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Is it necessary to add a @ in front of an SqlParameter name?

In one of our application the parameters passed to a stored procedure in this way

Dim parm As New SqlParameter("searchText", SqlDbType.VarChar)
parm.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input
parm.Size = 50
parm.Value="test"

cmd.Parameters.Add(parm)

and the procedure contains a parameter as @searchText

i.e. the parameter name passed from the code is searchText and that in the stored procedure is @searchText .

But it is working properly, I am always getting the required results.

So my question is like so there is no need to specify @ before the parameter? Whether it will append @, can anyone please give an answer for this.

Solution

  • According to the documentation, the name must start with an @:

    The ParameterName is specified in the form @paramname.

    According to the source code (have a look at SqlCommand and SqlParameter.ParameterNameFixed in the reference source), an @ is added automatically, if needed.

    So yes, it works, but it's an undocumented feature. Best practice recommends that you do not rely on this and manually prefix your parameter name with an @.