SqlCommand.BeginExecuteXmlReader Method

public:
 IAsyncResult ^ BeginExecuteXmlReader();

public IAsyncResult BeginExecuteXmlReader ();

member this.BeginExecuteXmlReader : unit -> IAsyncResult

Public Function BeginExecuteXmlReader () As IAsyncResult

Returns

An IAsyncResult that can be used to poll or wait for results, or both; this value is also needed when invoking EndExecuteXmlReader, which returns a single XML value.

Exceptions

Examples

The following console application starts the process of retrieving XML data asynchronously. While waiting for the results, this simple application sits in a loop, investigating the IsCompleted property value. Once the process has completed, the code retrieves the XML and displays its contents.

using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Xml;

class Class1
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // This example is not terribly effective, but it proves a point.
        // The WAITFOR statement simply adds enough time to prove the
        // asynchronous nature of the command.
        string commandText =
            "WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:03';" +
            "SELECT Name, ListPrice FROM Production.Product " +
            "WHERE ListPrice < 100 " +
            "FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA";

        RunCommandAsynchronously(commandText, GetConnectionString());

        Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue.");
        Console.ReadLine();
    }

    private static void RunCommandAsynchronously(
        string commandText, string connectionString)
    {
        // Given command text and connection string, asynchronously execute
        // the specified command against the connection. For this example,
        // the code displays an indicator as it is working, verifying the
        // asynchronous behavior.
        using (SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
        {
            SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(commandText, connection);

            connection.Open();
            IAsyncResult result = command.BeginExecuteXmlReader();

            // Although it is not necessary, the following procedure
            // displays a counter in the console window, indicating that
            // the main thread is not blocked while awaiting the command
            // results.
            int count = 0;
            while (!result.IsCompleted)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Waiting ({0})", count++);
                // Wait for 1/10 second, so the counter
                // does not consume all available resources
                // on the main thread.
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(100);
            }

            XmlReader reader = command.EndExecuteXmlReader(result);
            DisplayProductInfo(reader);
        }
    }

    private static void DisplayProductInfo(XmlReader reader)
    {
        // Display the data within the reader.
        while (reader.Read())
        {
            // Skip past items that are not from the correct table.
            if (reader.LocalName.ToString() == "Production.Product")
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1:C}",
                    reader["Name"], Convert.ToSingle(reader["ListPrice"]));
            }
        }
    }

    private static string GetConnectionString()
    {
        // To avoid storing the connection string in your code,
        // you can retrieve it from a configuration file.

        // If you have not included "Asynchronous Processing=true" in the
        // connection string, the command is not able
        // to execute asynchronously.
        return "Data Source=(local);Integrated Security=true;" +
            "Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks; Asynchronous Processing=true";
    }
}

Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Xml

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        ' This example is not terribly effective, but it proves a point.
        ' The WAITFOR statement simply adds enough time to prove the 
        ' asynchronous nature of the command.
        Dim commandText As String = _
         "WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:03';" & _
         "SELECT Name, ListPrice FROM Production.Product " & _
         "WHERE ListPrice < 100 " & _
         "FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA"

        RunCommandAsynchronously(commandText, GetConnectionString())

        Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to continue.")
        Console.ReadLine()
    End Sub

    Private Sub RunCommandAsynchronously( _
     ByVal commandText As String, ByVal connectionString As String)

        ' Given command text and connection string, asynchronously execute
        ' the specified command against the connection. For this example,
        ' the code displays an indicator as it is working, verifying the 
        ' asynchronous behavior. 
        Using connection As New SqlConnection(connectionString)
            Try
                Dim command As New SqlCommand(commandText, connection)
                connection.Open()
                Dim result As IAsyncResult = command.BeginExecuteXmlReader()

                ' Although it is not necessary, the following procedure
                ' displays a counter in the console window, indicating that 
                ' the main thread is not blocked while awaiting the command 
                ' results.
                Dim count As Integer = 0
                While Not result.IsCompleted
                    count += 1
                    Console.WriteLine("Waiting ({0})", count)
                    ' Wait for 1/10 second, so the counter
                    ' does not consume all available resources 
                    ' on the main thread.
                    Threading.Thread.Sleep(100)
                End While

