Connect to MSSQL and XML to generate a Content Feed

Hello,

I am brand new to Sitefinity, and I'm somewhat confused about where to
start in regards to making a dynamic connection to an external MS SQL
database for a content feed and a straightforward XML document within Sitefinity web pages.

Are there widgets to complete this? If so, does an add-on have to be
downloaded? I don't understand what tools I am suppose to use to get
this to occur. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time and help.

Maria

Hi John,

As far as I understand, you want to show content from an external DB on a Sitefinity website. There are several ways you can approach this.

1. You can import the content into a sitefinity module using the API. Dynamic Modules in Sitefinity let you specify your own data model. Once the content is imported, you can show it anywhere on a Sitefinity page. Documentation about dynamic modules is available here:
http://www.sitefinity.com/documentation/documentationarticles/user-guide/website-content/creating-and-using-custom-modules

2. You can implement a custom widget which dynamically accesses the remote data and shows it immediately. The widget can then be placed on any Sitefinity page. Widgets are just normal ASP.NET cotnrols. An example of how to build one is available here:
http://www.sitefinity.com/documentation/documentationarticles/developers-guide/how-to/how-to-create-a-newsrotator-control 

I am not sure if the XML document you mentioned is related to showing the content from the remote DB or a separate request. If it is the latter, Sitefinity has no user interface for creating documents, but you can store it in the documents module after you've created it in any editor.

Let me know if I can assist you further.