System.Data.DataTable class
This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.
The DataTable class is a central object in the ADO.NET library. Other objects that use DataTable include the DataSet and the DataView.
DataTable object names are conditionally case sensitive. For example, if one DataTable is named "mydatatable" and another is named "Mydatatable", a string used to search for one of the tables is regarded as case sensitive. However, if "mydatatable" exists and "Mydatatable" does not, the search string is regarded as case insensitive. A DataSet can contain two DataTable objects that have the same TableName property value but different Namespace property values. For more information about working with DataTable objects, see Creating a DataTable.
If you're creating a DataTable programmatically, you must first define its schema by adding DataColumn objects to the DataColumnCollection (accessed through the Columns property). For more information about adding DataColumn objects, see Adding Columns to a DataTable.
To add rows to a DataTable, you must first use the NewRow method to return a new DataRow object. The NewRow method returns a row with the schema of the DataTable, as it is defined by the table's DataColumnCollection. The maximum number of rows that a DataTable can store is 16,777,216. For more information, see Adding Data to a DataTable.
The DataTable also contains a collection of Constraint objects that can be used to ensure the integrity of the data. For more information, see DataTable Constraints.
There are many DataTable events that can be used to determine when changes are made to a table. These include RowChanged, RowChanging, RowDeleting, and RowDeleted. For more information about the events that can be used with a DataTable, see Handling DataTable Events.
When an instance of DataTable is created, some of the read/write properties are set to initial values. For a list of these values, see the DataTable constructor.
Note
The DataSet and DataTable objects inherit from MarshalByValueComponent and support the ISerializable interface for .NET remoting. These are the only ADO.NET objects that you can use for .NET remoting.
Security considerations
For information about DataSet and DataTable security, see Security guidance.
Examples
This sample demonstrates how to create a DataTable manually with specific schema definitions:
- Create multiple DataTables and define the initial columns.
- Create the table constraints.
- Insert the values and display the tables.
- Create the expression columns and display the tables.
using System;
using System.Data;
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// Create two tables and add them into the DataSet
DataTable orderTable = CreateOrderTable();
DataTable orderDetailTable = CreateOrderDetailTable();
DataSet salesSet = new DataSet();
salesSet.Tables.Add(orderTable);
salesSet.Tables.Add(orderDetailTable);
// Set the relations between the tables and create the related constraint.
salesSet.Relations.Add("OrderOrderDetail", orderTable.Columns["OrderId"], orderDetailTable.Columns["OrderId"], true);
Console.WriteLine("After creating the foreign key constriant, you will see the following error if inserting order detail with the wrong OrderId: ");
try
{
DataRow errorRow = orderDetailTable.NewRow();
errorRow[0] = 1;
errorRow[1] = "O0007";
orderDetailTable.Rows.Add(errorRow);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}
Console.WriteLine();
// Insert the rows into the table
InsertOrders(orderTable);
InsertOrderDetails(orderDetailTable);
Console.WriteLine("The initial Order table.");
ShowTable(orderTable);
Console.WriteLine("The OrderDetail table.");
ShowTable(orderDetailTable);
// Use the Aggregate-Sum on the child table column to get the result.
DataColumn colSub = new DataColumn("SubTotal", typeof(Decimal), "Sum(Child.LineTotal)");
orderTable.Columns.Add(colSub);
// Compute the tax by referencing the SubTotal expression column.
DataColumn colTax = new DataColumn("Tax", typeof(Decimal), "SubTotal*0.1");
orderTable.Columns.Add(colTax);
// If the OrderId is 'Total', compute the due on all orders; or compute the due on this order.
DataColumn colTotal = new DataColumn("TotalDue", typeof(Decimal), "IIF(OrderId='Total',Sum(SubTotal)+Sum(Tax),SubTotal+Tax)");
orderTable.Columns.Add(colTotal);
DataRow row = orderTable.NewRow();
row["OrderId"] = "Total";
orderTable.Rows.Add(row);
Console.WriteLine("The Order table with the expression columns.");
ShowTable(orderTable);
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.....");
Console.ReadKey();
}
private static DataTable CreateOrderTable()
{
DataTable orderTable = new DataTable("Order");
// Define one column.