                Using reader As XmlReader = command.EndExecuteXmlReader(result)
                    DisplayProductInfo(reader)
                End Using
            Catch ex As SqlException
                Console.WriteLine("Error ({0}): {1}", ex.Number, ex.Message)
            Catch ex As InvalidOperationException
                Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message)
            Catch ex As Exception
                ' You might want to pass these errors
                ' back out to the caller.
                Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message)
            End Try
        End Using
    End Sub

    Private Sub DisplayProductInfo(ByVal reader As XmlReader)
        ' Display the data within the reader.
        While reader.Read()
            ' Skip past items that are not from the correct table.
            If reader.LocalName.ToString = "Production.Product" Then
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1:C}", _
                 reader("Name"), CSng(reader("ListPrice")))
            End If
        End While
    End Sub

    Private Function GetConnectionString() As String
        ' To avoid storing the connection string in your code,            
        ' you can retrieve it from a configuration file. 

        ' If you have not included "Asynchronous Processing=true" in the
        ' connection string, the command is not able
        ' to execute asynchronously.
        Return "Data Source=(local);Integrated Security=true;" & _
          "Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks; Asynchronous Processing=true"
    End Function
End Module

Remarks

The BeginExecuteXmlReader method starts the process of asynchronously executing a Transact-SQL statement that returns rows as XML, so that other tasks can run concurrently while the statement is executing. When the statement has completed, developers must call the EndExecuteXmlReader method to finish the operation and retrieve the XML returned by the command. The BeginExecuteXmlReader method returns immediately, but until the code executes the corresponding EndExecuteXmlReader method call, it must not execute any other calls that start a synchronous or asynchronous execution against the same SqlCommand object. Calling the EndExecuteXmlReader before the command's execution is completed causes the SqlCommand object to block until the execution is finished.

The CommandText property ordinarily specifies a Transact-SQL statement with a valid FOR XML clause. However, CommandText can also specify a statement that returns ntext data that contains valid XML.

A typical BeginExecuteXmlReader query can be formatted as in the following C# example:

SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand("SELECT ContactID, FirstName, LastName FROM dbo.Contact FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA", SqlConn);

This method can also be used to retrieve a single-row, single-column result set. In this case, if more than one row is returned, the EndExecuteXmlReader method attaches the XmlReader to the value on the first row, and discards the rest of the result set.

The multiple active result set (MARS) feature lets multiple actions use the same connection.

Note that the command text and parameters are sent to the server synchronously. If a large command or many parameters are sent, this method may block during writes. After the command is sent, the method returns immediately without waiting for an answer from the server--that is, reads are asynchronous. Although command execution is asynchronous, value fetching is still synchronous.

Because this overload does not support a callback procedure, developers need to either poll to determine whether the command has completed, using the IsCompleted property of the IAsyncResult returned by the BeginExecuteXmlReader method; or wait for the completion of one or more commands using the AsyncWaitHandle property of the returned IAsyncResult.

If you use ExecuteReader or BeginExecuteReader to access XML data, SQL Server returns any XML results greater than 2,033 characters in length in multiple rows of 2,033 characters each. To avoid this behavior, use ExecuteXmlReader or BeginExecuteXmlReader to read FOR XML queries.

This method ignores the CommandTimeout property.

See also

• Connecting and Retrieving Data in ADO.NET
• Using the .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server
• ADO.NET Overview

public:
 IAsyncResult ^ BeginExecuteXmlReader(AsyncCallback ^ callback, System::Object ^ stateObject);

public IAsyncResult BeginExecuteXmlReader (AsyncCallback callback, object stateObject);

member this.BeginExecuteXmlReader : AsyncCallback * obj -> IAsyncResult

Public Function BeginExecuteXmlReader (callback As AsyncCallback, stateObject As Object) As IAsyncResult

Parameters

Returns

An IAsyncResult that can be used to poll, wait for results, or both; this value is also needed when the EndExecuteXmlReader(IAsyncResult) is called, which returns the results of the command as XML.

Exceptions

Examples

The following Windows application demonstrates the use of the BeginExecuteXmlReader method, executing a Transact-SQL statement that includes a delay of a few seconds (emulating a long-running command). This example passes the executing SqlCommand object as the stateObject parameter--doing so makes it simple to retrieve the SqlCommand object from within the callback procedure, so that the code can call the EndExecuteXmlReader method corresponding to the initial call to BeginExecuteXmlReader.

