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SalesForce - Get all the fields of an object using .Net SDK or Api

We have our system from where we want to push the records (e.g. Contact, Account, Opportunity, etc.) to SalesForce.
To achieve this, we have used ForceToolKit for .Net. We are able to insert\update the records successfully using the ForceToolKit functions.
Example:
dynamic contact = new ExpandoObject();
contact.FirstName = "FirstName";
contact.LastName = "Last";
contact.Email = "test#test.com";
contact.MobilePhone = "1234567890";
var successResponse = await forceClient.CreateAsync("Contact", contactList);
The Issue we are facing is as mentioned below.
In our source system, we have few custom fields which are not standard field in SalesForce and it can be different for different users.
So, first we have to map the custom fields between our source system and the SalesForce.
We want to fetch all the fields of SalesForce object in order to map the fields.
We are unable to find any function in ForceToolkitForNet.
As described here, we have tried QueryById function by using the dynamic return type, but it is throwing an exception.
var contactFields = await forceClient.QueryByIdAsync<dynamic>("Contact", successResponse.Id);
Exception: "SELECT FROM Contact where Id = '{contactId}' Incorrect syntax near FROM".
What are the ways to get the fields of any object of SalesForce.
Can anyone help us on getting the fields of an object using SalesForceToolkit or SalesForceApi?

SOQL doesn't have a SELECT * FROM Account concept, you need to learn the fields beforehand. You have few options here.
You can use "describe" calls. I've recently answered similar question but it was about REST API: https://stackoverflow.com/a/48436870/313628, I think your solution is SOAP-based.
If you'd be doing this by hand...
Start here: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_calls_list_describe.htm
List of all objects visible to your user: describeGlobal()
Get details (incl field names) for one object: describeSobject() or more: describeSobjects()
As you're using the toolkit - there's a chance these methods already are in there somewhere. Experiment a bit. Between the C# examples under the links I gave you and the library you should be able to figure something out.
I mean I'm naive but just searching the repo for "describe" looks promising: https://github.com/developerforce/Force.com-Toolkit-for-NET/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=describe&type=, maybe this example
There's also a way to not learn this info at runtime but consume a WSDL file generated out of Salesforce with all fields & generate C# code out of it. The downside is that you'd need to regenerate it every time you want to support new object/field in your app. Read about "Enterprise WSDL" to get started.
Last but not least - there are more or less friendly tools that dump the Salesforce metadata. i'm a fan of https://www.datasert.com/products/realforce/ but just have a look around. Hell, even exporting some records with DataLoader will give you all field names if that's all you need.

Need help to XMLSerialize Object Content

I am using XMLSerialization to pass data from a client based Win7 application to our server (Server 2008 R2) via a Pipe communication process. I have been brought into this project to finish the previous developer's efforts who abandoned it ... therefore I am presently trying to fix the C# code in VS2010 that doesn't work.
The problem is that I cannot obtain full serialization of the resulting output from the following method which is in "public partial class Test". We have a table defined in the MS Compact Server database (named "Test") which matches each item below and has a FK to the "Channel" table, based on matching TestID's in both tables. EntityCollection is based on its relationship to the "Channel" table:
public Test(Guid TestID, String TestName, String TestRemarks, String ScriptPath,
EntityCollection<Channel> TChannels)
{
ID = TestID;
Name = TestName;
Remarks = TestRemarks;
Path = ScriptPath;
Channels = TChannels;
}
Here is a sample of how it is used in the execution of the method:
Test T = new Test(NewID, "Test1", "Test_120912-1729",
"C:\\Temp\\TestScript_16.txt", TChannels);
Here is the result of the serialization process:
<DataCore xsi:type="Test">
<ID>bc6a8ef7-c31f-404d-8108-86219d45be63</ID>
<Name>Test1</Name>
<Remarks>Test_120912-1729</Remarks>
<Path>C:\Temp\TestScript_16.txt</Path>
</DataCore>
The first four parameters serialize fine, but the last one (the EntityCollection) is failing to do so. However, if I try to serialize "TChannels" by itself (outside the "Test" function) the serialization of each Test Channel works perfectly. I don't fully understand the limitations/requirements for utilizing XMLserialization to solve this problem. Why am I unable to serialize the EntityCollection< > from within the function?
Thanks for your assistance!

I finally found a solution to the above problem. While the many suggestions were appreciated, none of them provided a solution to my inability to XmlSerialize a child EntityCollection. I dug deeper and looked into the ADO.NET Framework and found within the auto generated code in my database Model.Designer.cs file, an [XmlIgnoreAttribute()] near the beginning of Navigation Properties in my Test (EdmEntityTypeAttribute).
I simply removed the [XmlIgnoreAttribute()] line completely and now all the child objects of "Channels" from the EntityCollection<> are Serialized properly. I hope this can help others who are also unable to Serialize child objects.
Thanks #Dave R.

