Data Access Using ADO.NET (C++/CLI)

Article
08/03/2021

ADO.NET is the .NET Framework API for data access and provides power and ease of use unmatched by previous data access solutions. This section describes some of the issues involving ADO.NET that are unique to Visual C++ users, such as marshaling native types.

ADO.NET runs under the Common Language Runtime (CLR). Therefore, any application that interacts with ADO.NET must also target the CLR. However, that does not mean that native applications cannot use ADO.NET. These examples will demonstrate how to interact with an ADO.NET database from native code.

Marshal ANSI Strings for ADO.NET

Demonstrates how to add a native string (char *) to a database and how to marshal a System.String from a database to a native string.

Example

In this example, the class DatabaseClass is created to interact with an ADO.NET DataTable object. Note that this class is a native C++ class (as compared to a ref class or value class). This is necessary because we want to use this class from native code, and you cannot use managed types in native code. This class will be compiled to target the CLR, as is indicated by the #pragma managed directive preceding the class declaration. For more information on this directive, see managed, unmanaged.

Note the private member of the DatabaseClass class: gcroot<DataTable ^> table. Since native types cannot contain managed types, the gcroot keyword is necessary. For more information on gcroot, see How to: Declare Handles in Native Types.

The rest of the code in this example is native C++ code, as is indicated by the #pragma unmanaged directive preceding main. In this example, we are creating a new instance of DatabaseClass and calling its methods to create a table and populate some rows in the table. Note that native C++ strings are being passed as values for the database column StringCol. Inside DatabaseClass, these strings are marshaled to managed strings using the marshaling functionality found in the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace. Specifically, the method PtrToStringAnsi is used to marshal a char * to a String, and the method StringToHGlobalAnsi is used to marshal a String to a char *.

Note

The memory allocated by StringToHGlobalAnsi must be deallocated by calling either FreeHGlobal or GlobalFree.

// adonet_marshal_string_native.cpp
// compile with: /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll
#include <comdef.h>
#include <gcroot.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

#using <System.Data.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Data;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

#define MAXCOLS 100

#pragma managed
class DatabaseClass
{
public:
    DatabaseClass() : table(nullptr) { }

    void AddRow(char *stringColValue)
    {
        // Add a row to the table.
        DataRow ^row = table->NewRow();
        row["StringCol"] = Marshal::PtrToStringAnsi(
            (IntPtr)stringColValue);
        table->Rows->Add(row);
    }

    void CreateAndPopulateTable()
    {
        // Create a simple DataTable.
        table = gcnew DataTable("SampleTable");

        // Add a column of type String to the table.
        DataColumn ^column1 = gcnew DataColumn("StringCol",
            Type::GetType("System.String"));
        table->Columns->Add(column1);
    }

    int GetValuesForColumn(char *dataColumn, char **values,
        int valuesLength)
    {
        // Marshal the name of the column to a managed
        // String.
        String ^columnStr = Marshal::PtrToStringAnsi(
                (IntPtr)dataColumn);

        // Get all rows in the table.
        array<DataRow ^> ^rows = table->Select();
        int len = rows->Length;
        len = (len > valuesLength) ? valuesLength : len;
        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
        {
            // Marshal each column value from a managed string
            // to a char *.
            values[i] = (char *)Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi(
                (String ^)rows[i][columnStr]).ToPointer();
        }

        return len;
    }

private:
    // Using gcroot, you can use a managed type in
    // a native class.
    gcroot<DataTable ^> table;
};

#pragma unmanaged
int main()
{
    // Create a table and add a few rows to it.
    DatabaseClass *db = new DatabaseClass();
    db->CreateAndPopulateTable();
    db->AddRow("This is string 1.");
    db->AddRow("This is string 2.");

    // Now retrieve the rows and display their contents.
    char *values[MAXCOLS];
    int len = db->GetValuesForColumn(
        "StringCol", values, MAXCOLS);
    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
    {
        cout << "StringCol: " << values[i] << endl;

        // Deallocate the memory allocated using
        // Marshal::StringToHGlobalAnsi.
        GlobalFree(values[i]);
    }

    delete db;

    return 0;
}

StringCol: This is string 1.
StringCol: This is string 2.