This example demonstrates many important techniques. This includes calling a method that interacts with the form from a separate thread. In addition, this example demonstrates how you must block users from executing a command multiple times concurrently, and how you must make sure that the form does not close before the callback procedure is called.

To set up this example, create a new Windows application. Put a Button control, a ListBox control, and a Label control on the form (accepting the default name for each control). Add the following code to the form's class, modifying the connection string as needed for your environment.

using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Xml;

namespace Microsoft.AdoDotNet.CodeSamples
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        // Hook up the form's Load event handler and then add
        // this code to the form's class:
        // You need these delegates in order to display text from a thread
        // other than the form's thread. See the HandleCallback
        // procedure for more information.
        private delegate void DisplayInfoDelegate(string Text);
        private delegate void DisplayReaderDelegate(XmlReader reader);

        private bool isExecuting;

        // This example maintains the connection object
        // externally, so that it is available for closing.
        private SqlConnection connection;

        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private string GetConnectionString()
        {
            // To avoid storing the connection string in your code,
            // you can retrieve it from a configuration file.

            // If you do not include the Asynchronous Processing=true name/value pair,
            // you wo not be able to execute the command asynchronously.
            return "Data Source=(local);Integrated Security=true;" +
            "Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks; Asynchronous Processing=true";
        }

        private void DisplayStatus(string Text)
        {
            this.label1.Text = Text;
        }

        private void ClearProductInfo()
        {
            // Clear the list box.
            this.listBox1.Items.Clear();
        }

        private void DisplayProductInfo(XmlReader reader)
        {
            // Display the data within the reader.
            while (reader.Read())
            {
                // Skip past items that are not from the correct table.
                if (reader.LocalName.ToString() == "Production.Product")
                {
                    this.listBox1.Items.Add(String.Format("{0}: {1:C}",
                        reader["Name"], Convert.ToDecimal(reader["ListPrice"])));
                }
            }
            DisplayStatus("Ready");
        }

        private void Form1_FormClosing(object sender,
            System.Windows.Forms.FormClosingEventArgs e)
        {
            if (isExecuting)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(this, "Cannot close the form until " +
                    "the pending asynchronous command has completed. Please wait...");
                e.Cancel = true;
            }
        }

        private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
        {
            if (isExecuting)
            {
                MessageBox.Show(this,
                    "Already executing. Please wait until the current query " +
                    "has completed.");
            }
            else
            {
                SqlCommand command = null;
                try
                {
                    ClearProductInfo();
                    DisplayStatus("Connecting...");
                    connection = new SqlConnection(GetConnectionString());

                    // To emulate a long-running query, wait for
                    // a few seconds before working with the data.
                    string commandText =
                        "WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:03';" +
                        "SELECT Name, ListPrice FROM Production.Product " +
                        "WHERE ListPrice < 100 " +
                        "FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA";

                    command = new SqlCommand(commandText, connection);
                    connection.Open();

                    DisplayStatus("Executing...");
                    isExecuting = true;
                    // Although it is not required that you pass the
                    // SqlCommand object as the second parameter in the
                    // BeginExecuteXmlReader call, doing so makes it easier
                    // to call EndExecuteXmlReader in the callback procedure.
                    AsyncCallback callback = new AsyncCallback(HandleCallback);
                    command.BeginExecuteXmlReader(callback, command);
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    isExecuting = false;
                    DisplayStatus(string.Format("Ready (last error: {0})", ex.Message));
                    if (connection != null)
                    {
                        connection.Close();
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        private void HandleCallback(IAsyncResult result)
        {
            try
            {
                // Retrieve the original command object, passed
                // to this procedure in the AsyncState property
                // of the IAsyncResult parameter.
                SqlCommand command = (SqlCommand)result.AsyncState;
                XmlReader reader = command.EndExecuteXmlReader(result);

                // You may not interact with the form and its contents
                // from a different thread, and this callback procedure
                // is all but guaranteed to be running from a different thread
                // than the form.

