SqlCommand.ExecuteScalar Method

Definition

Executes the query, and returns the first column of the first row in the result set returned by the query. Additional columns or rows are ignored.

public:
 override System::Object ^ ExecuteScalar();
public:
 virtual System::Object ^ ExecuteScalar();
public override object ExecuteScalar ();
public object ExecuteScalar ();
override this.ExecuteScalar : unit -> obj
abstract member ExecuteScalar : unit -> obj
override this.ExecuteScalar : unit -> obj
Public Overrides Function ExecuteScalar () As Object
Public Function ExecuteScalar () As Object

Returns

The first column of the first row in the result set, or a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) if the result set is empty. Returns a maximum of 2033 characters.

Implements

Exceptions

A SqlDbType other than Binary or VarBinary was used when Value was set to Stream. For more information about streaming, see SqlClient Streaming Support.

-or-

A SqlDbType other than Char, NChar, NVarChar, VarChar, or Xml was used when Value was set to TextReader.

-or-

A SqlDbType other than Xml was used when Value was set to XmlReader.

An exception occurred while executing the command against a locked row. This exception is not generated when you are using Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.0.

-or-

A timeout occurred during a streaming operation. For more information about streaming, see SqlClient Streaming Support.

The SqlConnection closed or dropped during a streaming operation. For more information about streaming, see SqlClient Streaming Support.

An error occurred in a Stream, XmlReader or TextReader object during a streaming operation. For more information about streaming, see SqlClient Streaming Support.

The Stream, XmlReader or TextReader object was closed during a streaming operation. For more information about streaming, see SqlClient Streaming Support.

Examples

The following example creates a SqlCommand and then executes it using ExecuteScalar. The example is passed a string representing a new value to be inserted into a table, and a string to use to connect to the data source. The function returns the new Identity column value if a new row was inserted, 0 on failure.

static public int AddProductCategory(string newName, string connString)
{
    Int32 newProdID = 0;
    string sql =
        "INSERT INTO Production.ProductCategory (Name) VALUES (@Name); "
        + "SELECT CAST(scope_identity() AS int)";
    using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connString))
    {
        SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(sql, conn);
        cmd.Parameters.Add("@Name", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        cmd.Parameters["@name"].Value = newName;
        try
        {
            conn.Open();
            newProdID = (Int32)cmd.ExecuteScalar();
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
        }
    }
    return (int)newProdID;
}
Public Function AddProductCategory( _
  ByVal newName As String, ByVal connString As String) As Integer
    Dim newProdID As Int32 = 0
    Dim sql As String = _
     "INSERT INTO Production.ProductCategory (Name) VALUES (@Name); " _
       & "SELECT CAST(scope_identity() AS int);"

    Using conn As New SqlConnection(connString)
        Dim cmd As New SqlCommand(sql, conn)
        cmd.Parameters.Add("@Name", SqlDbType.VarChar)
        cmd.Parameters("@Name").Value = newName
        Try
            conn.Open()
            newProdID = Convert.ToInt32(cmd.ExecuteScalar())
        Catch ex As Exception
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
        End Try
    End Using

    Return newProdID
End Function

Remarks

Use the ExecuteScalar method to retrieve a single value (for example, an aggregate value) from a database. This requires less code than using the ExecuteReader method, and then performing the operations that you need to generate the single value using the data returned by a SqlDataReader.

A typical ExecuteScalar query can be formatted as in the following C# example:

cmd.CommandText = "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM dbo.region";
Int32 count = (Int32) cmd.ExecuteScalar();

Applies to

See also