SQL Server · Retrieve

Retrieve one record

The smallest read: one record, in three scenarios. The usual way first (the id CreateAsync returned, and the columns you want), then a text id, then an id nobody has: Retrieve returns null, not an error.

Set up for this page

Besides the sample itself, it uses SampleContext.cs (the dbContext every sample is given); SampleOutput.cs (Step and Show, which print), in the files below.

1 By the id Create returned

The usual way: the table, the id Create returned, and the columns to read.

Already in scope: connectionString (string)

C#
var service = Service(connectionString);

var account = new ArxEntity("account");
account["name"] = "Northwind Traders";
account["account_number"] = "ACC-R101";
account["employee_count"] = 120;
ArxRecordId id = await service.CreateAsync(account);

ArxEntity read = await service.RetrieveAsync("account", id, new ArxColumnSet("name", "employee_count")) ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The account record isn't there.");

// The id is always read too, so read.RecordId can update or delete this record later.
Console.WriteLine($"{read["name"]}, {read["employee_count"]} employees, RecordId {read.RecordId}");
Used above

Defined once in this sample.

private static ArxMsSqlDbService Service(string connectionString) => new ArxMsSqlDbService(connectionString, ArxSchemaCatalog.Create()
    .Table("account", ArxIdColumn.Generated<long>("id"))
    .Table("country", ArxIdColumn.Supplied<string>("code"))
    .Build());

Check it in the database

SQL

Run it in any SQL tool connected to the database, after the code has run.

SELECT name, employee_count
FROM account
WHERE account_number = 'ACC-R101';

Expect: 1 row, Northwind Traders, 120: what Retrieve returned.

2 A text id

A text id: a country by its code. Without columns, every column is read.

Already in scope: connectionString (string)

C#
var service = Service(connectionString);

var iceland = new ArxEntity("country");
iceland["code"] = "IS";
iceland["name"] = "Iceland";
await service.CreateAsync(iceland);

ArxEntity read = await service.RetrieveAsync("country", "IS") ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The country record isn't there.");

Console.WriteLine($"{read["code"]} is {read["name"]} ({read.Attributes.Count} columns)");
Used above

Defined once in this sample.

private static ArxMsSqlDbService Service(string connectionString) => new ArxMsSqlDbService(connectionString, ArxSchemaCatalog.Create()
    .Table("account", ArxIdColumn.Generated<long>("id"))
    .Table("country", ArxIdColumn.Supplied<string>("code"))
    .Build());

Check it in the database

SQL

Run it in any SQL tool connected to the database, after the code has run.

SELECT code, name
FROM country
WHERE code = 'IS';

Expect: 1 row, IS, Iceland.

3 An id nobody has

An id that doesn't exist: null, so "is it there?" needs no try/catch.

Already in scope: connectionString (string)

C#
var service = Service(connectionString);

ArxEntity? read = await service.RetrieveAsync("account", 999_999_999L);

Console.WriteLine($"{(read == null ? "null" : "found")}");
Used above

Defined once in this sample.

private static ArxMsSqlDbService Service(string connectionString) => new ArxMsSqlDbService(connectionString, ArxSchemaCatalog.Create()
    .Table("account", ArxIdColumn.Generated<long>("id"))
    .Table("country", ArxIdColumn.Supplied<string>("code"))
    .Build());

Check it in the database

SQL

Run it in any SQL tool connected to the database, after the code has run.

SELECT count(*)
FROM account
WHERE id = 999999999;

Expect: 0.

Run the complete sample

The code above comes from one program, built in a fresh project and run against the database. To run it yourself, here is every file and step.

The program, its files and how to run it

Run it locally

  1. .NET SDK: .NET SDK 10.0.100 or later 10.0.x (target net10.0).
  2. Create the project:
    Terminal
    dotnet new console -n ArxSample -f net10.0
    cd ArxSample
  3. Install the packages:
    Terminal
    dotnet add package ARX.SDK.SQL --version 1.0.0-rc.1
  4. Database: a SQL Server 2022 (tested with 16.0.4225.2) database with the sample schema.
  5. Configuration: set ARX_SAMPLES_SQLSERVER to its connection string. Nothing is hard-coded.
  6. Source code: replace Program.cs and add the 3 other files below, with the file names shown.
  7. Run it:
    Terminal
    dotnet run
  8. Expected output: below.

The files

Program.cs

Runs the sample. Generated for this page; it reads the connection string from the environment.

using ArxSamples.MSSQL;
using ArxSamples.MSSQL.Operations.Retrieve.Basics;

// The connection string comes from the environment, never from the code (see "Configure the connection").
var connectionString = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ARX_SAMPLES_SQLSERVER")
    ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Set the ARX_SAMPLES_SQLSERVER environment variable to your SQL Server connection string.");

await new Basic1_RetrieveOneRecord().RunAsync(new SampleContext(connectionString));
Basic1_RetrieveOneRecord.cs

The sample, as it is in the repository.

using ARX.SDK.SQL.Services;
using ARX.SDK.Services;

using static ArxSamples.MSSQL.SampleOutput;

namespace ArxSamples.MSSQL.Operations.Retrieve.Basics;

