VB.NET - DataColumn Class

DataColumn. A DataTable is represented by several types. In the table, a column represents the name and type of one cell in every row. This is called a DataColumn.

DataTable

Class use. We use DataColumns in a DataTable with the GetType argument to create typed, and validated, relational data in memory. We can add and loop over columns.

Example. In the first statements, we create a DataTable and adds 3 columns to it. Internally the DataTable creates DataColumn instances—but we do not see them here.

Next We create a DataColumn object instance explicitly. We use the New DataColumn constructor.

Argument 1 This constructor receives two arguments. The first argument is the name of the column—a String.

Argument 2 The second argument is the type of the column. This is specified with the return value of GetType.

Detail In the For-Each loop, we use the Columns property on the DataTable. And we print the name and DataType for each column.

For

Module Module1 Sub Main() ' Create DataTable and add columns. Dim table As DataTable = New DataTable() table.Columns.Add("Dosage", GetType(Integer)) table.Columns.Add("Medication", GetType(String)) table.Columns.Add("Patient", GetType(String)) ' Add a column object in a different way. Dim column As DataColumn = New DataColumn("Appointment", GetType(DateTime)) table.Columns.Add(column) ' Add some rows. table.Rows.Add(32, "Combivent", "Jane", DateTime.Now) table.Rows.Add(100, "Dilantin", "Mark", DateTime.Now) ' Loop over columns. For Each c As DataColumn In table.Columns Console.WriteLine("{0} = {1}", c, c.DataType) Next End Sub End Module

Dosage = System.Int32 Medication = System.String Patient = System.String Appointment = System.DateTime

Indexer. Internally the DataTable type is implemented with Hashtable. This provides a fast way to access DataColumns by their names. This can be done with the indexer syntax.

Hashtable

Result The 2 statements return the first column in the DataTable—this is the Dosage column.

Console.WriteLine(table.Columns(0)) Console.WriteLine(table.Columns("Dosage"))

A summary. A DataColum is an essential part of a DataTable. For rows and data to be added to a DataTable, columns must first exist, and they must match the data added.

DataRow

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This page was last updated on Sep 27, 2022 (edit link).

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