Convert.IsDBNull(Object) Method

Definition

Returns an indication whether the specified object is of type DBNull.

C#
public static bool IsDBNull(object? value);
C#
public static bool IsDBNull(object value);

Parameters

value
Object

An object.

Returns

true if value is of type DBNull; otherwise, false.

Examples

The following example uses a SqlDataReader object to retrieve survey data from a database. It assigns each row's field values to an array, and then passes each array element to the IsDBNull method. If the method returns true, the example assigns the string "NA" to the array element. The array is then added to the Rows collection of a System.Windows.Forms.DataGridView control.

C#
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
   // Define ADO.NET objects.
   SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
   SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand();
   SqlDataReader dr;

   // Open connection, and retrieve dataset.
   conn.Open();

   // Define Command object.
   cmd.CommandText = "Select * From Responses";
   cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
   cmd.Connection = conn;

   // Retrieve data reader.
   dr = cmd.ExecuteReader();

   int fieldCount = dr.FieldCount;
   object[] fieldValues = new object[fieldCount];
   string[] headers = new string[fieldCount];

   // Get names of fields.
   for (int ctr = 0; ctr < fieldCount; ctr++)
      headers[ctr] = dr.GetName(ctr);

   // Set up data grid.
   this.grid.ColumnCount = fieldCount;

   this.grid.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.BackColor = Color.Navy;
   this.grid.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.ForeColor = Color.White;
   this.grid.ColumnHeadersDefaultCellStyle.Font = new Font(this.grid.Font, FontStyle.Bold);

   this.grid.AutoSizeRowsMode = DataGridViewAutoSizeRowsMode.DisplayedCellsExceptHeaders;
   this.grid.ColumnHeadersBorderStyle = DataGridViewHeaderBorderStyle.Single;
   this.grid.CellBorderStyle = DataGridViewCellBorderStyle.Single;
   this.grid.GridColor = Color.Black;
   this.grid.RowHeadersVisible = true;

   for (int columnNumber = 0; columnNumber < headers.Length;  columnNumber++)
      this.grid.Columns[columnNumber].Name = headers[columnNumber];

   // Get data, replace missing values with "NA", and display it.
   while (dr.Read())
   {
      dr.GetValues(fieldValues);

      for (int fieldCounter = 0; fieldCounter < fieldCount; fieldCounter++)
      {
         if (Convert.IsDBNull(fieldValues[fieldCounter]))
            fieldValues[fieldCounter] = "NA";
      }
      grid.Rows.Add(fieldValues);
   }
   dr.Close();
}

Remarks

The IsDBNull method tests whether the value parameter is equal to DBNull.Value. It is equivalent to the following code:

C#
return DBNull.Value.Equals(value);

Note

DBNull.Value is used to indicate a value that is missing. It is not equivalent to null or to String.Empty. Therefore, code such as Convert.IsDBNull(null) in C# or Convert.IsDBNull(Nothing) in Visual Basic returnsfalse.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0, 2.1

See also