                // Instead, you must call the procedure from the form's thread.
                // One simple way to accomplish this is to call the Invoke
                // method of the form, which calls the delegate you supply
                // from the form's thread.
                DisplayReaderDelegate del = new DisplayReaderDelegate(DisplayProductInfo);
                this.Invoke(del, reader);
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                // Because you are now running code in a separate thread,
                // if you do not handle the exception here, none of your other
                // code catches the exception. Because none of
                // your code is on the call stack in this thread, there is nothing
                // higher up the stack to catch the exception if you do not
                // handle it here. You can either log the exception or
                // invoke a delegate (as in the non-error case in this
                // example) to display the error on the form. In no case
                // can you simply display the error without executing a delegate
                // as in the try block here.

                // You can create the delegate instance as you
                // invoke it, like this:
                this.Invoke(new DisplayInfoDelegate(DisplayStatus),
                String.Format("Ready(last error: {0}", ex.Message));
            }
            finally
            {
                isExecuting = false;
                if (connection != null)
                {
                    connection.Close();
                }
            }
        }

        private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
        {
            this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
            this.FormClosing += new System.Windows.Forms.
                FormClosingEventHandler(this.Form1_FormClosing);
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Xml

Public Class Form1
    ' Add this code to the form's class:
    ' You need these delegates in order to display text from a thread
    ' other than the form's thread. See the HandleCallback
    ' procedure for more information.
    Private Delegate Sub DisplayInfoDelegate(ByVal Text As String)
    Private Delegate Sub DisplayReaderDelegate(ByVal reader As XmlReader)

    Private isExecuting As Boolean

    ' This example maintains the connection object 
    ' externally, so that it is available for closing.
    Private connection As SqlConnection

    Private Function GetConnectionString() As String
        ' To avoid storing the connection string in your code,            
        ' you can retrieve it from a configuration file. 

        ' If you have not included "Asynchronous Processing=true" in the
        ' connection string, the command is not able
        ' to execute asynchronously.
        Return "Data Source=(local);Integrated Security=true;" & _
          "Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks; Asynchronous Processing=true"
    End Function

    Private Sub DisplayStatus(ByVal Text As String)
        Me.Label1.Text = Text
    End Sub

    Private Sub ClearProductInfo()
        ' Clear the list box.
        Me.ListBox1.Items.Clear()
    End Sub

    Private Sub DisplayProductInfo(ByVal reader As XmlReader)
        ' Display the data within the reader.
        While reader.Read()
            ' Skip past items that are not from the correct table.
            If reader.LocalName.ToString = "Production.Product" Then
                Me.ListBox1.Items.Add(String.Format("{0}: {1:C}", _
                    reader("Name"), CSng(reader("ListPrice"))))
            End If
        End While
        DisplayStatus("Ready")
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_FormClosing(ByVal sender As Object, _
        ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.FormClosingEventArgs) Handles Me.FormClosing
        If isExecuting Then
            MessageBox.Show(Me, "Cannot close the form until " & _
                "the pending asynchronous command has completed. Please wait...")
            e.Cancel = True
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
        ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        If isExecuting Then
            MessageBox.Show(Me, "Already executing. Please wait until the current query " & _
                "has completed.")
        Else
            Dim command As SqlCommand
            Try
                ClearProductInfo()
                DisplayStatus("Connecting...")
                connection = New SqlConnection(GetConnectionString())
                ' To emulate a long-running query, wait for 
                ' a few seconds before working with the data.
                Dim commandText As String = _
                    "WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:03';" & _
                    "SELECT Name, ListPrice " & _
                    "FROM Production.Product WHERE ListPrice < 100 " & _
                    "FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA"

                command = New SqlCommand(commandText, connection)
                connection.Open()

                DisplayStatus("Executing...")
                isExecuting = True
                ' Although it is not required that you pass the 
                ' SqlCommand object as the second parameter in the 
                ' BeginExecuteXmlReader call, doing so makes it easier
                ' to call EndExecuteXmlReader in the callback procedure.
                Dim callback As New AsyncCallback(AddressOf HandleCallback)
                command.BeginExecuteXmlReader(callback, command)

            Catch ex As Exception
                isExecuting = False
                DisplayStatus(String.Format("Ready (last error: {0})", ex.Message))
                If connection IsNot Nothing Then
                    connection.Close()
                End If
            End Try
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub HandleCallback(ByVal result As IAsyncResult)
        Try
            ' Retrieve the original command object, passed
            ' to this procedure in the AsyncState property
            ' of the IAsyncResult parameter.
            Dim command As SqlCommand = CType(result.AsyncState, SqlCommand)
            Dim reader As XmlReader = command.EndExecuteXmlReader(result)

            ' You may not interact with the form and its contents
            ' from a different thread, and this callback procedure
            ' is all but guaranteed to be running from a different thread
            ' than the form. 

