An exception of type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException' occurred in System.Data.dll

Question

When I execute my code below, this error message occurs:

"An exception of type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException' occurred in System.Data.dll but was not handled in user code

Additional information: Incorrect syntax near '='. "

And this is the code:

string position;

SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("server=free-pc\\FATMAH; Integrated Security=True; database=Workflow; ");
con.Open();
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT EmpName FROM Employee WHERE EmpID=" + id.Text, con);

SqlDataReader Read = cmd.ExecuteReader();

if (Read.Read()==true)
{
    position = Read[0].ToString();
    Response.Write("User Registration successful");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("No Employee found.");
}

Read.Close(); 

What is causing this, and how can I resolve it?

Answer 1

There are some problems with your code. First I advise to use parametrized queries so you avoid SQL Injection attacks and also parameter types are discovered by framework:

var cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT EmpName FROM Employee WHERE EmpID = @id", con);
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@id", id.Text);

Second, as you are interested only in one value getting returned from the query, it is better to use ExecuteScalar:

var name = cmd.ExecuteScalar();

if (name != null)
{
   position = name.ToString();
   Response.Write("User Registration successful");
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("No Employee found.");
}

The last thing is to wrap SqlConnection and SqlCommand into using so any resources used by those will be disposed of:

string position;

using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("server=free-pc\\FATMAH; Integrated Security=True; database=Workflow; "))
{
  con.Open();

  using (var cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT EmpName FROM Employee WHERE EmpID = @id", con))
  {
    cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@id", id.Text);
  
    var name = cmd.ExecuteScalar();
  
    if (name != null)
    {
       position = name.ToString();
       Response.Write("User Registration successful");
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("No Employee found.");
    }
  }
}