Question

I am trying to create a list of objects. Is there a better way?

   // List
    public List<page> Select()
    {
      List<page> _list = new List<page>();
      string  SqlStatement = "select * from Pages";
      SqlConnection thisConnection = new SqlConnection(connStr);
      // Open the Connection
      thisConnection.Open();

      var thisCommand = thisConnection.CreateCommand();
      thisCommand.CommandText = SqlStatement;
      SqlDataReader thisReader = thisCommand.ExecuteReader();

      while (thisReader.Read())
      {
        // Create a new instance of the Current Page Object
        page currentPage = new page();
        // Fill the instance of the Current Page Object
        currentPage.PageID = Convert.ToInt32(thisReader["PageID"]);
        currentPage.ParentID = Convert.ToInt32(thisReader["ParentID"]);
        currentPage.CategoryID = Convert.ToInt32(thisReader["CategoryID"]);
        currentPage.Name = thisReader["Name"].ToString();
        currentPage.PageHTMLContent = thisReader["PageHTMLContent"].ToString();
        currentPage.NavigationText = thisReader["NavigationText"].ToString();
        currentPage.TopMenu = Convert.ToBoolean(thisReader["TopMenu"]);
        currentPage.SubMenu = Convert.ToBoolean(thisReader["SubMenu"]);
        currentPage.DisplayOrder = Convert.ToInt32(thisReader["DisplayOrder"]);
        currentPage.Active = Convert.ToBoolean(thisReader["Active"]);
        // Add the instance of the Current Page Object to the List<>.
        _list.Add(currentPage);
      }
      // Close the Database
      thisConnection.Close();
      return _list;      

    }

Answer 1

Using LINQ to Datasets might make your code a little more readable. You should also be sure to wrap your objects with using statements where possible:

public List<page> Select()
{
    var sqlStatement = "select * from pages";

    var sqlResults = new DataTable();

    using(SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connStr))
    {
        using(SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(sqlStatement, conn))
        {
            var adapter = new SqlDataAdapter(command);
            adapter.Fill(sqlResults);
        }
    }

    return sqlResults.AsEnumerable().Select(r => new page {
               PageID = r.Field<int>("PageID"),
               ParentID = f.Field<int>("ParentID"),
               CategoryID = r.Field<int>("CategoryID"),
               Name = r.Field<string>("Name"),
               PageHtmlContent = r.Field<string>("PageHTMLContent"),
               // Fill the rest of the properties
               Active = r.Field<bool>("Active")
           }).ToList();
}