Asp.net Difference between DataReader and DataSet and DataAdapter in C#, VB.NET

Description:

Now I will explain difference between datareader, dataset and dataadapter in ASP.NET

DataReader

DataReader is used to read the data from database and it is a read and forward only connection oriented architecture during fetch the data from database. DataReader is used to iterate through resultset that came from server and it will read one record at a time because of that memory consumption will be less and it will fetch the data very fast when compared with dataset. Generally we will use ExecuteReader object to bind data to datareader.

Sample code of datareader will be like this

C# Code

// This method is used to bind gridview from database

protected void BindGridview()

{

using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB"))

{

con.Open();

SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("Select UserName,LastName,Location FROM UserInformation", con);

SqlDataReader dr = cmd.ExecuteReader();

gvUserInfo.DataSource = dr;

gvUserInfo.DataBind();

con.Close();

}

}

VB.NET Code

This method is used to bind gridview from database

Protected Sub BindGridview()

Using con As New SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB")

con.Open()

Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("Select UserName,LastName,Location FROM UserInformation", con)

Dim dr As SqlDataReader = cmd.ExecuteReader()

gvUserInfo.DataSource = dr

gvUserInfo.DataBind()

con.Close()

End Using

End Sub

DataSet

DataSet is a disconnected orient architecture that means there is no need of active connections during work with datasets and it is a collection of DataTables and relations between tables. It is used to hold multiple tables with data. You can select data form tables, create views based on table and ask child rows over relations. Also DataSet provides you with rich features like saving data as XML and loading XML data.

C# Code

// This method is used to bind gridview from database

protected void BindGridview()

{

SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB");

con.Open();

SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("select UserName,LastName,Location from UserInformation", con);

SqlDataAdapter da = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);

DataSet ds = new DataSet();

da.Fill(ds);

gvUserInfo.DataSource = ds;

gvUserInfo.DataBind();

}

VB.NET Code

//This method is used to bind gridview from database

Protected Sub BindGridview()

Dim con As New SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB")

con.Open()

Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("select UserName,LastName,Location from UserInformation", con)

Dim da As New SqlDataAdapter(cmd)

Dim ds As New DataSet()

da.Fill(ds)

gvUserInfo.DataSource = ds

gvUserInfo.DataBind()

End Sub

DataAdapter

DataAdapter will acts as a Bridge between DataSet and database. This dataadapter object is used to read the data from database and bind that data to dataset. Dataadapter is a disconnected oriented architecture. Check below sample code to see how to use DataAdapter in code

C# Code

// This method is used to bind gridview from database

protected void BindGridview()

{

SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB");

con.Open();

SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("select UserName,LastName,Location from UserInformation", con);

SqlDataAdapter da = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);

DataSet ds = new DataSet();

da.Fill(ds);

gvUserInfo.DataSource = ds;

gvUserInfo.DataBind();

}

VB.NET Code

//This method is used to bind gridview from database

Protected Sub BindGridview()

Dim con As New SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Integrated Security=true;Initial Catalog=MySampleDB")

con.Open()

Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("select UserName,LastName,Location from UserInformation", con)

Dim da As New SqlDataAdapter(cmd)

Dim ds As New DataSet()

da.Fill(ds)

gvUserInfo.DataSource = ds

gvUserInfo.DataBind()

End Sub