Array Binding

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Array binding is a powerful feature that significantly improves the performance by executing similar SQL statements in a single batch, rather than sending them one by one to the database.

The feature is especially useful for performing batch operations of the same type, such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE.

The article demonstrates batch data insertion and update using SqlCommand with a practical example. To update your database with large volumes of data, follow the steps below:

1. Create a database and its table.

With any SQL tool, you can create a database and its table by using the following DDL statement:

CREATE TABLE [batch_test](" +

 "[id] int PRIMARY KEY, " +

 "[f_integer] int, " +

 "[f_varchar] varchar(100)

 )";

Alternatively, you can achieve the same result programmatically with the following C# code:

2. Create SqlCommand and set a DML statement.

Define the desired DML statement (e.g. INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE) by setting the CommandText property of the SqlCommand object.

3. Add parameters.

Specify the parameter names and their types.

Array binding with SqlCommand doesn't support explicitly setting the batch size. The optimal size is calculated automatically.

4. Fill parameter values.

Define an array of values in each parameter of SqlCommand. Each array element corresponds to a different execution of the SQL statement within the same batch.

5. Execute the batch insert.

Call the ExecuteArray() method to execute the command for all sets of parameter values in a single batch.

Below is a sample code that executes several INSERT operations using array binding.

CREATE TABLE [batch_test](" +

 "[id] int PRIMARY KEY, " +

 "[f_integer] int, " +

 "[f_varchar] varchar(100)

 )";

using (SqlConnection connection = new 

SqlConnection("Data Source=mssql;Database=test;User Id=sa;Asynchronous Processing=true;")) 

{ 

connection.Open(); 

// create SqlCommand 

SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand("INSERT INTO batch_test" + 

  "([id], [f_integer], [f_varchar]) " + 

  "VALUES" + 

  "(@id, @f_integer, @f_varchar)", 
  
  connection); 

command.Parameters.Add("id", SqlType.Int, 4, "id"); 

command.Parameters.Add("f_integer", SqlType.Int, 4, "f_integer"); 

command.Parameters.Add("f_varchar", SqlType.VarChar, 100, "f_varchar");

// fill Command parameter values 

command.Parameters["id"].Value = new int[5] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; 

command.Parameters["f_integer"].Value = new int[5] { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }; 

command.Parameters["f_varchar"].Value = new string[5] { "string 1", "string 2", "string 3", "string 4", "string 5" }; 

// execute the update 

command.ExecuteArray(); 

}

This example demonstrates how to insert multiple records with a single execution operation using array binding in dotConnect for SQL Server.

To use the array binding feature, you must assign arrays of values to the parameters of an SqlCommand object and call the ExecuteArray() method. Each array element corresponds to a different execution of the SQL statement within the same batch.

Array binding with SqlCommand doesn't support explicitly setting the batch size. The optimal size is calculated automatically based on the input data.

This approach is especially beneficial when working with large datasets, as it reduces the number of individual communications between the application and the database, significantly improving performance.

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