Represents a nonexistent value. This class cannot be inherited.
(in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public NotInheritable Class DBNull _
Implements ISerializable, IConvertible
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public sealed class DBNull : ISerializable,
IConvertible
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public ref class DBNull sealed : ISerializable,
IConvertible
public final class DBNull implements ISerializable, IConvertible
The DBNull class represents a nonexistent value. In a database, for example, a column in a row of a table might not contain any data whatsoever. That is, the column is considered to not exist at all instead of merely not having a value. A DBNull object represents the nonexistent column. Additionally, COM interop uses the DBNull class to distinguish between a VT_NULL variant, which indicates a nonexistent value, and a VT_EMPTY variant, which indicates an unspecified value.
The DBNull type is a singleton class, which means only one DBNull object exists. The DBNull..::.Value member represents the sole DBNull object. DBNull..::.Value can be used to explicitly assign a nonexistent value to a database field, although most ADO.NET data providers automatically assign values of DBNull when a field does not have a valid value. You can determine whether a value retrieved from a database field is a DBNull value by passing the value of that field to the DBNull.Value.Equals method. However, some languages and database objects supply methods that make it easier to determine whether the value of a database field is DBNull..::.Value. These include the Visual Basic IsDBNull function, the Convert..::.IsDBNull method, the DataTableReader..::.IsDBNull method, and the IDataRecord..::.IsDBNull method.
Do not confuse the notion of nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) in an object-oriented programming language with a DBNull object. In an object-oriented programming language, nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) means the absence of a reference to an object. DBNull represents an uninitialized variant or nonexistent database column.
The following example calls the DBNull.Value.Equals method to determine whether a database field in a contacts database has a valid value. If it does, the field value is appended to the string output in a label.
Private Sub OUtputLabels(dt As DataTable)
Dim label As String
' Iterate rows of table
For Each row As DataRow In dt.Rows
Dim labelLen As Integer
label = String.Empty
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Title")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "FirstName")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "MiddleInitial")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "LastName")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Suffix")
label += vbCrLf
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Address1")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "AptNo")
label += vbCrLf
labelLen = Len(label)
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Address2")
If Len(label) <> labelLen Then label += vbCrLf
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "City")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "State")
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Zip")
Console.WriteLine(label)
Console.WriteLine()
Next
End Sub
Private Function AddFieldValue(label As String, row As DataRow, _
fieldName As String) As String
If Not DbNull.Value.Equals(row.Item(fieldName)) Then
Return CStr(row.Item(fieldName)) & " "
Else
Return Nothing
End If
End Function
private void OutputLabels(DataTable dt)
{
string label;
// Iterate rows of table
foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
{
int labelLen;
label = String.Empty;
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Title");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "FirstName");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "MiddleInitial");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "LastName");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Suffix");
label += "\n";
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Address1");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "AptNo");
label += "\n";
labelLen = label.Length;
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Address2");
if (label.Length != labelLen)
label += "\n";
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "City");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "State");
label += AddFieldValue(label, row, "Zip");
Console.WriteLine(label);
Console.WriteLine();
}
}
private string AddFieldValue(string label, DataRow row,
string fieldName)
{
if (! DBNull.Value.Equals(row[fieldName]))
return (string) row[fieldName] + " ";
else
return String.Empty;
}
System..::.Object
System..::.DBNull
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
Reference