Question

I develop a lot in ASP.NET and I know that you can only open one SQLDataReader for each SQLConnection. However, this does not appear to be the case in VB.NET (form application) i.e. I have opened multiple SQLDataReaders for one connection object. Is this allowed in VB.NET?

If there is not an obvious answer to this then I will post some code.

Here is some code:

Public Function CheckActiveReviews()
            Dim objCon As SqlConnection
            Dim objCommand As SqlCommand, objCommand2 As SqlCommand
            Dim objDR As SqlDataReader, objDR2 As SqlDataReader
            Try
                objCon = New SqlConnection("Data Source=TestDatabase;Initial Catalog=TestTable;User ID=TestUser;Password=TestPassword;MultipleActiveResultSets=True")
                objCommand = New SqlCommand
                objCommand.Connection = objCon
                objCommand2 = New SqlCommand
                objCommand2.Connection = objCon
                objCon.Open()
                objCommand.CommandText = "SELECT ID FROM Person WHERE PersonID > 1000"
                objDR = objCommand.ExecuteReader()
                Do While objDR.Read
                    objCommand2.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM Sport WHERE PersonID = @PersonID "
                    objCommand2.Parameters.AddWithValue("@PersonID", objDR("ID"))
                    objDR2 = objCommand2.ExecuteReader
                Loop

            Catch ex As Exception

            End Try

        End Function

Answer 1

You can use multiple data readers if you use MARS – Multiple Active Result Sets – but I wouldn’t advise that unless you really need it.

Instead, I’d suggest creating a new SqlConnection object each time you need it – use it for as short a period as you can, then dispose of it (use a Using statement to do this for you). The connection pool will take care of the efficiency in terms of reusing “physical” network connections where possible. That way you don’t need to worry about whether the SqlConnection is already open etc – you just always follow the same “create, open, use, dispose” pattern every time.