postgresql Accessing Data Programmatically Accessing Postgresql from .NET using the Npgsql provider

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Example

One of the more popular .NET providers for Postgresql is Npgsql, which is ADO.NET compatible and is used nearly identically as other .NET database providers.

A typical query is performed by creating a command, binding parameters, and then executing the command. In C#:

var connString = "Host=myserv;Username=myuser;Password=mypass;Database=mydb";
using (var conn = new NpgsqlConnection(connString))
{
    var querystring = "INSERT INTO data (some_field) VALUES (@content)";
    
    conn.Open();
    // Create a new command with CommandText and Connection constructor
    using (var cmd = new NpgsqlCommand(querystring, conn))
    {
        // Add a parameter and set its type with the NpgsqlDbType enum
        var contentString = "Hello World!";
        cmd.Parameters.Add("@content", NpgsqlDbType.Text).Value = contentString;

        // Execute a query that returns no results
        cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();


        /* It is possible to reuse a command object and open connection instead of creating new ones */

        // Create a new query and set its parameters
        int keyId = 101;
        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT primary_key, some_field FROM data WHERE primary_key = @keyId";
        cmd.Parameters.Clear();
        cmd.Parameters.Add("@keyId", NpgsqlDbType.Integer).Value = keyId;

        // Execute the command and read through the rows one by one
        using (NpgsqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader())
        {
            while (reader.Read())   // Returns false for 0 rows, or after reading the last row of the results
            {
                // read an integer value
                int primaryKey = reader.GetInt32(0);
                // or 
                primaryKey = Convert.ToInt32(reader["primary_key"]);

                // read a text value
                string someFieldText = reader["some_field"].ToString();
            }
        }
    }
}    // the C# 'using' directive calls conn.Close() and conn.Dispose() for us


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