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This is an Introduction for SQL Server, which is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Which allows users to store, organize, and retrieve data using the SQL language.

With its user-friendly interface, extensive set of features.

And excellent performance, SQL Server has become one of the most popular database management systems in use today.

In the following Introduction you will understand what sql server is.

SQL Server provides a secure, scalable, and highly available platform for managing data in various industries.

Which including finance, healthcare, retail, and more.

In additionally, It allows users to store and retrieve data from multiple sources, create reports, and analyze data using a wide range of tools and services.

So, SQL Server offers various editions, each designed for specific needs and requirements.

These editions include SQL Server Express, SQL Server Standard, and SQL Server Enterprise. Each edition offers a different set of features and capabilities to meet the specific needs of different users.

Overall, SQL Server is a powerful and reliable database management system that can help organizations of all sizes manage their data more efficiently, make better decisions based on that data, and improve their overall business performance.

SQL Server was first introduced in 1989 by Microsoft as a simple database management system for the Windows operating system.

Over the years, it has undergone many changes and improvements. Which including the addition of new features and the support for multiple platforms.

SQL Server is available in different versions, each with its own set of features and capabilities. These versions include:

SQL Server offers a wide range of features and capabilities that make it a popular choice for data management. Some of its key features include:

Moreover, SQL Server offers many benefits to organizations that need to manage large volumes of data. Some of these benefits include:

Here’s how SQL Server works in more detail:

Overall, SQL Server works by providing a robust and reliable platform for managing and storing data. It processes SQL statements to store, retrieve, manipulate, and secure data efficiently and effectively.

In conclusion, SQL Server is a powerful database management system. Which offers a wide range of features and benefits to organizations of all sizes.

Whether you need to manage a small project or a large enterprise. SQL Server can help you store, organize, and retrieve data quickly and efficiently.

In additionally, its robust security features, advanced optimizations, and seamless integration with other Microsoft products, SQL Server is an excellent choice for anyone looking to improve their data management capabilities.

Finally, you have gained a comprehensive understanding of SQL Server and its functionality as a powerful relational database management system.

To learn more details about it, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-sa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft site</a>.

Montasser Mossallem

Get an in-depth introduction to SQL Server, a robust relational database management system used by organizations worldwide. Learn about its features and capabilities, and discover how SQL Server can help you manage and analyze data more efficiently, driving better business performance

Mastering SQL Server: An Introduction to a Powerful Relational Database

SQL Server Introduction

/Root

SQL Server Tutorial

This tutorial will teach you how to store a big data table in C# or .NET into a database table using table-valued parameters in the SQL server. This feature enables you to send the entire data table from C# or .NET as an SQL parameter to a procedure or function.

Before getting started, if you’re looking for how to store a million records, you must read the&nbsp;<a href="https://flatcoding.com/tutorials/learn-sql-server/sql-server-bulk-insert-a-million-records/" target="_blank" rel="">SQL Server Bulk Insert</a>&nbsp;tutorial..

Anyway, table-valued parameters allow you to define a new table as a user-defined data type, providing you with the capability to send a data table from C# or .NET into SQL Server procedures or functions.

Before 2008, we were unable to pass a table variable into SQL procedures or SQL functions. This limitation compelled us to send the data of table rows one by one into the database, which significantly impacted the application’s performance.

But currently, the table-valued parameters like sending a single value. very fast to store big data table in database table rather than sending the C# data table into SQL row by row, it may crash the program and take so time and high memory usage.

In the following section, I will cover how to create a new “user-defined table type.”

Passing C# DataTable into SQL Procedure Using Table-Valued Parameters

Before introducing SQL Server, in 2008, a new method was devised to facilitate the storage of table-valued parameters into database tables using “UDTTs” (User-Defined Table Types) all at once.

The “User-Defined Table Types” list is located in Microsoft SQL Management Studio. You can follow these steps to view the user-defined table types.

Let’s get started with the UDTTs definition.

The User-Defined Table Types are predefined tables created by users to store temporary data with specified data types. Using User-Defined Table Types, we can seamlessly transmit a large data table from .NET to an SQL Server and save it in one go without any issues.

To achieve this, the initial step is to create a database table using the following command, ensuring that you store the same data types in the User-Defined Table Types.

Let’s move onto the below section to understand how to create the table-valued parameters.

In the next step, you must define a new table type in SQL Server, and inside it, define all column types exactly as you did in the SQL database table by executing the following command.

Once you execute the provided code, a new table type will appear in the list of User-Defined Table Types, as illustrated in the image below.

<mark class="cdx-marker">Note: The columns of the data table originating from .NET must precisely match those in the table data type, including the exact number of columns.</mark>

But how to use this inside the stored procedures? The answer will be in the following section.

Using the Defined Table Type in Stored Procedures

When we create a procedure, some defined parameters start with ‘@,’ each one consisting of two parts: the parameter’s name and the data type. We will apply the same approach to define table-valued parameters, akin to declaring a variable.

Our newly defined table is named “[dbo].[Accounting_Tree]” so we need to replace the ‘varchar(50)’ data type with it and add “READONLY” next to it. The code should resemble the following.

