Adding multiple parameterized variables to a database in c#

Question

I'm looking to do something simulair toward here: How do I insert multiple rows WITHOUT repeating the "INSERT INTO dbo.Blah" part of the statement? except that in addition towards doing this in one query (faster then several dozen) I also want to do this parameterized as the input comes from the web.

Currently I have

foreach(string data in Scraper){
            SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(WebConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ConnectionInfo"].ToString());
            string query = "INSERT INTO DATABASE('web',@data)";
            SqlCommand sqlCommand= new SqlCommand(query, conn);
            sqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@data", data);
            Command.executeNonQuery(); 
            conn.close();
}

Which is a bit slugish (note the real example has a lot more colums but that would make things more confusing).

Answer 1

Since you are using c# and sql server 2008, you can use a table valued parameter to insert multiple rows to your database. Here is a short description on how to do this:

First, you need to create a user defined table type:

CREATE TYPE MyTableType AS TABLE
(
    Col1 int,
    Col2 varchar(20) 
)
GO

Then, you need to create a stored procedure that will accept this table type as a parameter

CREATE PROCEDURE MyProcedure
(
    @MyTable dbo.MyTableType READONLY -- NOTE: table valued parameters must be Readonly!
)
AS

INSERT INTO MyTable (Col1, Col2)
SELECT Col1, Col2 
FROM @MyTable

GO

Finally, execute this stored procedure from your c# code:

DataTable dt = new DataTable();
dt.Columns.Add("Col1", typeof(int));
dt.Columns.Add("Col2", typeof(string));

// Fill your data table here

using (var con = new SqlConnection("ConnectionString"))
{
    using(var cmd = new SqlCommand("MyProcedure", con))
    {
        cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        cmd.Parameters.Add("@MyTable", SqlDbType.Structured).Value = dt;
        con.Open();
        cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
    }
}

Answer 2

You can make use of the SQL syntax:

INSERT INTO YOUR_TABLE (dataColumn) VALUES (data1),(data2),(data3)

So loop over your rows you wanna insert and append ",(datax)" to your query and also add the corresponding parameter. Perhaps it helps.