Compiling the Code

To compile the code from the command line, save the code example in a file named adonet_marshal_string_native.cpp and enter the following statement:
```
cl /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll adonet_marshal_string_native.cpp
```

Marshal BSTR Strings for ADO.NET

Demonstrates how to add a COM string (BSTR) to a database and how to marshal a System.String from a database to a BSTR.

Example

The rest of the code in this example is native C++ code, as is indicated by the #pragma unmanaged directive preceding main. In this example, we are creating a new instance of DatabaseClass and calling its methods to create a table and populate some rows in the table. Note that COM strings are being passed as values for the database column StringCol. Inside DatabaseClass, these strings are marshaled to managed strings using the marshaling functionality found in the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace. Specifically, the method PtrToStringBSTR is used to marshal a BSTR to a String, and the method StringToBSTR is used to marshal a String to a BSTR.

Note

The memory allocated by StringToBSTR must be deallocated by calling either FreeBSTR or SysFreeString.

// adonet_marshal_string_bstr.cpp
// compile with: /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll
#include <comdef.h>
#include <gcroot.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

#using <System.Data.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Data;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

#define MAXCOLS 100

#pragma managed
class DatabaseClass
{
public:
    DatabaseClass() : table(nullptr) { }

    void AddRow(BSTR stringColValue)
    {
        // Add a row to the table.
        DataRow ^row = table->NewRow();
        row["StringCol"] = Marshal::PtrToStringBSTR(
            (IntPtr)stringColValue);
        table->Rows->Add(row);
    }

    void CreateAndPopulateTable()
    {
        // Create a simple DataTable.
        table = gcnew DataTable("SampleTable");

        // Add a column of type String to the table.
        DataColumn ^column1 = gcnew DataColumn("StringCol",
            Type::GetType("System.String"));
        table->Columns->Add(column1);
    }

    int GetValuesForColumn(BSTR dataColumn, BSTR *values,
        int valuesLength)
    {
        // Marshal the name of the column to a managed
        // String.
        String ^columnStr = Marshal::PtrToStringBSTR(
                (IntPtr)dataColumn);

        // Get all rows in the table.
        array<DataRow ^> ^rows = table->Select();
        int len = rows->Length;
        len = (len > valuesLength) ? valuesLength : len;
        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
        {
            // Marshal each column value from a managed string
            // to a BSTR.
            values[i] = (BSTR)Marshal::StringToBSTR(
                (String ^)rows[i][columnStr]).ToPointer();
        }

        return len;
    }

private:
    // Using gcroot, you can use a managed type in
    // a native class.
    gcroot<DataTable ^> table;
};

#pragma unmanaged
int main()
{
    // Create a table and add a few rows to it.
    DatabaseClass *db = new DatabaseClass();
    db->CreateAndPopulateTable();

    BSTR str1 = SysAllocString(L"This is string 1.");
    db->AddRow(str1);

    BSTR str2 = SysAllocString(L"This is string 2.");
    db->AddRow(str2);

    // Now retrieve the rows and display their contents.
    BSTR values[MAXCOLS];
    BSTR str3 = SysAllocString(L"StringCol");
    int len = db->GetValuesForColumn(
        str3, values, MAXCOLS);
    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
    {
        wcout << "StringCol: " << values[i] << endl;

        // Deallocate the memory allocated using
        // Marshal::StringToBSTR.
        SysFreeString(values[i]);
    }

    SysFreeString(str1);
    SysFreeString(str2);
    SysFreeString(str3);
    delete db;

    return 0;
}

StringCol: This is string 1.
StringCol: This is string 2.

Compiling the Code

To compile the code from the command line, save the code example in a file named adonet_marshal_string_native.cpp and enter the following statement:
```
cl /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll adonet_marshal_string_native.cpp
```

Marshal Unicode Strings for ADO.NET

Demonstrates how to add a native Unicode string (wchar_t *) to a database and how to marshal a System.String from a database to a native Unicode string.

