how to convert varbinary<> to byte array

Question

public byte[] ReturndbImage()
    {
        Image_table table = new Image_table();
        var row = from s in db.Image_tables
                  where s.Id == 1
                  select s.imag;
        byte[] b = null ;
        int cou = row.Count();
        b = (byte[])(row).Single().ToArray(); 
        return b;
    }

hi i am using Microsoft visual studio 2013 and I am trying to get image stored in database using linq .i am unable to get image. my image is stored in db as varbinary<> .I am unable to convert back to binary[].i have records in database It still give null value.

Which ORM are you using? If it's Entity Framework then normally, IIRC, the `imag` property should already be of type `Byte[]`. Also, the fact that you have records doesn't mean that your records doesn't hold null values for `imag`. — Crono, May 14 '14 at 17:45
What is being returned in `row`? Your code doesn't have any obvious errors that jump out. — Ben Black, May 14 '14 at 17:46
[This might help you](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12482687/datatable-with-a-byte-field-as-parameter-to-a-stored-procedure) — kei, May 14 '14 at 17:48
i am trying to get varbinary<> column values from database.in row i am trying to store that varbinary data . — user3402966, May 14 '14 at 17:54
@user3402966 Not answering comments is the best way to get your question closed as "unclear what your asking". — Gert Arnold, May 14 '14 at 18:42

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered May 14 '14 at 18:16

You should probably just return the image from your Data Base as an Image rather than a byte[].

if s.imag is of type VARBINARY then LINQ will contain it as System.Data.Linq.Binary, so you can just create the image directly from that binary, using a MemoryStream.

Try the following:

public Image ReturnDbImage()
{
    var dbBinary = (from s in db.Image_tables
               where s.Id ==1
               select s.imag).FirstOrDefault();
    if (dbBinary == null)
    {
        //Handle the issue
    }
    else
    {
        using (var ms = new MemoryStream(dbBinary.ToArray()))
        {
            Image img = Image.FromStream(ms);
            return img;
        }
    }
}

I have removed the unnecessary variables cou and table from the method as you are not using them anywhere.

A few upvotes for old times sake. Slowly, so they dont get reversed. — crthompson, Oct 20 '14 at 20:12

how to convert varbinary<> to byte array

1 Answers1