In this article I will explain with an example, how to fetch (retrieve) data from Database using DataReader with C# and VB.Net.
This article will illustrate how to populate DataGridView with data from SQL Server Database using SqlDataReader and DataTable in Windows Forms (WinForms) Application with C# and VB.Net.
 
 
Database
Here I am making use of Microsoft’s Northwind Database. The download and install instructions are provided in the following article.
Download and install Northwind Database
 
 
Form Controls
In the below Form, there’s a DataGridView which will be populated from Database using DataReader.
Fetch (Retrieve) data from Database using DataReader with C# and VB.Net
 
 
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
 
 
Fetch (Retrieve) data from Database using DataReader with C# and VB.Net
Inside the Form Load event, a Select Query is executed over the Customers table of the Northwind database and results are fetched using DataReader (SqlDataReader).
The SqlDataReader is then loaded into a DataTable and finally the DataTable is used to populate the DataGridView.
C#
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    this.BindGrid();
}
 
private void BindGrid()
{
    string constring = @"Data Source=.\SQL2005;Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=true";
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection(constring))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, ContactName, Country FROM Customers", con))
        {
            cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text;
            con.Open();
            DataTable dt = new DataTable();
            dt.Load(cmd.ExecuteReader());
            dataGridView1.DataSource = dt;
            con.Close();
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
    Me.BindGrid()
End Sub
 
Private Sub BindGrid()
    Dim constring As String = "Data Source=.\SQL2005;Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=true"
    Using con As New SqlConnection(constring)
        Using cmd As New SqlCommand("SELECT CustomerId, ContactName, Country FROM Customers", con)
            cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
            con.Open()
            Dim dt As New DataTable()
            dt.Load(cmd.ExecuteReader())
            dataGridView1.DataSource = dt
            con.Close()
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
Screenshot
Fetch (Retrieve) data from Database using DataReader with C# and VB.Net
 
 
Downloads
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