C# and SQL Server – Inserting Data
In order to insert data into an SQL Server database, the SQL ‘Insert’ statement needs to be used. The following example inserts a record into the same ‘person’ table that was used in the example for selecting data.
Inserting data works in a similar fashion as selecting data using parameters. Firstly, a connection to the database is established, then the query parameters are defined as variables, which are bound in to the following SQL statement. The SQL statement is then executed and a confirmation message is displayed. The declaration and execution of the SQL statement is wrapped in a ‘try-catch-finally’ block to catch any errors that may arise and close the database connection at the end.
// Database connection variable. SqlConnection connect = new SqlConnection( "Server=MSSQLSERVERDEMO; Database=Demo;" + "User Id=DemoUN; Password=DemoPW"); try { // Connect to database. connect.Open(); } catch (Exception e) { // Confirm unsuccessful connection and stop program execution. Console.WriteLine("Database connection unsuccessful."); System.Environment.Exit(1); } try { // Query parameters. string firstname = "Fiona"; string lastname = "Jones"; string title = "Miss"; DateTime dob = new DateTime(1985, 5, 19); // Query text. string sqlText = @" INSERT INTO person (firstname, lastname, title, dob) VALUES (@firstname, @lastname, @title, @dob) "; // Query text incorporated into SQL command. SqlCommand sqlInsert = new SqlCommand(sqlText, connect); // Bind the parameters to the query. sqlInsert.Parameters.AddWithValue("@firstname", firstname); sqlInsert.Parameters.AddWithValue("@lastname", lastname); sqlInsert.Parameters.AddWithValue("@title", title); sqlInsert.Parameters.AddWithValue("@dob", dob); // Execute SQL. sqlInsert.ExecuteNonQuery(); // Confirm successful addition of person information. Console.WriteLine("Person information added successfully."); } catch (Exception e) { // Confirm error adding person information and exit. Console.WriteLine("Error adding person information."); System.Environment.Exit(1); } finally { // Close the database connection. connect.Close(); }
The contents of the ‘person’ table now looks as follows.
id | firstname | lastname | title | dob |
1 | Bob | Smith | Mr | 1980-01-20 |
2 | George | Jones | Mr | 1997-12-15 |
3 | Fred | Bloggs | Mr | 1975-05-07 |
4 | Alan | White | Mr | 1989-03-20 |
5 | Fiona | Jones | Miss | 1985-05-19 |