SqlDataReader.IsDBNull(Int32) Method    
Definition
Important
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Gets a value that indicates whether the column contains non-existent or missing values.
public:
 override bool IsDBNull(int i);public:
 virtual bool IsDBNull(int i);public override bool IsDBNull(int i);public bool IsDBNull(int i);override this.IsDBNull : int -> boolabstract member IsDBNull : int -> bool
override this.IsDBNull : int -> boolPublic Overrides Function IsDBNull (i As Integer) As BooleanPublic Function IsDBNull (i As Integer) As BooleanParameters
- i
- Int32
The zero-based column ordinal.
Returns
true if the specified column value is equivalent to DBNull; otherwise false.
Implements
Remarks
Call this method to check for null column values before calling the typed get methods (for example, GetByte, GetChar, and so on) to avoid raising an error.
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
class Program {
   static void Main(string[] args) {
      using (var connection = new SqlConnection(@"Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2012;Integrated Security=SSPI")) {
         var command = new SqlCommand("SELECT p.FirstName, p.MiddleName, p.LastName FROM HumanResources.Employee AS e" +
                                 " JOIN Person.Person AS p ON e.BusinessEntityID = p.BusinessEntityID;", connection);
         connection.Open();
         var reader = command.ExecuteReader();
         while (reader.Read()) {
            Console.Write(reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("FirstName")));
            // display middle name only of not null
            if (!reader.IsDBNull(reader.GetOrdinal("MiddleName")))
               Console.Write(" {0}", reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("MiddleName")));
            Console.WriteLine(" {0}", reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("LastName")));
         }
         connection.Close();
      }
   }
}
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Module Module1
   Sub Main()
      Using connection As New SqlConnection("Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks2012;Integrated Security=SSPI")
         Dim command As New SqlCommand("SELECT p.FirstName, p.MiddleName, p.LastName FROM HumanResources.Employee AS e" & _
                                       " JOIN Person.Person AS p ON e.BusinessEntityID = p.BusinessEntityID;", connection)
         connection.Open()
         Dim reader As SqlDataReader = command.ExecuteReader()
         While reader.Read()
            Console.Write(reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("FirstName")))
            ' display middle name only of not null
            If Not reader.IsDBNull(reader.GetOrdinal("MiddleName")) Then
               Console.Write(" {0}", reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("MiddleName")))
            End If
            Console.WriteLine(" {0}", reader.GetString(reader.GetOrdinal("LastName")))
         End While
         connection.Close()
      End Using
   End Sub
End Module