DataTable Class (System.Data)

DataTable Class

.NET Framework Class Library

DataTable Class

Represents one table of in-memory data.

Namespace: System.Data
Assembly: System.Data (in System.Data.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<SerializableAttribute> _
Public Class DataTable _
    Inherits MarshalByValueComponent _
    Implements IListSource, ISupportInitializeNotification, ISupportInitialize, ISerializable,  _
    IXmlSerializable

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As DataTable

[SerializableAttribute]
public class DataTable : MarshalByValueComponent, IListSource, 
    ISupportInitializeNotification, ISupportInitialize, ISerializable, IXmlSerializable

Visual C++

[SerializableAttribute]
public ref class DataTable : public MarshalByValueComponent, 
    IListSource, ISupportInitializeNotification, ISupportInitialize, ISerializable, IXmlSerializable

JScript

public class DataTable extends MarshalByValueComponent implements IListSource, ISupportInitializeNotification, ISupportInitialize, ISerializable, IXmlSerializable

Remarks

The DataTable is a central object in the ADO.NET library. Other objects that use the DataTable include the DataSet and the DataView.

When accessing DataTable objects, note that they 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 (ADO.NET).

If you are 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 (ADO.NET).

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 (ADO.NET).

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 (ADO.NET).

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 (ADO.NET).

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..::.DataTable constructor topic.

Note:
The DataSet and DataTable objects inherit from MarshalByValueComponent, and support the ISerializable interface for .NET Framework remoting. These are the only ADO.NET objects that you can use for .NET Framework remoting.

Topic	Location
How to: Create DataTables	Data Access in Visual Studio
How to: Create DataTables	Data Access in Visual Studio
How to: Create DataTables	Data Access in Visual Studio

Examples

The following example creates two DataTable objects and one DataRelation object, and adds the new objects to a DataSet. The tables are then displayed in a DataGridView control.

Visual Basic

' Put the next line into the Declarations section.
private dataSet As DataSet 

Private Sub MakeDataTables()
    ' Run all of the functions. 
    MakeParentTable()
    MakeChildTable()
    MakeDataRelation()
    BindToDataGrid()
End Sub

Private Sub MakeParentTable()
    ' Create a new DataTable.
    Dim table As DataTable = new DataTable("ParentTable")

    ' Declare variables for DataColumn and DataRow objects.
    Dim column As DataColumn 
    Dim row As DataRow 

    ' Create new DataColumn, set DataType, ColumnName 
    ' and add to DataTable.    
    column = New DataColumn()
    column.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.Int32")
    column.ColumnName = "id"
    column.ReadOnly = True
    column.Unique = True

    ' Add the Column to the DataColumnCollection.
    table.Columns.Add(column)

    ' Create second column.
    column = New DataColumn()
    column.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.String")
    column.ColumnName = "ParentItem"
    column.AutoIncrement = False
    column.Caption = "ParentItem"
    column.ReadOnly = False
    column.Unique = False

    ' Add the column to the table.
    table.Columns.Add(column)

    ' Make the ID column the primary key column.
    Dim PrimaryKeyColumns(0) As DataColumn
    PrimaryKeyColumns(0)= table.Columns("id")
    table.PrimaryKey = PrimaryKeyColumns

    ' Instantiate the DataSet variable.
    dataSet = New DataSet()

    ' Add the new DataTable to the DataSet.
    dataSet.Tables.Add(table)

    ' Create three new DataRow objects and add 
    ' them to the DataTable
    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 0 to 2
       row = table.NewRow()
       row("id") = i
       row("ParentItem") = "ParentItem " + i.ToString()
       table.Rows.Add(row)
    Next i
End Sub

Private Sub MakeChildTable()
    ' Create a new DataTable.
    Dim table As DataTable = New DataTable("childTable")
    Dim column As DataColumn 
    Dim row As DataRow 

    ' Create first column and add to the DataTable.
    column = New DataColumn()
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.Int32")
    column.ColumnName = "ChildID"
    column.AutoIncrement = True
    column.Caption = "ID"
    column.ReadOnly = True
    column.Unique = True

    ' Add the column to the DataColumnCollection.
    table.Columns.Add(column)

    ' Create second column.
    column = New DataColumn()
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.String")
    column.ColumnName = "ChildItem"
    column.AutoIncrement = False
    column.Caption = "ChildItem"
    column.ReadOnly = False
    column.Unique = False
    table.Columns.Add(column)

    ' Create third column.
    column = New DataColumn()
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.Int32")
    column.ColumnName = "ParentID"
    column.AutoIncrement = False
    column.Caption = "ParentID"
    column.ReadOnly = False
    column.Unique = False
    table.Columns.Add(column)

    dataSet.Tables.Add(table)

    ' Create three sets of DataRow objects, five rows each, 
    ' and add to DataTable.
    Dim i As Integer
    For i = 0 to 4
       row = table.NewRow()
       row("childID") = i
       row("ChildItem") = "Item " + i.ToString()
       row("ParentID") = 0 
       table.Rows.Add(row)
    Next i
    For i = 0 to 4
       row = table.NewRow()
       row("childID") = i + 5
       row("ChildItem") = "Item " + i.ToString()
       row("ParentID") = 1 
       table.Rows.Add(row)
    Next i
    For i = 0 to 4
       row = table.NewRow()
       row("childID") = i + 10
       row("ChildItem") = "Item " + i.ToString()
       row("ParentID") = 2 
       table.Rows.Add(row)
    Next i
End Sub

