GetChars Method

Reads a stream of characters from the specified column offset into the buffer as an array starting at the given buffer offset.

Syntax

long GetChars( int ordinal, long dataIndex, char[ ] buffer, int bufferIndex, int length )

Parameters

ordinal – the zero-based column ordinal.
dataIndex – the index within the row from which to begin the read operation.
buffer – the buffer into which to copy data.
bufferIndex – the index for buffer to begin the read operation.
length – the number of characters to read.

Return Value

The actual number of characters read.

Implements

IDataRecord.GetChars

Usage

GetChars returns the number of available characters in the field. In most cases this is the exact length of the field. However, the number returned can be less than the true length of the field if GetChars has already been used to obtain characters from the field. This can be the case, for example, when the AseDataReader is reading a large data structure into a buffer.

If you pass a buffer that is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), GetChars returns the length of the field in characters.

No conversions are performed. No conversions are performed. Use this method to retrieve data from columns of type text, char, and varchar.