In this article I will explain with an example, how to select data from MySQL database in Windows Forms (WinForms) Application using C# and VB.Net.
 
 

Database

I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows.
Select from MySQL Database in C# and VB.Net
 
I have already inserted few records in the table.
Select from MySQL Database in C# and VB.Net
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
          Download SQL file
 
 

Form Design

The Form consists of following control:
DataGridView – For displaying data.
Select from MySQL Database in C# and VB.Net
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Configuration
Imports MySql.Data.MySqlClient
 
 

Selecting from MySQL Database in C# and VB.Net

Inside the Form_Load event handler, first the connection is read from Web.Config file.
Note: For more details on how to read connection string from Web.Config file, please refer my article Read or Write Connection Strings in Web.Config file using ASP.Net using C# and VB.Net.
 
Then, a connection to the database is established using the MySqlConnection class and the records are fetched from the Customers Table of MySQL database.
Finally, the DataGridView is populated.
C#
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string sql = "SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers";
    string constr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["constr"].ConnectionString;
    using (MySqlConnection con = new MySqlConnection(constr))
    {
        using (MySqlDataAdapter sdr = new MySqlDataAdapter(sql, con))
        {
            using (DataTable dt = new DataTable())
            {
                sdr.Fill(dt);
                dgvCustomers.DataSource = dt;
            }
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
    Dim sql As String = "SELECT CustomerId, Name, Country FROM Customers"
    Dim constr As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("constr").ConnectionString
    Using con As MySqlConnection = New MySqlConnection(constr)
        Using sdr As MySqlDataAdapter = New MySqlDataAdapter(sql, con)
            Using dt As DataTable = New DataTable()
                sdr.Fill(dt)
                dgvCustomers.DataSource = dt
            End Using
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 

Screenshot

Select from MySQL Database in C# and VB.Net
 
 

Downloads

Download Code