Using Linq with SQLite: Table recognized but "Results View" gives error

I'm trying to work with SQLITE in .
However I've faced a weird problem :
// Start of code
connection = new SQLiteConnection(myConnectionString);
connection.Open();
myDataContext = new Main(connection, new SqliteVendor());
// End of code
Examing 'myDataContext' after execution (with debugger), I see it has the type 'Main' (as should be :)) and also has as members,
the names of the tables I've defind in DB (so far - so good...), but...
Trying open one table (which has(!) records), and then trying to open the "ResultView" member of that table, I'm facing the string
"SQLite error\n No such table: main:XXXX"
(XXXX is the table name...)
(I've came to examine the structure because when I've tried to fetch records by linq command - I've got an exception.)
Do you have any idea what can cause this behavior?
Thanks,
Rivka

Ok, I've found the source of it...
(actually found it several hours after I've published the question...)
I'm working with visual studio and my DB file name is part of the project.
Since I've changed the (name and content...) of th db filename, i've forgot to mark
it "Copy Always"... That has caused the problem.
Please mark that as solved...

The riddle of the working broken query

I was going through some old code that was written in years past by another developer at my organization. Whilst trying to improve this code, I discovered that the query it uses had a very bad problem.
OdbcDataAdapter financialAidDocsQuery =
new OdbcDataAdapter(
#"SELECT a.RRRAREQ_TREQ_CODE,
b.RTVTREQ_SHORT_DESC,
a.RRRAREQ_TRST_DESC,
RRRAREQ_STAT_DATE,
RRRAREQ_EST_DATE,
a.RRRAREQ_SAT_IND,
a.RRRAREQ_SBGI_CODE,
b.RTVTREQ_PERK_MPN_FLAG,
b.RTVTREQ_PCKG_IND,
a.RRRAREQ_MEMO_IND,
a.RRRAREQ_TRK_LTR_IND,
a.RRRAREQ_DISB_IND,
a.RRRAREQ_FUND_CODE,
a.RRRAREQ_SYS_IND
FROM FAISMGR.RRRAREQ a, FAISMGR.RTVTREQ b
WHERE a.RRRAREQ_TREQ_CODE = b.RTVTREQ_CODE
and a.RRRAREQ_PIDM = :PIDM
AND a.RRRAREQ_AIDY_CODE = :AidYear ",
this.bannerOracle);
financialAidDocsQuery.SelectCommand.Parameters.Add(":PIDM", OdbcType.Int, 32).Value = this.pidm;
financialAidDocsQuery.SelectCommand.Parameters.Add(":AidYear", OdbcType.Int, 32).Value = this.aidYear;
DataTable financialAidDocsResults = new DataTable();
financialAidDocsQuery.Fill(financialAidDocsResults);
FADocsGridView.DataSource = financialAidDocsResults;
FADocsGridView.DataBind();
The problem is that the column a.RRRAREQ_TRST_DESC does not exist. A fact you learn very quickly when running it in Oracle SQL Developer.
The strange thing?
This code works.
The gridview binds successfully. (It doesn't try to bind to that field.) And it's been in production for years.
So, my question is...why? I've never seen a bad query work. I've never seen Oracle allow it or a data provider hack around it.
Does anyone have any idea what's going on here?

Hmmm...A few things to check:
Does this code actually run? It may seem silly to suggest this, but there may be a newer file that replaced this one.
Is an exception being squelched by your code? (Anyone who would name columns like that is definitely capable of squelching those pesky exceptions)
Is the exception being squelched by 3rd party code? (Not as likely, but sometimes 3rd party code prefers to use annoying error codes instead of exceptions).
Past those suggestions, I'm not sure.
EDIT:
Revisiting the 2nd point, if you are working in ASP.NET, check that there is no global-level exception handler that is squelching exceptions. I ran into that problem on one site that I worked on and found dozens of exceptions in a single day.

Try running
select * from v$sql where sql_fulltext like '%a.RRRAREQ_TRST_DESC%'
shortly after you bind the grid. That will tell you if the statement was actually seen by Oracle. Note that you should only see the above query if it was not seen by Oracle.

Use ODBC trace log to see if this query is really send to database, and see what database returns. Then use any other ODBC based database tool and check if this query work from this tool. As an ultimate test you can write simple Python script. Easiest way it to use ActiveState Python 2.x with odbc module included. Test code can look like:
import odbc
connection = odbc.odbc('dnsname/user/password')
cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute("select ...")
for row in cursor.fetchall():
print '\t'.join([str(r) for r in row])
If there was no error in your program and an error in other tools then compare theirs ODBC traces.

