Select from multiple tables in one call

Question

In my code I have a page that includes information from 3 different tables. To show this information I make 3 SQL select calls and unite them in one list to pass as Model to my view. Can I do it with one SQL call? Data has no connection with one another.

My code:

public ActionResult Index()
{
    StorePageData PageData = new StorePageData();
    return View(PageData);
}
public class StorePageData
{
     public List<Table1Data> Table1 { get; set; }
     public List<Table2Data> Table2 { get; set; }
     public List<Table3Data> Table3 { get; set; }

     public StorePageData()
     {
          Table1  = //loading from Database1
          Table2  = //loading from Database2
          Table3  = //loading from Database3
     }
}
public class Table1Data
{
     public int Id { get; set; }
     public double Info1 { get; set; }
     public string Info2 { get; set; }
}
public class Table2Data
{
     public int Id { get; set; }
     public List<int> Info1 { get; set; }
     public List<int> Info2 { get; set; }
}
public class Table3Data
{
     public int Id { get; set; }
     public List<string> Info1 { get; set; }
     public List<string> Info2 { get; set; }
}

If there is a way to load all 3 tables in one SQL request it will improve significantly the load time of this page.

Thank you.

Answer 1

You can get multiple result sets in a single request using a DataReader. You can use it with or without entity framework.

If you are using Entity Framework, you can pass a DbDataReader to ObjectContext.Translate method to translate multiple result set to requested object types. The command which is used to create the data reader can be a stored procedure, or you can simply use a command containing your queries to shape multiple result set.

Example

List<Table1> list1;
List<Table2> list2;

using (var cn = new SqlConnection(@"Connection String"))
{
    cn.Open();
    using (var cmd = cn.CreateCommand())
    {
        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM Table1; SELECT * FROM Table2";
        var reader = cmd.ExecuteReader(); 
        using (var db = new YourDbContext())
        {
            var context = ((IObjectContextAdapter)db).ObjectContext;
            list1 = context.Translate<Table1>(reader).ToList();
            reader.NextResult();
            list2 = context.Translate<Table2>(reader).ToList();
        }
    }
}

If you are using SqlDataAdapter, you can simply pass a command containing your queries and then using Fill, fill a data set. The data adapter itself will use DataReader behind the scene.

Example

var connectionString = @"Connection String";
var commandText = "SELECT * FROM Table1; SELECT * FROM Table2;";
var ds = new DataSet();
using (var da = new SqlDataAdapter(commandText, connectionString))
{
    da.Fill(ds);
}

Then you can shape the results to List<Table1> and List<Table2>.