Should I be using SqlDataReader inside a “using” statement?

Question

Which of the following two examples are correct? (Or which one is better and should I use)

In the MSDN I found this:

private static void ReadOrderDat         


        

Answer 1

Would it not be simpler to use this code?

    private static void ReadOrderData(string connectionString)
    {
        string queryString =
            "SELECT OrderID, CustomerID FROM dbo.Orders;";

        using (SqlDataReader reader = SqlHelper.ExecuteReader(connectionString, CommandType.Text, queryString))
        {
            // Call Read before accessing data.
            while (reader.Read())
            {
                Console.WriteLine(String.Format("{0}, {1}",
                reader[0], reader[1]));
            }
        }
    }

This should dispose of the reader, and the implicit connection and command when the using is terminated.

Or have I missed something?

Answer 2

The second option means your reader will be closed in the event of an exception after it has been created, so it is preferred.

It is effectively transformed by the compiler to:

SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();
try
{
    ....
}
finally
{
  if (reader != null)
      ((IDisposable)reader).Dispose();
}

See MSDN for more info.

Answer 3

You can actually list usings together, a la:

private static void ReadOrderData(string connectionString)
{
   string queryString =
       "SELECT OrderID, CustomerID FROM dbo.Orders;";

   using (SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
   using (SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand(queryString, connection))
   {
        connection.Open();

        using (SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader())
        {
            // Call Read before accessing data.
            while (reader.Read())
            {
               Console.WriteLine(String.Format("{0}, {1}",
               reader[0], reader[1]));
            }
        }
    }
}