Example

The rest of the code in this example is native C++ code, as is indicated by the #pragma unmanaged directive preceding main. In this example, we are creating a new instance of DatabaseClass and calling its methods to create a table and populate some rows in the table. Note that Unicode C++ strings are being passed as values for the database column StringCol. Inside DatabaseClass, these strings are marshaled to managed strings using the marshaling functionality found in the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace. Specifically, the method PtrToStringUni is used to marshal a wchar_t * to a String, and the method StringToHGlobalUni is used to marshal a String to a wchar_t *.

Note

The memory allocated by StringToHGlobalUni must be deallocated by calling either FreeHGlobal or GlobalFree.

// adonet_marshal_string_wide.cpp
// compile with: /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll
#include <comdef.h>
#include <gcroot.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

#using <System.Data.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Data;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

#define MAXCOLS 100

#pragma managed
class DatabaseClass
{
public:
    DatabaseClass() : table(nullptr) { }

    void AddRow(wchar_t *stringColValue)
    {
        // Add a row to the table.
        DataRow ^row = table->NewRow();
        row["StringCol"] = Marshal::PtrToStringUni(
            (IntPtr)stringColValue);
        table->Rows->Add(row);
    }

    void CreateAndPopulateTable()
    {
        // Create a simple DataTable.
        table = gcnew DataTable("SampleTable");

        // Add a column of type String to the table.
        DataColumn ^column1 = gcnew DataColumn("StringCol",
            Type::GetType("System.String"));
        table->Columns->Add(column1);
    }

    int GetValuesForColumn(wchar_t *dataColumn, wchar_t **values,
        int valuesLength)
    {
        // Marshal the name of the column to a managed
        // String.
        String ^columnStr = Marshal::PtrToStringUni(
                (IntPtr)dataColumn);

        // Get all rows in the table.
        array<DataRow ^> ^rows = table->Select();
        int len = rows->Length;
        len = (len > valuesLength) ? valuesLength : len;
        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
        {
            // Marshal each column value from a managed string
            // to a wchar_t *.
            values[i] = (wchar_t *)Marshal::StringToHGlobalUni(
                (String ^)rows[i][columnStr]).ToPointer();
        }

        return len;
    }

private:
    // Using gcroot, you can use a managed type in
    // a native class.
    gcroot<DataTable ^> table;
};

#pragma unmanaged
int main()
{
    // Create a table and add a few rows to it.
    DatabaseClass *db = new DatabaseClass();
    db->CreateAndPopulateTable();
    db->AddRow(L"This is string 1.");
    db->AddRow(L"This is string 2.");

    // Now retrieve the rows and display their contents.
    wchar_t *values[MAXCOLS];
    int len = db->GetValuesForColumn(
        L"StringCol", values, MAXCOLS);
    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
    {
        wcout << "StringCol: " << values[i] << endl;

        // Deallocate the memory allocated using
        // Marshal::StringToHGlobalUni.
        GlobalFree(values[i]);
    }

    delete db;

    return 0;
}

StringCol: This is string 1.
StringCol: This is string 2.

Compiling the Code

To compile the code from the command line, save the code example in a file named adonet_marshal_string_wide.cpp and enter the following statement:
```
cl /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll adonet_marshal_string_wide.cpp
```

Marshal a VARIANT for ADO.NET

Demonstrates how to add a native VARIANT to a database and how to marshal a System.Object from a database to a native VARIANT.

Example

The rest of the code in this example is native C++ code, as is indicated by the #pragma unmanaged directive preceding main. In this example, we are creating a new instance of DatabaseClass and calling its methods to create a table and populate some rows in the table. Note that native VARIANT types are being passed as values for the database column ObjectCol. Inside DatabaseClass, these VARIANT types are marshaled to managed objects using the marshaling functionality found in the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace. Specifically, the method GetObjectForNativeVariant is used to marshal a VARIANT to an Object, and the method GetNativeVariantForObject is used to marshal an Object to a VARIANT.