Private Sub MakeDataRelation()
    ' DataRelation requires two DataColumn 
    ' (parent and child) and a name.
    Dim parentColumn As DataColumn = _
        dataSet.Tables("ParentTable").Columns("id")
    Dim childColumn As DataColumn = _
        dataSet.Tables("ChildTable").Columns("ParentID")
    Dim relation As DataRelation = new _
        DataRelation("parent2Child", parentColumn, childColumn)
    dataSet.Tables("ChildTable").ParentRelations.Add(relation)
End Sub

Private Sub BindToDataGrid()
    ' Instruct the DataGrid to bind to the DataSet, with the 
    ' ParentTable as the topmost DataTable.
    DataGrid1.SetDataBinding(dataSet,"ParentTable")
End Sub

// Put the next line into the Declarations section.
private System.Data.DataSet dataSet;

private void MakeDataTables()
{
    // Run all of the functions. 
    MakeParentTable();
    MakeChildTable();
    MakeDataRelation();
    BindToDataGrid();
}

private void MakeParentTable()
{
    // Create a new DataTable.
    System.Data.DataTable table = new DataTable("ParentTable");
    // Declare variables for DataColumn and DataRow objects.
    DataColumn column;
    DataRow row;

    // Create new DataColumn, set DataType, 
    // ColumnName and add to DataTable.    
    column = new DataColumn();
    column.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.Int32");
    column.ColumnName = "id";
    column.ReadOnly = true;
    column.Unique = true;
    // Add the Column to the DataColumnCollection.
    table.Columns.Add(column);

    // Create second column.
    column = new DataColumn();
    column.DataType = System.Type.GetType("System.String");
    column.ColumnName = "ParentItem";
    column.AutoIncrement = false;
    column.Caption = "ParentItem";
    column.ReadOnly = false;
    column.Unique = false;
    // Add the column to the table.
    table.Columns.Add(column);

    // Make the ID column the primary key column.
    DataColumn[] PrimaryKeyColumns = new DataColumn[1];
    PrimaryKeyColumns[0] = table.Columns["id"];
    table.PrimaryKey = PrimaryKeyColumns;

    // Instantiate the DataSet variable.
    dataSet = new DataSet();
    // Add the new DataTable to the DataSet.
    dataSet.Tables.Add(table);

    // Create three new DataRow objects and add 
    // them to the DataTable
    for (int i = 0; i<= 2; i++)
    {
        row = table.NewRow();
        row["id"] = i;
        row["ParentItem"] = "ParentItem " + i;
        table.Rows.Add(row);
    }
}

private void MakeChildTable()
{
    // Create a new DataTable.
    DataTable table = new DataTable("childTable");
    DataColumn column;
    DataRow row;

    // Create first column and add to the DataTable.
    column = new DataColumn();
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.Int32");
    column.ColumnName = "ChildID";
    column.AutoIncrement = true;
    column.Caption = "ID";
    column.ReadOnly = true;
    column.Unique = true;

    // Add the column to the DataColumnCollection.
    table.Columns.Add(column);

    // Create second column.
    column = new DataColumn();
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.String");
    column.ColumnName = "ChildItem";
    column.AutoIncrement = false;
    column.Caption = "ChildItem";
    column.ReadOnly = false;
    column.Unique = false;
    table.Columns.Add(column);

    // Create third column.
    column = new DataColumn();
    column.DataType= System.Type.GetType("System.Int32");
    column.ColumnName = "ParentID";
    column.AutoIncrement = false;
    column.Caption = "ParentID";
    column.ReadOnly = false;
    column.Unique = false;
    table.Columns.Add(column);

    dataSet.Tables.Add(table);

    // Create three sets of DataRow objects, 
    // five rows each, and add to DataTable.
    for(int i = 0; i <= 4; i ++)
    {
        row = table.NewRow();
        row["childID"] = i;
        row["ChildItem"] = "Item " + i;
        row["ParentID"] = 0 ;
        table.Rows.Add(row);
    }
    for(int i = 0; i <= 4; i ++)
    {
        row = table.NewRow();
        row["childID"] = i + 5;
        row["ChildItem"] = "Item " + i;
        row["ParentID"] = 1 ;
        table.Rows.Add(row);
    }
    for(int i = 0; i <= 4; i ++)
    {
        row = table.NewRow();
        row["childID"] = i + 10;
        row["ChildItem"] = "Item " + i;
        row["ParentID"] = 2 ;
        table.Rows.Add(row);
    }
}

private void MakeDataRelation()
{
    // DataRelation requires two DataColumn 
    // (parent and child) and a name.
    DataColumn parentColumn = 
        dataSet.Tables["ParentTable"].Columns["id"];
    DataColumn childColumn = 
        dataSet.Tables["ChildTable"].Columns["ParentID"];
    DataRelation relation = new 
        DataRelation("parent2Child", parentColumn, childColumn);
    dataSet.Tables["ChildTable"].ParentRelations.Add(relation);
}

private void BindToDataGrid()
{
    // Instruct the DataGrid to bind to the DataSet, with the 
    // ParentTable as the topmost DataTable.
    dataGrid1.SetDataBinding(dataSet,"ParentTable");
}

Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
  System.ComponentModel..::.MarshalByValueComponent
    System.Data..::.DataTable
      System.Data..::.TypedTableBase<(Of <(T>)>)

Thread Safety

This type is safe for multithreaded read operations. You must synchronize any write operations.

Platforms

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.

Version Information

.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

DataTable Members

System.Data Namespace

Other Resources

DataTables (ADO.NET)