CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#microsoft-metrowindows-runtimewinrt-xaml
MatthewSot
MatthewSot

Reputation: 3594

Correct way to handle roaming data storage with C# in Metro?

I'm creating a C# Metro/Modern UI app, and I need a way to handle some user data (mostly just small strings, but a fair amount of them), and specifically I'd like the data to 'roam' with a user's Microsoft Account. I know that you can handle this with roamingSettings, but it seems like that's supposed to be used more for like storing user IDs and other one-time settings, whereas I would be using it to store all of my app's data, and there seems to be a limit to the amount of space I get with that. I was thinking about using SkyDrive to host a "MyApp Data" folder, but I can't seem to figure out how to upload a simple text file to it :(

It seems like the best way to handle it would be to set up an account on Azure or EC2 and then make a simple PHP API so I could access the SQL database from my app, but I'd rather not have to pay for hosting.

I've seen other questions about Metro app storage on StackExchange and Microsoft's own forums, but most of those are in reference to local storage and using SQL servers to handle the storage.

So should I just use roamingSettings and keep an eye on the quota, should I try to use cloud hosting, or is there a better solution I just haven't thought of yet?

Thanks!

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1528

Answers (2)

Jeff Brand
Jeff Brand

Reputation: 5633

A few things about roaming settings: - they are intended for that, settings. Not as a data replication scheme, thus the quota - they are not immediate. You can create a setting named "highpriority" that will replicate in less than a minute, but other settings can take several minutes to replicate. If you need data to be available immediately, roaming settings are not an option. Also, if you exceed quota all your data will stop replicating, which is a bad thing. :) It also will not replicate between different versions of your app even if the settings are the same. In addition, if you do not use the app for a period of time (default is 30 days), then the roaming data will be deleted from the cloud. I am pretty sure roaming data can also be turned off via group policy in enterprise settings.

You can leverage SkyDrive. Make sure you download the Live SDK. Overview of using SkyDrive is here... http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/live/hh826521.aspx It is, fundamentally, just a collection of REST APIs. See the SkyDrive photo sample for an app that uploads files to SkyDrive http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Live-SDK-Windows-Developer-8ad35141

Upvotes: 1

Nico Vermeir
Nico Vermeir

Reputation: 160

I would go for a cloud based solution. A MS employee told me that the roaming data is a "best effort" there is no control if it actually works, sometimes it works, sometimes it just doesn't.

Personally I'd try to use the skydrive option

Upvotes: 0

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