SQL Data Reader - handling Null column values

Question

I\'m using a SQLdatareader to build POCOs from a database. The code works except when it encounters a null value in the database. For example, if the FirstName column in the

Answer 1

You should use the as operator combined with the ?? operator for default values. Value types will need to be read as nullable and given a default.

employee.FirstName = sqlreader[indexFirstName] as string;
employee.Age = sqlreader[indexAge] as int? ?? default(int);

The as operator handles the casting including the check for DBNull.