While the body of the procedure should select each column individually for insertion into the database table, before that, we must determine if we already have at least one row in the table-valued parameters.

So our final procedure should be like the below code.

Let’s understand how to send this table from C# to the SQL Server procedure.

Sending DataTable from C# to SQL Procedure

In this section, we will focus a bit on the C# data table. Firstly, we need to add a new form with a data table, and don’t forget the namespaces. You need to create only a new C# desktop project in Visual Studio. Then, add the namespace for SQL “System.Data.SqlClient”.

Then, add a new button to store this data table in this form.

After that, write the database connection code as in the snippet below:

Next, we have to create a data table and fill it with six rows. However, the data inside this table should have the same data type as in the table-valued parameters.

The previous code will execute the data table when we load the application form, serving as an event to store all the data table rows.

Now, we need to send this data table to the SQL procedure. To do this, we have to define a new SQL data type with an SQL parameter called SqlDbType.Structured.

Then, send the C# data table to the SQL procedure using the following function.

The results should appear as in the image below.

But, what will happen if we click on the same button again?

It will store the duplicate data table rows, which means we will have duplicated records in the database table.

To solve this problem, we must detect the rows that already exist in our database table and then update those rows or take another action.

Therefore, we should update the SQL commands of the procedure to perform certain actions for the incoming data table.

Anyway, let’s move on to the section below to understand how to update the datatable that is already stored in the SQL Server database.

Updating DataTable Using Table-Valued Parameters

Updating the datatable using table-valued parameters involves three scenarios. However, before we delve into these scenarios, it’s crucial to remember that the rows in the datatable should have unique IDs or numbers.

In the image below, you will see two tables. The right one represents the database table, and the left one represents the incoming C# datatable. If you observe the left table, you will notice many fonts in green color. These green fonts indicate that the datatable has some changes in values that need to be updated in the database table. All rows have unique numbers.

Actually, we will use the “account_number” column as unique IDs. If you make a comparison between the two tables, you will see the same account_number values. Therefore, we have to use this column to detect and search in the database table, and then we can update with the new changes. The code below demonstrates this.

Step 2: Insert the New Rows in the Data Table Rows

In this scenario, we must set a condition to filter only the records in the C# datatable that do not exist in the database table. Essentially, it’s like setting an array with account numbers that are not needed, and then storing the other account numbers.

In the previous image, the yellow-green fonts indicate new records that need to be inserted into the database table. The question then arises: how can we filter only these new records to store them in the database table?

As mentioned before, we can set an array with unwanted rows, so the code will look like the snippet below.

Step 3: Delete Unwanted Rows from Database Table

If you refer back to the previous scenario, you will notice there are some rows in the database table that are not found in the C# datatable.

In the image below, a red rectangle highlights some records in the database table that are not found in the C# datatable. We only need to collect these records and delete them because they do not exist in the incoming C# datatable.

The code below demonstrates the delete query.

That’s all :), The final code in the SQL procedure should look like the below.

In this tutorial, we learned how to send a big data table from C# to SQL procedure using table-valued parameters—and updating the same data in the database table. The User-Defined Table Types tab is already containing all table-valued parameters.

The data table columns that are coming from .NET should be the same columns in table data type and the exact columns count.

the table-valued parameters, allow you to define a new tabular as a user table data type to give you the ability to send a data table from C# or .Net into SQL server procedures or functions.

Table-Valued Parameters: Sending a Table to the Database

Table Valued Parameters

In this article, you will learn how to insert more than a million records into the SQL Server database table. Additionally, you will understand how to use the SQL bulk insert command and import a large file of data using C# and procedure – just pay attention during the reading.

Basically, SQL Server bulk insert is a command that can be executed on the SQL server, and it gives you the ability to send a full file to the database table.

Here are the basic prerequisites to understand this tutorial:

Before we delve into how to use the SQL Server bulk insert, it is essential to understand the differences between the following:

The Differences between SQL, SQL Server, and MySQL

SQL refers to Structured Query Language, which can be used to interact with databases.

The common uses of the SQL query include retrieving data from the database, deleting rows, and inserting and updating records using SQL.

Therefore, we can say that SQL is a query language used for dealing with and interacting with databases. Additionally, there are several database management systems utilizing SQL queries in their products, including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Ingres, and among others.

Anyway, in the following section, you will see some examples of the SQL Query.

Another common command is the insert command.

To delete records from a database, you can use the following command:

Additionally, there is another query that can be used to update data in the database using the SQL language.

As observed from the previously mentioned commands, which show you that SQL is solely a query language.

Anyway, in the upcoming lines, we will explain what MySQL and SQL Server are.

Basically, MySQL and SQL Server are database management systems that use the SQL language within their platforms.

MySQL and SQL Server assist developers in viewing the database table through a graphical user interface (GUI).

And they also enable developers to execute SQL commands within their platforms.

Thus, the crux of the matter is that without the SQL language, SQL Server and MySQL would not function, owing to their dependency on it.

On the other hand, let’s delve into one of the SQL statements in SQL Server Management Studio, which is the Command of SQL Server Bulk Insert.

