Name

GetValues

Synopsis

Int32 numberOfValues = DataReader.GetValues(Object[] values);

This method provides an efficient way to retrieve all the values in a row at once rather than access each column value separately. The values are retrieved into an array of objects, which you must supply as an argument. The GetValues( ) method returns the number of values used to fill the array.

Before you use the GetValues( ) method, you should make sure the array length is the correct size. If the array length is less than the number of required columns, all the values will not be retrieved. Instead, the available slots in the array are filled with the corresponding column values, and all additional column values are ignored. No exception is thrown. You can also pass an object array that has a length greater than the number of columns contained in the resulting row without generating an error.

Example

The following example retrieves all the column values for a row into an object array, and then adds this array to an ArrayList collection. The information for each row is added to the ArrayList in this fashion.

string SQL = "SELECT * FROM Customers";



SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(SQL, con);

ArrayList rows = new ArrayList();

con.Open();

SqlDataReader r = cmd.ExecuteReader();



while (r.Read())

{

    object[] values = new object[r.FieldCount];

    r.GetValues(values);

    rows.Add(values);

}



con.Close();



Console.WriteLine("Data retrieved for " + rows.Count.ToString() + " rows");

Notes

Some providers also provide strongly typed versions of the GetValue( ) method, which you can recognize based on the provider prefix. For example, SQL Server provides a GetSqlValue( ) method.

There is no DataReader method that allows you to retrieve multiple rows into an array.