DataColumn colId = new DataColumn("OrderId", typeof(String));
orderTable.Columns.Add(colId);
DataColumn colDate = new DataColumn("OrderDate", typeof(DateTime));
orderTable.Columns.Add(colDate);
// Set the OrderId column as the primary key.
orderTable.PrimaryKey = new DataColumn[] { colId };
return orderTable;
}
private static DataTable CreateOrderDetailTable()
{
DataTable orderDetailTable = new DataTable("OrderDetail");
// Define all the columns once.
DataColumn[] cols =
{
new DataColumn("OrderDetailId", typeof(Int32)),
new DataColumn("OrderId", typeof(String)),
new DataColumn("Product", typeof(String)),
new DataColumn("UnitPrice", typeof(Decimal)),
new DataColumn("OrderQty", typeof(Int32)),
new DataColumn("LineTotal", typeof(Decimal), "UnitPrice*OrderQty")
};
orderDetailTable.Columns.AddRange(cols);
orderDetailTable.PrimaryKey = new DataColumn[] { orderDetailTable.Columns["OrderDetailId"] };
return orderDetailTable;
}
private static void InsertOrders(DataTable orderTable)
{
// Add one row once.
DataRow row1 = orderTable.NewRow();
row1["OrderId"] = "O0001";
row1["OrderDate"] = new DateTime(2013, 3, 1);
orderTable.Rows.Add(row1);
DataRow row2 = orderTable.NewRow();
row2["OrderId"] = "O0002";
row2["OrderDate"] = new DateTime(2013, 3, 12);
orderTable.Rows.Add(row2);
DataRow row3 = orderTable.NewRow();
row3["OrderId"] = "O0003";
row3["OrderDate"] = new DateTime(2013, 3, 20);
orderTable.Rows.Add(row3);
}
private static void InsertOrderDetails(DataTable orderDetailTable)
{
// Use an Object array to insert all the rows .
// Values in the array are matched sequentially to the columns, based on the order in which they appear in the table.
Object[] rows =
{
new Object[] { 1, "O0001", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 36 },
new Object[] { 2, "O0001", "Road Bike", 1233.6, 16 },
new Object[] { 3, "O0001", "Touring Bike", 1653.3, 32 },
new Object[] { 4, "O0002", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 24 },
new Object[] { 5, "O0002", "Road Bike", 1233.6, 12 },
new Object[] { 6, "O0003", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 48 },
new Object[] { 7, "O0003", "Touring Bike", 1653.3, 8 },
};
foreach (Object[] row in rows)
{
orderDetailTable.Rows.Add(row);
}
}
private static void ShowTable(DataTable table)
{
foreach (DataColumn col in table.Columns)
{
Console.Write("{0,-14}", col.ColumnName);
}
Console.WriteLine();
foreach (DataRow row in table.Rows)
{
foreach (DataColumn col in table.Columns)
{
if (col.DataType.Equals(typeof(DateTime)))
Console.Write("{0,-14:d}", row[col]);
else if (col.DataType.Equals(typeof(Decimal)))
Console.Write("{0,-14:C}", row[col]);
else
Console.Write("{0,-14}", row[col]);
}
Console.WriteLine();
}
Console.WriteLine();
}
}
Imports System.Data
Class Program
Public Shared Sub Main(args As String())
' Create two tables and add them into the DataSet
Dim orderTable As DataTable = CreateOrderTable()
Dim orderDetailTable As DataTable = CreateOrderDetailTable()
Dim salesSet As New DataSet()
salesSet.Tables.Add(orderTable)
salesSet.Tables.Add(orderDetailTable)
' Set the relations between the tables and create the related constraint.
salesSet.Relations.Add("OrderOrderDetail", orderTable.Columns("OrderId"), orderDetailTable.Columns("OrderId"), True)
Console.WriteLine("After creating the foreign key constriant, you will see the following error if inserting order detail with the wrong OrderId: ")
Try
Dim errorRow As DataRow = orderDetailTable.NewRow()
errorRow(0) = 1
errorRow(1) = "O0007"
orderDetailTable.Rows.Add(errorRow)
Catch e As Exception
Console.WriteLine(e.Message)
End Try
Console.WriteLine()
' Insert the rows into the table
InsertOrders(orderTable)
InsertOrderDetails(orderDetailTable)
Console.WriteLine("The initial Order table.")
ShowTable(orderTable)
Console.WriteLine("The OrderDetail table.")
ShowTable(orderDetailTable)
' Use the Aggregate-Sum on the child table column to get the result.