If I understand what the original author was trying to do, and with Banner that is never easy to figure out, then this query should be correct:
SELECT a.rrrareq_treq_code,
b.rtvtreq_short_desc,
c.rtvtrst_desc,
rrrareq_stat_date,
rrrareq_est_date,
a.rrrareq_sat_ind,
a.rrrareq_sbgi_code,
b.rtvtreq_perk_mpn_flag,
b.rtvtreq_pckg_ind,
a.rrrareq_memo_ind,
a.rrrareq_trk_ltr_ind,
a.rrrareq_disb_ind,
a.rrrareq_fund_code,
a.rrrareq_sys_ind
FROM faismgr.rrrareq a,
faismgr.rtvtreq b,
faismgr.rtvtrst c
WHERE a.rrrareq_treq_code = b.rtvtreq_code
AND a.rrrareq_trst_code = c.rtvtrst_code
AND a.rrrareq_pidm = :PIDM
AND a.rrrareq_aidy_code = :AidYear;

Well, let's file this in the false alarm category.
I decided to have our VAT send a copy of the DLL from test. I pulled it apart with reflector and found, much to my embarrassment, that the query is right. Which makes sense.
I still can't figure out why my working copy would have one incorrect field_name. To my knowledge, I had never touched this file before this week. But, SVN doesn't have any history showing this error in previous versions.
So strange...maybe I'm losing my mind.
Thanks for all of the quality feedback on this question. I certainly learned some new trouble shooting techniques and for that I'm very appreciative. :)
Happy coding,
Clif

Programmatically managing Microsoft Access Attachment-typed field with .NET

Access added a new data type in the 2007 version--the Attachment type. We are currently working on a WinForms application with .NET 3.5 (C#) that uses an Access 2007 database. We want to be able to add new attachments through the WinForms interface. I can't seem to locate any information on how to insert or select attachment data with .NET. I did try using DAO (version 12) but it didn't seem to have the SaveToFile or LoadFromFile methods discussed here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb258184.aspx
So, how can I get at the attachments with .NET?

I finally got this working in C# using a reference to Microsoft.Office.Interop.Access.Dao.
DBEngine dbe = new DBEngine();
Database db = dbe.OpenDatabase("C:\\SomeDatabase.accdb", false, false, "");
Recordset rs = db.OpenRecordset("SELECT * FROM TableWithAttachmentField", RecordsetTypeEnum.dbOpenDynaset, 0, LockTypeEnum.dbOptimistic);
rs.MoveFirst();
rs.Edit();
Recordset2 rs2 = (Recordset2)rs.Fields["AttachmentFieldName"].Value;
rs2.AddNew();
Field2 f2 = (Field2)rs2.Fields["FileData"];
f2.LoadFromFile("C:\\test.docx");
rs2._30_Update();
rs2.Close();
rs._30_Update();
rs.Close();
This will add test.docx to the Attachment field "AttachmentFieldName" in table "TableWithAttachmentField". One thing to note is that attempting to add the same file twice will throw an error.

Interesting question. I don't use A2007, but have the runtime installed, so I used the Access object browser to see what's in there. I discovered something really odd -- there are two FIELD objects, Field and Field2. The attachment functions are members of Field2 but not Field. So, my suggestion would be that perhaps what you need to do is convert this:
Recordset.Fields("FileData").LoadFromFile(<filename>)
to something like this:
Dim rs As DAO.Recordset
Dim fld2 As DAO.Field2
Set rs = CurrentDb.OpenRecordset("[SQL]")
Set fld2 = Recordset.Fields("FileData")
fld2.LoadFromFile(<filename>)
rs.Close
Set fld2=Nothing
Now, I don't know if that will correct the problem for you, but it seems to me that given the two Field objects with different properties/methods/members, you need to be explicit about which Field object you're using. The code example you cite is specifically for use in Access and maybe Access does something to automatically resolve the differences between the two object (perhaps it uses the Field object by default for non-ACCDB databases and the Field2 object for ACCDB files).

Look at this write up on the Access team blog It has basically what David is suggesting with a bit of a twist. It sets a Recordset2 type object equal to the value of the attachment field. Then appends a record to that recordset a puts the file contents in that new record.

I've been struggling to try and do this same thing. There is a reference you can include in your project to "Microsoft.Office.Interop.Access.Dao" that will get you the Recordset2 and Field2 Interfaces, but no implementation classes.
That's about as far as I've gotten, I'll post more once/if I figure it out...
I was not able to get this working in C#, so I moved on to a different solution. I would love to know how to do this though if someone figures it out.