How do I extract data from a DataTable?

Question

I have a DataTable that is filled in from an SQL query to a local database, but I don't know how to extract data from it. Main method (in test program):

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    const string connectionString = "server=localhost\\SQLExpress;database=master;integrated Security=SSPI;";
    DataTable table = new DataTable("allPrograms");

    using (var conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
    {
        Console.WriteLine("connection created successfuly");

        string command = "SELECT * FROM Programs";

        using (var cmd = new SqlCommand(command, conn))
        {
            Console.WriteLine("command created successfuly");

            SqlDataAdapter adapt = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);

            conn.Open(); 
            Console.WriteLine("connection opened successfuly");
            adapt.Fill(table);
            conn.Close();
            Console.WriteLine("connection closed successfuly");
        }
    }

    Console.Read();
}

The command I used to create the tables in my database:

create table programs
(
    progid int primary key identity(1,1),
    name nvarchar(255),
    description nvarchar(500),
    iconFile nvarchar(255),
    installScript nvarchar(255)
)

How can I extract data from the DataTable into a form meaningful to use?

Answer 1

Unless you have a specific reason to do raw ado.net I would have a look at using an ORM (object relational mapper) like nHibernate or LINQ to SQL. That way you can query the database and retrieve objects to work with which are strongly typed and easier to work with IMHO.

Answer 2

The DataTable has a collection .Rows of DataRow elements.

Each DataRow corresponds to one row in your database, and contains a collection of columns.

In order to access a single value, do something like this:

 foreach(DataRow row in YourDataTable.Rows)
 { 
     string name = row["name"].ToString();
     string description = row["description"].ToString();
     string icoFileName = row["iconFile"].ToString();
     string installScript = row["installScript"].ToString();
 }

Answer 3

The simplest way to extract data from a DataTable when you have multiple data types (not just strings) is to use the Field<T> extension method available in the System.Data.DataSetExtensions assembly.

var id = row.Field<int>("ID");         // extract and parse int
var name = row.Field<string>("Name");  // extract string

From MSDN, the Field<T> method:

Provides strongly-typed access to each of the column values in the DataRow.

This means that when you specify the type it will validate and unbox the object.

For example:

// iterate over the rows of the datatable
foreach (var row in table.AsEnumerable())  // AsEnumerable() returns IEnumerable<DataRow>
{
    var id = row.Field<int>("ID");                           // int
    var name = row.Field<string>("Name");                    // string
    var orderValue = row.Field<decimal>("OrderValue");       // decimal
    var interestRate = row.Field<double>("InterestRate");    // double
    var isActive = row.Field<bool>("Active");                // bool
    var orderDate = row.Field<DateTime>("OrderDate");        // DateTime
}

It also supports nullable types:

DateTime? date = row.Field<DateTime?>("DateColumn");

This can simplify extracting data from DataTable as it removes the need to explicitly convert or parse the object into the correct types.

Answer 4

Please, note that Open and Close the connection is not necessary when using DataAdapter.

So I suggest please update this code and remove the open and close of the connection:

        SqlDataAdapter adapt = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);

conn.Open(); // this line of code is uncessessary

        Console.WriteLine("connection opened successfuly");
        adapt.Fill(table);

conn.Close(); // this line of code is uncessessary

        Console.WriteLine("connection closed successfuly");

Reference Documentation

The code shown in this example does not explicitly open and close the Connection. The Fill method implicitly opens the Connection that the DataAdapter is using if it finds that the connection is not already open. If Fill opened the connection, it also closes the connection when Fill is finished. This can simplify your code when you deal with a single operation such as a Fill or an Update. However, if you are performing multiple operations that require an open connection, you can improve the performance of your application by explicitly calling the Open method of the Connection, performing the operations against the data source, and then calling the Close method of the Connection. You should try to keep connections to the data source open as briefly as possible to free resources for use by other client applications.

Answer 5

  var table = Tables[0]; //get first table from Dataset
  foreach (DataRow row in table.Rows)
     {
       foreach (var item in row.ItemArray)
         {
            console.Write("Value:"+item);
         }
     }

Answer 6

Please consider using some code like this:

SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();
int numRows = 0;
DataTable dt = new DataTable();

dt.Load(reader);
numRows = dt.Rows.Count;

string attended_type = "";

for (int index = 0; index < numRows; index++)
{
    attended_type = dt.Rows[indice2]["columnname"].ToString();
}

reader.Close();

Answer 7

You can set the datatable as a datasource to many elements.

For eg

gridView

repeater

datalist

etc etc

If you need to extract data from each row then you can use

table.rows[rowindex][columnindex]

or

if you know the column name

table.rows[rowindex][columnname]

If you need to iterate the table then you can either use a for loop or a foreach loop like

for ( int i = 0; i < table.rows.length; i ++ )
{
    string name = table.rows[i]["columnname"].ToString();
}

foreach ( DataRow dr in table.Rows )
{
    string name = dr["columnname"].ToString();
}