Objective
To insert into & retrieve images from SQL server database without using stored procedures and also to perform insert, search, update, and delete operations & navigation of records.
Introduction
As we want to insert images into the database, first we have to create a table in the database, we can use the data type 'image' or 'binary' for storing the image.
The query for creating a table in our application
create table student(sno int primary key,sname varchar(50),course varchar(50),fee money,photo image)
Design
![Design]()
Design the form as above with 1 PictureBox control, 1 OpenFileDialog control, 4 Labels, 4 TextBoxes, and 11 Buttons.
PictureBox1 Properties
BorderStyle=Fixed3D; SizeMode=StrechImage
Note that the OpenFileDialog control appears below the form (not on the form), which can be used for browsing an image.
In order to communicate with the SQL server database, including the namespace.
In this application, we will search for a record by taking input from the InputBox. For this, we have to add a reference to Microsoft.VisualBasic.
Adding a Reference to 'Microsoft.VisualBasic'
Goto Project Menu ->Add Reference -> select 'Microsoft.VisualBasic' from the .NET tab.
In order to use this reference we have to include the namespace.
using Microsoft.VisualBasic
Converting images into binary data
We can't store an image directly in the database. For this, we have two solutions.
- To store the location of the image in the database
- Converting the image into binary data inserting that binary data into the database and converting that back to the image while retrieving the records.
If we store the location of an image in the database and suppose that image is deleted or moved from that location, we will face problems while retrieving the records. So it is better to convert an image into binary data and insert that binary data into the database and convert that back to the image while retrieving records.
We can convert an image into binary data using
- FileStream
- MemoryStream
FileStream uses file location to convert an image into binary data which we may/may not provide while updating a record.
Example
FileStream fs = new FileStream(openFileDialog1.FileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
byte[] photo_aray = new byte[fs.Length];
fs.Read(photo_aray, 0, photo_aray.Length);
So it is better to use MemoryStream which uses images in the PictureBox to convert an image into binary data.
Example
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
pictureBox1.Image.Save(ms, ImageFormat.Jpeg);
byte[] photo_aray = new byte[ms.Length];
ms.Position = 0;
ms.Read(photo_aray, 0, photo_aray.Length);
In order to use FileStream or MemoryStream we have to include the namespace:
using System.IO
OpenFileDialog Control
We use OpenFileDialog control in order to browse for the images (photos) to insert into the record.
Loading the constraint details into the dataTable
In this app. we use the Find() method to search a record, which requires details of the primary-key column, which can be provided using the statement:
adapter.MissingSchemaAction = MissingSchemaAction.AddWithKey;
Pointing to the current record in Table
After searching for a record, we have to get the index of that record so that we can navigate the next and previous records.
Example
rno= ds.Tables[0].Rows.IndexOf(drow);
Code
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.IO;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic;
namespace inserting_imgs
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
SqlConnection con;
SqlCommand cmd;
SqlDataAdapter adapter;
DataSet ds; int rno = 0;
MemoryStream ms;
byte[] photo_aray;
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
con = new SqlConnection("user id=sa;password=123;database=prash");
loaddata();
showdata();
}
void loaddata()
{
adapter = new SqlDataAdapter("select sno,sname,course,fee,photo from student", con);
adapter.MissingSchemaAction = MissingSchemaAction.AddWithKey;
ds = new DataSet(); adapter.Fill(ds, "student");
}
void showdata()
{
if (ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count > 0)
{
textBox1.Text = ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][0].ToString();
textBox2.Text = ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][1].ToString();
textBox3.Text = ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][2].ToString();
textBox4.Text = ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][3].ToString();
pictureBox1.Image = null;
if (ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][4] != System.DBNull.Value)
{
photo_aray = (byte[])ds.Tables[0].Rows[rno][4];
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(photo_aray);
pictureBox1.Image = Image.FromStream(ms);
}
}
else
MessageBox.Show("No Records");
}
private void browse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
openFileDialog1.Filter = "jpeg|*.jpg|bmp|*.bmp|all files|*.*";
DialogResult res = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
if (res == DialogResult.OK)
{
pictureBox1.Image = Image.FromFile(openFileDialog1.FileName);
}
}
private void newbtn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cmd = new SqlCommand("select max(sno)+10 from student", con);
con.Open();
textBox1.Text = cmd.ExecuteScalar().ToString();
con.Close();
textBox2.Text = textBox3.Text = textBox4.Text = "";
pictureBox1.Image = null;
}
private void insert_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cmd = new SqlCommand("insert into student(sno,sname,course,fee,photo) values(" + textBox1.Text + ",'" +
textBox2.TabIndex + "','" + textBox3.Text + "'," + textBox4.Text + ",@photo)", con);
conv_photo();
con.Open();
int n = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
con.Close();
if (n > 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("record inserted");
loaddata();
}
else
MessageBox.Show("insertion failed");
}
void conv_photo()
{
//converting photo to binary data
if (pictureBox1.Image != null)
{
//using FileStream:(will not work while updating, if image is not changed)
//FileStream fs = new FileStream(openFileDialog1.FileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
//byte[] photo_aray = new byte[fs.Length];
//fs.Read(photo_aray, 0, photo_aray.Length);
//using MemoryStream:
ms = new MemoryStream();
pictureBox1.Image.Save(ms, ImageFormat.Jpeg);
byte[] photo_aray = new byte[ms.Length];
ms.Position = 0;
ms.Read(photo_aray, 0, photo_aray.Length);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@photo", photo_aray);
}
}
private void search_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
try
{
int n = Convert.ToInt32(Interaction.InputBox("Enter sno:", "Search", "20", 100, 100));
DataRow drow;
drow = ds.Tables[0].Rows.Find(n);
if (drow != null)
{
rno = ds.Tables[0].Rows.IndexOf(drow);
textBox1.Text = drow[0].ToString();
textBox2.Text = drow[1].ToString();
textBox3.Text = drow[2].ToString();
textBox4.Text = drow[3].ToString();
pictureBox1.Image = null;
if (drow[4] != System.DBNull.Value)
{
photo_aray = (byte[])drow[4];
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(photo_aray);
pictureBox1.Image = Image.FromStream(ms);
}
}
else
MessageBox.Show("Record Not Found");
}
catch
{
MessageBox.Show("Invalid Input");
}
}
private void update_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cmd = new SqlCommand("update student set sname='" + textBox2.Text + "', course='" + textBox3.Text + "', fee='" + textBox4.Text + "', photo=@photo where sno=" + textBox1.Text, con);
conv_photo();
con.Open();
int n = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
con.Close();
if (n > 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("Record Updated");
loaddata();
}
else
MessageBox.Show("Updation Failed");
}
private void delete_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
cmd = new SqlCommand("delete from student where sno=" + textBox1.Text, con);
con.Open();
int n = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
con.Close();
if (n > 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("Record Deleted");
loaddata();
rno = 0;
showdata();
}
else
MessageBox.Show("Deletion Failed");
}
private void first_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
rno = 0; showdata();
MessageBox.Show("First record");
}
private void previous_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (rno > 0)
{
rno--; showdata();
}
else
MessageBox.Show("First record");
}
private void next_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (rno < ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count - 1)
{
rno++; showdata();
}
else
MessageBox.Show("Last record");
}
private void last_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
rno = ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count - 1;
showdata(); MessageBox.Show("Last record");
}
private void exit_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Close();
}
}
}
Conclusion
In this article, we learned about Inserting & Retrieving Images from SQL Server Databases without using Stored Procedures.