Dim colSub As New DataColumn("SubTotal", GetType([Decimal]), "Sum(Child.LineTotal)")
orderTable.Columns.Add(colSub)
' Compute the tax by referencing the SubTotal expression column.
Dim colTax As New DataColumn("Tax", GetType([Decimal]), "SubTotal*0.1")
orderTable.Columns.Add(colTax)
' If the OrderId is 'Total', compute the due on all orders; or compute the due on this order.
Dim colTotal As New DataColumn("TotalDue", GetType([Decimal]), "IIF(OrderId='Total',Sum(SubTotal)+Sum(Tax),SubTotal+Tax)")
orderTable.Columns.Add(colTotal)
Dim row As DataRow = orderTable.NewRow()
row("OrderId") = "Total"
orderTable.Rows.Add(row)
Console.WriteLine("The Order table with the expression columns.")
ShowTable(orderTable)
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.....")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
Private Shared Function CreateOrderTable() As DataTable
Dim orderTable As New DataTable("Order")
' Define one column.
Dim colId As New DataColumn("OrderId", GetType([String]))
orderTable.Columns.Add(colId)
Dim colDate As New DataColumn("OrderDate", GetType(DateTime))
orderTable.Columns.Add(colDate)
' Set the OrderId column as the primary key.
orderTable.PrimaryKey = New DataColumn() {colId}
Return orderTable
End Function
Private Shared Function CreateOrderDetailTable() As DataTable
Dim orderDetailTable As New DataTable("OrderDetail")
' Define all the columns once.
Dim cols As DataColumn() = {New DataColumn("OrderDetailId", GetType(Int32)), New DataColumn("OrderId", GetType([String])), New DataColumn("Product", GetType([String])), New DataColumn("UnitPrice", GetType([Decimal])), New DataColumn("OrderQty", GetType(Int32)), New DataColumn("LineTotal", GetType([Decimal]), "UnitPrice*OrderQty")}
orderDetailTable.Columns.AddRange(cols)
orderDetailTable.PrimaryKey = New DataColumn() {orderDetailTable.Columns("OrderDetailId")}
Return orderDetailTable
End Function
Private Shared Sub InsertOrders(orderTable As DataTable)
' Add one row once.
Dim row1 As DataRow = orderTable.NewRow()
row1("OrderId") = "O0001"
row1("OrderDate") = New DateTime(2013, 3, 1)
orderTable.Rows.Add(row1)
Dim row2 As DataRow = orderTable.NewRow()
row2("OrderId") = "O0002"
row2("OrderDate") = New DateTime(2013, 3, 12)
orderTable.Rows.Add(row2)
Dim row3 As DataRow = orderTable.NewRow()
row3("OrderId") = "O0003"
row3("OrderDate") = New DateTime(2013, 3, 20)
orderTable.Rows.Add(row3)
End Sub
Private Shared Sub InsertOrderDetails(orderDetailTable As DataTable)
' Use an Object array to insert all the rows .
' Values in the array are matched sequentially to the columns, based on the order in which they appear in the table.
Dim rows As [Object]() = {New [Object]() {1, "O0001", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 36}, New [Object]() {2, "O0001", "Road Bike", 1233.6, 16}, New [Object]() {3, "O0001", "Touring Bike", 1653.3, 32}, New [Object]() {4, "O0002", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 24}, New [Object]() {5, "O0002", "Road Bike", 1233.6, 12}, New [Object]() {6, "O0003", "Mountain Bike", 1419.5, 48}, _
New [Object]() {7, "O0003", "Touring Bike", 1653.3, 8}}
For Each row As [Object]() In rows
orderDetailTable.Rows.Add(row)
Next
End Sub
Private Shared Sub ShowTable(table As DataTable)
For Each col As DataColumn In table.Columns
Console.Write("{0,-14}", col.ColumnName)
Next
Console.WriteLine()
For Each row As DataRow In table.Rows
For Each col As DataColumn In table.Columns
If col.DataType.Equals(GetType(DateTime)) Then
Console.Write("{0,-14:d}", row(col))
ElseIf col.DataType.Equals(GetType([Decimal])) Then
Console.Write("{0,-14:C}", row(col))
Else
Console.Write("{0,-14}", row(col))
End If
Next
Console.WriteLine()
Next
Console.WriteLine()
End Sub
End Class
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