Actually, the SQL bulk insert is used to store the data from external files in the database table. Additionally, it is also used to view and import data from Azure blob storage or any other disk; you just need to specify a valid path for the importable file.

Its command consists of numerous arguments and options, as shown below.

As observed in the previous command, many arguments are added, such as table_name, file_path, and options. let’s take a look at each one.

Let’s move into the options of SQL Bulk Insert.

In this section, we will highlight some of the important options associated with the SQL Server bulk insert command. When setting the file path, it is necessary to define the extension name of the file.

The file extension can be specified using the “FORMAT” option to define a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file. It can be done as shown below.

It specifies the file format. The list below shows some of the file formats that are compatible with SQL bulk insert.

Naturally, when attempting to insert data into a database, it is crucial to verify whether this data has already been inserted or not. Additionally, there are instances where errors may occur behind the scenes. How can one identify and reveal these errors?

Microsoft has already implemented an option inside SQL bulk insert to collect all rows that encounter errors or have datatype formatting issues in the same directory for the CSV file. This property is called “ERRORFILE”.

With the same previous SQL code, we have the capability to specify the error file path within the SQL command, as demonstrated in the following code:

Separate the CSV file into smaller batches based on a specified size

If you do not specify the batch size, the SQL transaction’s operating system will store the entire CSV file in one batch. However, by specifying the “BATCHSIZE” property, you can partition the processing into a series of smaller batches.

The process inserts file records every 3 rows. This means it inserts 3 rows, then starts to insert another 3 rows, and so on until it finishes all the rows inside the CSV file.

With the previous SQL command, the result should be as shown on the following screen.

If you need to know more details about the other options, you have to navigate to this&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/statements/bulk-insert-transact-sql?view=sql-server-ver16" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">link</a>.

Let’s move into the following example to see actual data insertion using the bulk data command.

We have a CSV file containing big data from the Annual Enterprise Survey, generated in the 2020 financial year, and we need to insert it into our database table.

But before that, we first need to check what the data type is for each column for the file looks like the image below.

Firstly, we need to create a table with the same columns as in the survey file and use the same data types for these columns.

Then, we have to place the financial survey file on the local disk D:, then open ‘New Query’ in SQL Server Management Studio and write the following SQL command.

We will only specify the error file path in the command to check for errors.

The following result shows an initialized file of errors.

You will see this file in the same directory as the Financial_Survey.csv file path, and these errors occurred because we inserted it into columns with the wrong data types.

Look at the “amounts” column; it already has an integer data type, but the file had numbers with separated commas and wrongly formatted data.

Let’s correct the unformatted data and the wrong data types.

Delete the commas ‘,’ from the amounts column values in the CSV file by selecting the full column, right-clicking, then choosing ‘Numbers’ from ‘Cell Formatting’. Delete the comma by unchecking the ‘Use comma’ option; otherwise, you have to select ‘(1234)’ as an integer data type.

In the next step, you have to change varchar(50) to varchar(max) as shown in the code below to avoid any errors.

Also, make sure that the columns in the CSV file are in the same order as in the database table columns.

Then, try to execute the same command for SQL bulk data insertion.

The result should appear like the image below when you use the select query.

Anyway, in the following section, you will learn how to store the CSV file in a database using the C# programming language.

Storing and Importing a CSV File Using C# into a Database Table

It is easy to import CSV files or create a bulk insert using stored procedures and C#. With the SQL bulk insert command, you have to create a procedure in the SQL server with a required parameter containing the path of the CSV file. That’s all.

Note: you won’t be able to use the same previous query in the procedure; we have to make some changes.

In the next step, we have to create a database connection with C# and then develop a file explorer for CSV files only. The code below is just some snippets from our real project to focus on the idea.

Open Visual Studio Code and create a new C# desktop project.

The form should look like the image below.

Then, we have to create an event for the ‘Choose the Path’ button, and inside it, we should invoke the ‘OpenFileDialog’ that enables file exploration. Additionally, we need to set the filter to show only CSV file types in the explorer.

After that, let’s create the “execute_proc” function that will be responsible for sending the file path to the stored procedure.

Anyway, let’s summarize it in a few points.

In this tutorial, you understood how to insert bulk data into database using the SQL command. You also learned how to bring these data using the SQL query and C# programming language.

SQL bulk insert commands store large files with over a million records into an SQL server database, which sends the entire file to the database.

SQL Server Bulk Insert: Storing a Million Records

SQL Server Bulk Insert

[h2] List of Tutorials
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Each tutorial deals with a different topic related to the use of SQL Server, from basic matters to more advanced issues.

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SQL Server is a powerful RDBMS tool provided by Microsoft. Its purpose is to keep, get, and take care of data which facilitates building dynamic and engaging applications. SQL Queries are server side so you can easily handle large datasets or complex queries accurately and reliably to the client.

In this tutorial, you will learn about SQL Server from the ground up so that learning to manage and query databases becomes very easy.

Learn SQL Server Tutorials — Dive deep into SQL Server with our comprehensive tutorials, covering everything from beginner fundamentals to advanced database management techniques.

List of Tutorials

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