            ' Instead, you must call the procedure from the form's thread.
            ' One simple way to accomplish this is to call the Invoke
            ' method of the form, which calls the delegate you supply
            ' from the form's thread. 
            Dim del As New DisplayReaderDelegate(AddressOf DisplayProductInfo)
            Me.Invoke(del, reader)

        Catch ex As Exception
            ' Because you are now running code in a separate thread, 
            ' if you do not handle the exception here, none of your other
            ' code catches the exception. Because none of 
            ' your code is on the call stack in this thread, there is nothing
            ' higher up the stack to catch the exception if you do not 
            ' handle it here. You can either log the exception or 
            ' invoke a delegate (as in the non-error case in this 
            ' example) to display the error on the form. In no case
            ' can you simply display the error without executing a delegate
            ' as in the Try block here. 

            ' You can create the delegate instance as you 
            ' invoke it, like this:
            Me.Invoke(New DisplayInfoDelegate(AddressOf DisplayStatus), _
                String.Format("Ready(last error: {0}", ex.Message))
        Finally
            isExecuting = False
            If connection IsNot Nothing Then
                connection.Close()
            End If
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

The BeginExecuteXmlReader method starts the process of asynchronously executing a Transact-SQL statement or stored procedure that returns rows as XML, so that other tasks can run concurrently while the statement is executing. When the statement has completed, developers must call the EndExecuteXmlReader method to finish the operation and retrieve the requested XML data. The BeginExecuteXmlReader method returns immediately, but until the code executes the corresponding EndExecuteXmlReader method call, it must not execute any other calls that start a synchronous or asynchronous execution against the same SqlCommand object. Calling the EndExecuteXmlReader before the command's execution is completed causes the SqlCommand object to block until the execution is finished.

The CommandText property ordinarily specifies a Transact-SQL statement with a valid FOR XML clause. However, CommandText can also specify a statement that returns data that contains valid XML. This method can also be used to retrieve a single-row, single-column result set. In this case, if more than one row is returned, the EndExecuteXmlReader method attaches the XmlReader to the value on the first row, and discards the rest of the result set.

A typical BeginExecuteXmlReader query can be formatted as in the following C# example:

SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand("SELECT ContactID, FirstName, LastName FROM Contact FOR XML AUTO, XMLDATA", SqlConn);

This method can also be used to retrieve a single-row, single-column result set. In this case, if more than one row is returned, the EndExecuteXmlReader method attaches the XmlReader to the value on the first row, and discards the rest of the result set.

The multiple active result set (MARS) feature lets multiple actions use the same connection.

The callback parameter lets you specify an AsyncCallback delegate that is called when the statement has completed. You can call the EndExecuteXmlReader method from within this delegate procedure, or from any other location within your application. In addition, you can pass any object in the stateObject parameter, and your callback procedure can retrieve this information using the AsyncState property.

Note that the command text and parameters are sent to the server synchronously. If a large command or many parameters is sent, this method may block during writes. After the command is sent, the method returns immediately without waiting for an answer from the server--that is, reads are asynchronous.

All errors that occur during the execution of the operation are thrown as exceptions in the callback procedure. You must handle the exception in the callback procedure, not in the main application. See the example in this topic for additional information on handling exceptions in the callback procedure.

If you use ExecuteReader or BeginExecuteReader to access XML data, SQL Server will return any XML results greater than 2,033 characters in length in multiple rows of 2,033 characters each. To avoid this behavior, use ExecuteXmlReader or BeginExecuteXmlReader to read FOR XML queries.

This method ignores the CommandTimeout property.

See also

• EndExecuteXmlReader(IAsyncResult)
• ExecuteXmlReader()
• ADO.NET Overview