// adonet_marshal_variant.cpp
// compile with: /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll
#include <comdef.h>
#include <gcroot.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

#using <System.Data.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Data;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

#define MAXCOLS 100

#pragma managed
class DatabaseClass
{
public:
    DatabaseClass() : table(nullptr) { }

    void AddRow(VARIANT *objectColValue)
    {
        // Add a row to the table.
        DataRow ^row = table->NewRow();
        row["ObjectCol"] = Marshal::GetObjectForNativeVariant(
            IntPtr(objectColValue));
        table->Rows->Add(row);
    }

    void CreateAndPopulateTable()
    {
        // Create a simple DataTable.
        table = gcnew DataTable("SampleTable");

        // Add a column of type String to the table.
        DataColumn ^column1 = gcnew DataColumn("ObjectCol",
            Type::GetType("System.Object"));
        table->Columns->Add(column1);
    }

    int GetValuesForColumn(wchar_t *dataColumn, VARIANT *values,
        int valuesLength)
    {
        // Marshal the name of the column to a managed
        // String.
        String ^columnStr = Marshal::PtrToStringUni(
                (IntPtr)dataColumn);

        // Get all rows in the table.
        array<DataRow ^> ^rows = table->Select();
        int len = rows->Length;
        len = (len > valuesLength) ? valuesLength : len;
        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
        {
            // Marshal each column value from a managed object
            // to a VARIANT.
            Marshal::GetNativeVariantForObject(
                rows[i][columnStr], IntPtr(&values[i]));
        }

        return len;
    }

private:
    // Using gcroot, you can use a managed type in
    // a native class.
    gcroot<DataTable ^> table;
};

#pragma unmanaged
int main()
{
    // Create a table and add a few rows to it.
    DatabaseClass *db = new DatabaseClass();
    db->CreateAndPopulateTable();

    BSTR bstr1 = SysAllocString(L"This is a BSTR in a VARIANT.");
    VARIANT v1;
    v1.vt = VT_BSTR;
    v1.bstrVal = bstr1;
    db->AddRow(&v1);

    int i = 42;
    VARIANT v2;
    v2.vt = VT_I4;
    v2.lVal = i;
    db->AddRow(&v2);

    // Now retrieve the rows and display their contents.
    VARIANT values[MAXCOLS];
    int len = db->GetValuesForColumn(
        L"ObjectCol", values, MAXCOLS);
    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
    {
        switch (values[i].vt)
        {
            case VT_BSTR:
                wcout << L"ObjectCol: " << values[i].bstrVal << endl;
                break;
            case VT_I4:
                cout << "ObjectCol: " << values[i].lVal << endl;
                break;
            default:
                break;
        }

    }

    SysFreeString(bstr1);
    delete db;

    return 0;
}

ObjectCol: This is a BSTR in a VARIANT.
ObjectCol: 42

Compiling the Code

To compile the code from the command line, save the code example in a file named adonet_marshal_variant.cpp and enter the following statement:
```
cl /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll adonet_marshal_variant.cpp
```

Marshal a SAFEARRAY for ADO.NET

Demonstrates how to add a native SAFEARRAY to a database and how to marshal a managed array from a database to a native SAFEARRAY.

Example

The rest of the code in this example is native C++ code, as is indicated by the #pragma unmanaged directive preceding main. In this example, we are creating a new instance of DatabaseClass and calling its methods to create a table and populate some rows in the table. Note that native SAFEARRAY types are being passed as values for the database column ArrayIntsCol. Inside DatabaseClass, these SAFEARRAY types are marshaled to managed objects using the marshaling functionality found in the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace. Specifically, the method Copy is used to marshal a SAFEARRAY to a managed array of integers, and the method Copy is used to marshal a managed array of integers to a SAFEARRAY.

