How to: Execute a Query that Returns Nested Collections
This shows how to execute a command against a conceptual model by using an EntityCommand object, and how to retrieve the nested collection results by using an EntityDataReader.
To run the code in this example
Add the AdventureWorks Sales Model to your project and configure your project to use the Entity Framework. For more information, see How to: Use the Entity Data Model Wizard.
In the code page for your application, add the following
using
directives (Imports
in Visual Basic):using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Data; using System.Data.Common; using System.Data.EntityClient; using System.Data.Metadata.Edm;
Imports System.Collections.Generic Imports System.Collections Imports System.Data.Common Imports System.Data Imports System.IO Imports System.Data.SqlClient Imports System.Data.EntityClient Imports System.Data.Metadata.Edm
Example
A nested collection is a collection that is inside another collection. The following code retrieves a collection of Contacts
and the nested collections of SalesOrderHeaders
that are associated with each Contact
.
using (EntityConnection conn =
new EntityConnection("name=AdventureWorksEntities"))
{
conn.Open();
// Create an EntityCommand.
using (EntityCommand cmd = conn.CreateCommand())
{
// Create a nested query.
string esqlQuery =
@"Select c.ContactID, c.SalesOrderHeaders
From AdventureWorksEntities.Contacts as c";
cmd.CommandText = esqlQuery;
// Execute the command.
using (EntityDataReader rdr =
cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.SequentialAccess))
{
// The result returned by this query contains
// ContactID and a nested collection of SalesOrderHeader items.
// associated with this Contact.
while (rdr.Read())
{
// the first column contains Contact ID.
Console.WriteLine("Contact ID: {0}", rdr["ContactID"]);
// The second column contains a collection of SalesOrderHeader
// items associated with the Contact.
DbDataReader nestedReader = rdr.GetDataReader(1);
while (nestedReader.Read())
{
Console.WriteLine(" SalesOrderID: {0} ", nestedReader["SalesOrderID"]);
Console.WriteLine(" OrderDate: {0} ", nestedReader["OrderDate"]);
}
}
}
}
conn.Close();
}
Using conn As New EntityConnection("name=AdventureWorksEntities")
conn.Open()
' Create an EntityCommand.
Using cmd As EntityCommand = conn.CreateCommand()
' Create a nested query.
Dim esqlQuery As String = "Select c.ContactID, c.SalesOrderHeaders" & _
" From AdventureWorksEntities.Contacts as c"
cmd.CommandText = esqlQuery
' Execute the command.
Using rdr As EntityDataReader = cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.SequentialAccess)
' The result returned by this query contains
' ContactID and a nested collection of SalesOrderHeader items.
' associated with this Contact.
While rdr.Read()
' the first column contains Contact ID.
Console.WriteLine("Contact ID: {0}", rdr("ContactID"))
' The second column contains a collection of SalesOrderHeader
' items associated with the Contact.
Dim nestedReader As DbDataReader = rdr.GetDataReader(1)
While nestedReader.Read()
Console.WriteLine(" SalesOrderID: {0} ", nestedReader("SalesOrderID"))
Console.WriteLine(" OrderDate: {0} ", nestedReader("OrderDate"))
End While
End While
End Using
End Using
conn.Close()
End Using