Enterprise Library: Redirecting connectionStrings section does not add new ConnectionStrings to ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings

Question

I am trying to move connectionStrings to external file using EntLib, but

ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings gives me only default ASP.NET database, which is not even in config.

data source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=SSPI;AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|aspnetdb.mdf;User Instance=true

I expected to see there two connection string from shared.config. What can be the problem, or do I have a wrong understanding this feature?

App.config

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <configSections>    
        <section name="enterpriseLibrary.ConfigurationSource" type="Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common.Configuration.ConfigurationSourceSection, Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common,  Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="true" />
    </configSections>    

    <enterpriseLibrary.ConfigurationSource selectedSource="System Configuration Source">
        <sources>
            <add name="System Configuration Source" type="Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common.Configuration.SystemConfigurationSource, Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" />
            <add name="Shared" type="Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common.Configuration.FileConfigurationSource, Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Common, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35"
                filePath="shared.config" />
        </sources>
        <redirectSections>
            <add sourceName="Shared" name="connectionStrings" />
        </redirectSections>
    </enterpriseLibrary.ConfigurationSource>
</configuration>

shared.config

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>

    <connectionStrings> 
        <add name="connStr1" connectionString="Data Source=local;Initial Catalog=DB1;Integrated Security=True"
          providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    <add name="connStr2" connectionString="Data Source=local;Initial Catalog=DB2;Integrated Security=True"
          providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    </connectionStrings>

</configuration>

Answer 1

Actually, ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings does not know anything about Enterprise Library infrastructure. By default, sections cannot be redirected with Enterprise Library's ConfigurationSource.

You should use configSource attribute, which is feature of .NET Framework, not Enterprise Library.

app.config:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <connectionStrings configSource="sharedConnectionStrings.config" />
</configuration>

sharedConnectionStrings.config:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<connectionsStrings>
    <add name="connStr1"
         connectionString="Data Source=local;Initial Catalog=DB1;Integrated Security=True"
         providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
    <add name="connStr2"
         connectionString="Data Source=local;Initial Catalog=DB2;Integrated Security=True"
         providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionsStrings>

Update: If you want to use Enterprise Library features, don't use ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings directly. Instead, use Enterprise Library features to create database connections like:

 Database db = DatabaseFactory.CreateDatabase(“Tom’s Connection”);

Then you can use Enterprise Library's configuration sources.

I found this link with example useful.