Executes the query, and returns the first column of the first row in the result set returned by the query. Extra columns or rows are ignored.

[Visual Basic]
Shared  OverloadsPublic Function ExecuteScalar( _ 
   ByVal connection As SqlConnection, _ 
   ByVal database As String, _ 
   ByVal commandText As String _ 
) As Object
[C#]
public static object ExecuteScalar(
   SqlConnection connection,
   string database,
   string commandText
);
[C++]
public: static Object* ExecuteScalar(
   SqlConnection* connection,
   String* database,
   String* commandText
);
[JScript]
public static function ExecuteScalar(
   SqlConnection connection,
   String database,
   String commandText
): Object;

Parameters

connection

Represents an open connection to a SQL Server database.

database

Changes the current database for an open System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.

commandText

The text of the query.

Return Value

The first column of the first row in the result set, or a null reference if the result set is empty.

Remarks

Use the ExecuteScalar method to retrieve a single value (for example, an aggregate value) from a database. This requires less code than using the ExecuteReader method, and then performing the operations necessary to generate the single value using the data returned by a SqlDataReader.

Example

[C#, Visual Basic] The following example creates a SqlCommand and then executes it using ExecuteScalar. The example is passed a string that is a Transact-SQL statement that returns an aggregate result.

[C#]
SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection("Server=127.0.0.1;Database=Northwind;Uid=sa;Pwd=;");

string customerName = DatabaseUtility.ExecuteScalar(connection, "Northwind", "SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers WHERE CustomerID = 'ALFKI'");
[Visual Basic]
Dim connection As New SqlConnection("Server=127.0.0.1;Database=Northwind;Uid=sa;Pwd=;")

Dim customerName As String = DatabaseUtility.ExecuteScalar(connection, "Northwind", "SELECT CustomerName FROM Customers WHERE CustomerID = 'ALFKI'")

            

See Also

DatabaseUtility Class | Joel.Net Namespace | DatabaseUtility.ExecuteScalar Overload List