/// <summary>
/// The smallest read: one record, in three scenarios. The usual way first (the id CreateAsync returned, and the columns
/// you want), then a text id, then an id nobody has: Retrieve returns null, not an error.
/// </summary>
public sealed class Basic1_RetrieveOneRecord : ISample
{
    public string Name => "retrieve-basics-1-retrieve-one-record";

    public string Title => "Retrieve one record";

    public async Task RunAsync(SampleContext dbContext)
    {
        await Scenario1_ByTheIdCreateReturnedAsync(dbContext.ConnectionString);

        await Scenario2_ATextIdAsync(dbContext.ConnectionString);

        await Scenario3_NotFoundIsNullAsync(dbContext.ConnectionString);
    }

    private static ArxMsSqlDbService Service(string connectionString) => new ArxMsSqlDbService(connectionString, ArxSchemaCatalog.Create()
        .Table("account", ArxIdColumn.Generated<long>("id"))
        .Table("country", ArxIdColumn.Supplied<string>("code"))
        .Build());

    /// <summary>1. The usual way: the table, the id Create returned, and the columns to read.</summary>
    private static async Task Scenario1_ByTheIdCreateReturnedAsync(string connectionString)
    {
        Step("1. By the id Create returned");

        var service = Service(connectionString);

        var account = new ArxEntity("account");
        account["name"] = "Northwind Traders";
        account["account_number"] = "ACC-R101";
        account["employee_count"] = 120;
        ArxRecordId id = await service.CreateAsync(account);

        ArxEntity read = await service.RetrieveAsync("account", id, new ArxColumnSet("name", "employee_count")) ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The account record isn't there.");

        // The id is always read too, so read.RecordId can update or delete this record later.
        Show($"{read["name"]}, {read["employee_count"]} employees, RecordId {read.RecordId}");

        /* ===========================================================
         * [DIRECT QUERY CHECK]
         * -----------------------------------------------------------
         * SELECT name, employee_count
         * FROM account
         * WHERE account_number = 'ACC-R101';
         * -- Expect: 1 row, Northwind Traders, 120: what Retrieve returned.
         * ===========================================================
         */
    }

    /// <summary>2. A text id: a country by its code. Without columns, every column is read.</summary>
    private static async Task Scenario2_ATextIdAsync(string connectionString)
    {
        Step("2. A text id");

        var service = Service(connectionString);

        var iceland = new ArxEntity("country");
        iceland["code"] = "IS";
        iceland["name"] = "Iceland";
        await service.CreateAsync(iceland);

        ArxEntity read = await service.RetrieveAsync("country", "IS") ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("The country record isn't there.");

        Show($"{read["code"]} is {read["name"]} ({read.Attributes.Count} columns)");

        /* ===========================================================
         * [DIRECT QUERY CHECK]
         * -----------------------------------------------------------
         * SELECT code, name
         * FROM country
         * WHERE code = 'IS';
         * -- Expect: 1 row, IS, Iceland.
         * ===========================================================
         */
    }

    /// <summary>3. An id that doesn't exist: null, so "is it there?" needs no try/catch.</summary>
    private static async Task Scenario3_NotFoundIsNullAsync(string connectionString)
    {
        Step("3. An id nobody has");

        var service = Service(connectionString);

        ArxEntity? read = await service.RetrieveAsync("account", 999_999_999L);

        Show($"{(read == null ? "null" : "found")}");

        /* ===========================================================
         * [DIRECT QUERY CHECK]
         * -----------------------------------------------------------
         * SELECT count(*)
         * FROM account
         * WHERE id = 999999999;
         * -- Expect: 0.
         * ===========================================================
         */
    }
}
SampleContext.cs

What every sample is given: the connection string (and the ISample interface the samples implement).

namespace ArxSamples.MSSQL;

/// <summary>One documentation sample: a scenario a real application has, shown end to end.</summary>
public interface ISample
{
    /// <summary>The name to run it alone: <c>dotnet run -- &lt;name&gt;</c>.</summary>
    string Name { get; }

    /// <summary>One line on what it shows.</summary>
    string Title { get; }

    Task RunAsync(SampleContext dbContext);
}

/// <summary>
/// What a sample is given. Every sample gets the connection string; the application's service and catalog
/// (SampleContext.Application.cs) and the plain SqlClient read-back helper (SampleContext.Direct.cs) live in their own
/// files, so a sample needs only the files it uses.
/// </summary>
public sealed partial class SampleContext
{
    public SampleContext(string connectionString)
    {
        ConnectionString = connectionString;
    }

    public string ConnectionString { get; }
}
SampleOutput.cs

How the samples print: Step for each scenario, Show for what it did, ShowError for an error caught on purpose.

using ARX.SDK;

namespace ArxSamples.MSSQL;

/// <summary>How the samples print: a numbered step for each scenario, then what it did.</summary>
public static class SampleOutput
{
    /// <summary>The start of a scenario: <c>Step("1. By the id Create returned")</c>.</summary>
    public static void Step(string text) => Console.WriteLine($"  > {text}");

    /// <summary>What the scenario did.</summary>
    public static void Show(string text) => Console.WriteLine($"      {text}");

    /// <summary>An ARX error the scenario caught on purpose.</summary>
    public static void ShowError(ArxException exception)
        => Console.WriteLine($"      caught {exception.GetType().Name}: {exception.Message}");
}

Expected output

What dotnet run printed when the sample was verified, on a freshly created sample schema. Ids differ when the tables already hold rows.

Output
  > 1. By the id Create returned
      Northwind Traders, 120 employees, RecordId 1
  > 2. A text id
      IS is Iceland (2 columns)
  > 3. An id nobody has
      null