ADO.NET Cookbook

5.2. Copying Tables from One DataSet to Another

Problem

You need to copy an existing schema and data from one DataSet to another.

Solution

Use one of the following techniques:

• Use the Copy( ) method of the DataTable when all of the data for a table needs to be copied.

• Use the Clone( ) method of the DataTable to create the schema for each table in the destination DataSet when only a subset of the data needs to be copied. You can use the ImportRows( ) method of the DataTable to copy the subset of rows from the source to the destination table.

Once the destination tables are created and the data is copied into them, the example shows how to create the DataRelation objects from the source DataSet in the destination DataSet.

The sample code contains two event handlers:

Form.Load

Sets up the sample by creating a DataSet containing the Orders and Order Details tables from Northwind and a relation between the two tables. The default view for the Orders table is bound to a data grid on the form.

Copy Button.Click

Creates a destination DataSet and copies the schema and specified data into it from the source DataSet created in the Form.Load event handler.

The C# code is shown in Example 5-2.

Example 5-2. File: CopyTablesBetweenDataSetsForm.cs

// Namespaces, variables, and constants using System; using System.Configuration; using System.Windows.Forms; using System.Data; using System.Data.SqlClient; // Table name constants private const String ORDERS_TABLE = "Orders"; private const String ORDERDETAILS_TABLE ...