// adonet_marshal_safearray.cpp
// compile with: /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll
#include <comdef.h>
#include <gcroot.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

#using <System.Data.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Data;
using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices;

#define MAXCOLS 100

#pragma managed
class DatabaseClass
{
public:
    DatabaseClass() : table(nullptr) { }

    void AddRow(SAFEARRAY *arrayIntsColValue)
    {
        // Add a row to the table.
        DataRow ^row = table->NewRow();
        int len = arrayIntsColValue->rgsabound[0].cElements;
        array<int> ^arr = gcnew array<int>(len);

        int *pData;
        SafeArrayAccessData(arrayIntsColValue, (void **)&pData);
        Marshal::Copy(IntPtr(pData), arr, 0, len);
        SafeArrayUnaccessData(arrayIntsColValue);

        row["ArrayIntsCol"] = arr;
        table->Rows->Add(row);
    }

    void CreateAndPopulateTable()
    {
        // Create a simple DataTable.
        table = gcnew DataTable("SampleTable");

        // Add a column of type String to the table.
        DataColumn ^column1 = gcnew DataColumn("ArrayIntsCol",
            Type::GetType("System.Int32[]"));
        table->Columns->Add(column1);
    }

    int GetValuesForColumn(wchar_t *dataColumn, SAFEARRAY **values,
        int valuesLength)
    {
        // Marshal the name of the column to a managed
        // String.
        String ^columnStr = Marshal::PtrToStringUni(
                (IntPtr)dataColumn);

        // Get all rows in the table.
        array<DataRow ^> ^rows = table->Select();
        int len = rows->Length;
        len = (len > valuesLength) ? valuesLength : len;
        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
        {
            // Marshal each column value from a managed array
            // of Int32s to a SAFEARRAY of type VT_I4.
            values[i] = SafeArrayCreateVector(VT_I4, 0, 10);
            int *pData;
            SafeArrayAccessData(values[i], (void **)&pData);
            Marshal::Copy((array<int> ^)rows[i][columnStr], 0,
                IntPtr(pData), 10);
            SafeArrayUnaccessData(values[i]);
        }

        return len;
    }

private:
    // Using gcroot, you can use a managed type in
    // a native class.
    gcroot<DataTable ^> table;
};

#pragma unmanaged
int main()
{
    // Create a table and add a few rows to it.
    DatabaseClass *db = new DatabaseClass();
    db->CreateAndPopulateTable();

    // Create a standard array.
    int originalArray[] = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 };

    // Create a SAFEARRAY.
    SAFEARRAY *psa;
    psa = SafeArrayCreateVector(VT_I4, 0, 10);

    // Copy the data from the original array to the SAFEARRAY.
    int *pData;
    HRESULT hr = SafeArrayAccessData(psa, (void **)&pData);
    memcpy(pData, &originalArray, 40);
    SafeArrayUnaccessData(psa);
    db->AddRow(psa);

    // Now retrieve the rows and display their contents.
    SAFEARRAY *values[MAXCOLS];
    int len = db->GetValuesForColumn(
        L"ArrayIntsCol", values, MAXCOLS);
    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++)
    {
        int *pData;
        SafeArrayAccessData(values[i], (void **)&pData);
        for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
        {
            cout << pData[j] << " ";
        }
        cout << endl;
        SafeArrayUnaccessData(values[i]);

        // Deallocate the memory allocated using
        // SafeArrayCreateVector.
        SafeArrayDestroy(values[i]);
    }

    SafeArrayDestroy(psa);
    delete db;

    return 0;
}

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Compiling the Code

To compile the code from the command line, save the code example in a file named adonet_marshal_safearray.cpp and enter the following statement:
```
cl /clr /FU System.dll /FU System.Data.dll /FU System.Xml.dll adonet_marshal_safearray.cpp
```

.NET Framework Security

For information on security issues involving ADO.NET, see Securing ADO.NET Applications.

Section	Description
ADO.NET	Provides an overview of ADO.NET, a set of classes that expose data access services to the .NET programmer.

Data Access Using ADO.NET (C++/CLI)

Marshal ANSI Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal BSTR Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal Unicode Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal a VARIANT for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal a SAFEARRAY for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

.NET Framework Security

See also

Feedback

Feedback

Additional resources

Data Access Using ADO.NET (C++/CLI)

Marshal ANSI Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal BSTR Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal Unicode Strings for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal a VARIANT for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

Marshal a SAFEARRAY for ADO.NET

Example

Compiling the Code

.NET Framework Security

Related Sections

See also

Feedback

Feedback

Additional resources