How do I extract data from a DataTable?

I have a DataTable that is filled in from an SQL query to a local database, but I don't know how to extract data from it. Main method (in test program):

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    const string connectionString = "server=localhost\\SQLExpress;database=master;integrated Security=SSPI;";
    DataTable table = new DataTable("allPrograms");

    using (var conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
    {
        Console.WriteLine("connection created successfuly");

        string command = "SELECT * FROM Programs";

        using (var cmd = new SqlCommand(command, conn))
        {
            Console.WriteLine("command created successfuly");

            SqlDataAdapter adapt = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);

            conn.Open(); 
            Console.WriteLine("connection opened successfuly");
            adapt.Fill(table);
            conn.Close();
            Console.WriteLine("connection closed successfuly");
        }
    }

    Console.Read();
}

The command I used to create the tables in my database:

create table programs
(
    progid int primary key identity(1,1),
    name nvarchar(255),
    description nvarchar(500),
    iconFile nvarchar(255),
    installScript nvarchar(255)
)

How can I extract data from the DataTable into a form meaningful to use?

Solution 1:

The DataTable has a collection .Rows of DataRow elements.

Each DataRow corresponds to one row in your database, and contains a collection of columns.

In order to access a single value, do something like this:

 foreach(DataRow row in YourDataTable.Rows)
 { 
     string name = row["name"].ToString();
     string description = row["description"].ToString();
     string icoFileName = row["iconFile"].ToString();
     string installScript = row["installScript"].ToString();
 }

Solution 2:

You can set the datatable as a datasource to many elements.

For eg

gridView

repeater

datalist

etc etc

If you need to extract data from each row then you can use

table.rows[rowindex][columnindex]

or

if you know the column name

table.rows[rowindex][columnname]

If you need to iterate the table then you can either use a for loop or a foreach loop like

for ( int i = 0; i < table.rows.length; i ++ )
{
    string name = table.rows[i]["columnname"].ToString();
}

foreach ( DataRow dr in table.Rows )
{
    string name = dr["columnname"].ToString();
}