapping using a resource file that describes the mapping. benefits:

• single web service for multiple xsns - no need to install separate web services for each XSN
• you change the form and the submit doesn't break - since xml is getting saved, only the mapping fails which can be updated after hours
• you change the database and submit doesn't break - just update mapping
• all data types roundtrip - even rich text and images which you wouldn't want to map out anyway
• xml schema can be richer than database derived schema - you can have multiple repeating nodes
• web service can be used on the web without VPN (straight to DB requires VPN or exposing a proxy)
• permissions can be more intelligently configured (but requires more stuff in the web service)

qdabra's web service suite (dbxl) does all of this and there's a free download. the beginner license is <$500 so you'll save lots of time and money. we have many happy customers and it's been out there for 5 years now ... plus, it has tons of features for doing other things like versioning your forms, keeping audit history, load balancing, document level permissions, etc.