How to Connect Visual Basic with MySQL on XAMPP Server

This tutorial shows step-by-step how to connect Visual Basic (.NET) with MySQL database running on XAMPP Server. Practical and straightforward.

Prerequisites

• XAMPP installed with MySQL service running
• Visual Studio (VB.NET) ready to use
• MySQL Connector for .NET

Step 1: Prepare Database in XAMPP

Open phpMyAdmin in browser at http://localhost/phpmyadmin, then create a database and table as needed. In this example, we use a database named databook

Step 2: Download MySQL Connector

Download MySQL.Data.dll from MySQL website version compatible with your .NET Framework, or use NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio.

Step 3: Add Reference to Project

1. Open VB.NET project in Visual Studio
2. Right-click on References → Add Reference
3. Browse to the mysql.data.dll file you downloaded
4. Click OK to add it

[image: Example image of Solution Explorer in VS expanding References and showing MySql.Data added]

Step 4: Write Connection Code

Open a Form with a button for testing connection and write this code:

Imports MySql.Data.MySqlClient

Public Class Form1
    Private MysqlConn As MySqlConnection
    Private COMMAND As MySqlCommand
    
    Private Sub btnConnect_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnConnect.Click
        MysqlConn = New MySqlConnection()
        
        ' Set Connection String according to your XAMPP config
        MysqlConn.ConnectionString = "server=localhost;" &_
                                    "userid=root;" &_
                                    "password=11111;" &_
                                    "database=databook;" &_
                                    "Character Set=utf8;"
        Try
            MysqlConn.Open()
            
            Dim Query As String
            Query = "SELECT * FROM data.edata WHERE condition"
            
            COMMAND = New MySqlCommand(Query, MysqlConn)
            
            ' TODO: Read data from COMMAND and display
            ' e.g., using MySqlDataAdapter or DataReader
            
            MessageBox.Show("Connection Successful")
            
            MysqlConn.Close()
            
        Catch ex As Exception
            MessageBox.Show("Error: " & ex.Message)
        Finally
            MysqlConn.Dispose()
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

Points to modify:

• Change password=11111 to your actual XAMPP MySQL password
• Change database=databook to your actual database name
• Modify Query = "SELECT * FROM ..." to match your real table structure

[image: flow diagram showing: Button Click → Create Connection → Set ConnectionString → Open → Execute Query → Display Results → Close/Dispose]

Important Notes

• Make sure XAMPP MySQL service is running. If stopped, VB cannot connect.
• Newer XAMPP versions have empty default root password, not 11111.
• Using Try-Catch-Finally is essential to handle potential errors.

Reference Video

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cEljPk7swwI