6/9/2015

ImprovePerformanceandScalabilityofADO.NETCode

In Focus

Ask a Question

TECHNOLOGIES

ANSWERS

BLOGS

VIDEOS

INTERVIEWS

BOOKS

Getting Started With Windows 10 Uni ...

ARTICLE

Alankrit

C# Corner Chandigarh Chapter: Learn Asynchronous & Parallel Programming, AngularJS, SignalR

NEWS

CHAPTERS

CAREER ADVICE

Contribute

JOBS

C#CornerSearch

READER LEVEL:

Improve Performance and Scalability of

ADO.NET Code
By Sourav Kayal on Oct 22, 2013

This article expects that you have enough hands on experience in ADO.NET and good
understanding of ADO.NET architecture.

7.9 k

This article assumes you have suffcient handson experience in ADO.NET and a suffcient understanding of the
ADO.NET architecture. If you don't then I suggest you go through the MSDN for those topics. In this article we
would like to explain how to improve performance and the scalability of ADO.NET data access.

TRENDING UP

01

Partial View in MVC

reduce thousands of headaches in production environments and improves response times too.

02

Getting Started With Windows 10

Universal App Platform (UAP)

Remind basic concept

03

Basics of JavaScript: Part 5 (String

Functions)

The following is a reminder of a few basic concepts very quickly to brush up on our ADO.NET skills. If you are
currently working on the same topic in your organization then you may skip the following.

04

Implement Search, Paging and Sort in

MVC 5

What is ADO.NET

05

Introduction to JQuery.ajax Call in

ASP.Net

ADO.NET is nothing but a set of classes along with the .NET class library to talk with various databases and one or

06

See What's New in C# 6 and Visual

Studio 2015

more data sources.

07

What .NET 2015 Is

ADO.NET relies on data provides to provide access to the underlying data source. Each data provider exposes a set

08

WPF MultiValue Converters

09

Converters in WPF

10

WPF Value Converters

If you are an experienced software developer then you must know the importance of databases and a good data
access mechanism to improve performance and the scalability of an application. Good data access mechanisms

of objects that we can be used to manage a connection, retrieve data and update data. The core objects are:
Connection
Reader
Adapter
Command

View All

Now, depending on the underlying database, the object may differ. For example if we use SQLServer as our
backend then to make a connection we need to use a of SqlConnection object whereas it is MySQLConnection and
OracleConnection for MySQL and Oracle correspondingly. I hope you are familiar with the above ADO.NET
components and have used them in your daily work.

Follow@csharpcorner

22.2Kfollowers

FindusonFacebook

C#Corner
Abstracting Data Access
ADO.NET is designed around a set of generic interfaces that abstract the underlying data processing functionality.

Like

91,616peoplelikeC#Corner.

We can directly use those interfaces to abstract our data access layer so that we can minimize the impact of
changing the type of data source that we use in our application. This kind of data access is very helpful when a
choice in databases is available to the customer.
The core interface provided by ADO.NET are found in the System.Data namespace as in the following:
IDbConnection: This is an interface for managing database connection.
IDbComand: This is an interface for running SQL command.
IDbTransaction : This is an interface for managing transaction
IDataReader: This is an interface for reading data returned by a command.
IDataAdapter: This is an interface for channeling data to and from interface.

http://www.csharpcorner.com/UploadFile/dacca2/improveperformanceandscalabilityofadonetcode/

1/4

6/9/2015

ImprovePerformanceandScalabilityofADO.NETCode

So, those are the interfaces we can use to implement a platformindependent data access operation. Now, let's
explain a few causes of a slowrunning database operation.
Why is my application slow?
There might be thousands of reasons for that. In this article we will narrow down those reasons and we will explain
the issues only related to database operations. Those are the main issues that can adversely affect the performance
and scalability of data access in applications.
Inefficient query
Sometimes we do not care about the proper condition to query a database. The result caused by an insufficient
condition is unnecessary data access and slow response. For example, sometimes we write "SELECT * FROM TABLE"
that returns all rows of the table. We can customize the query by specifying a column name with a condition. Even if
you want to fetch all records, don't use '*' to do it. Specify the column names of the table one by one.
No Indexes
Never ever create any table without an index, if there is no index or key in a table then a table scan operation is
done, so to improve search functionality we definitely should specify an index. Now, the question is, what column to
use for an index? The answer is beyond the scope of this article. So, it's better to say to use the proper column and
data type to specify an index.
Don't forget to enable connection pooling
As we know, a connection object is very specious and costly to create. And by nature, a specious and valuable thing
we handle with care. The same is true for a connection object. We should not keep any open connection after our
database operation. The golden rule for connection management is to open the connection as late as possible and
close the connection as early as possible. In other words, don't open a connection for a long time. And we need to
keep in mind that our connection object is reuseable. The concept if connection pooling is that, after finishing the
operation, the connection objectis stored in the pool. It is reuseable for other database operations.
Transaction misuse
If you select the wrong type of transaction management then you may add latency to each operation. Beside that, if
you keep a transaction open for a long time then it might block some other transaction being performed and may
cause a deadlock.
Don't forget to use proper visibility scope in order to avoid dirty read.
Overly normalized table
Normalization is good but over normalizing is bad. Avoid over normalizing a table to reduce join operations. As we
know, a join query is a very timeconsuming operation.
So those are the basic mistakes we canmake during the development of an application. Now let's understand a few
guidelines to implement the proper ADO.NET implementation.
Design consideration
To ensure that a data access application is optimized for performance, there are a few concepts we need to keep in
mind during implementation.
Design your data access layer based on how the data is used
Yes, before choose any data access layer, first analyze the type of application. In the current MARKET

there are

many thirdparty data access layers like Entity Framework, NHibernate and many more but before choosing them
blindly let's determine whether those are realy necessary. Because those layers are nothing but an abstraction over
a database and at the day's end everything converts to ADO.NET code.
The data access logic layer provides exposed data and functionality based on how the data is used and abstracts
the underlying data store complexity.
Do not arbitrarily map objects to tables and columns, and avoid deep object hierarchies. For example, if we want to
display a subset of data and if the design retrieves an entire object to be processed then we are fetching

http://www.csharpcorner.com/UploadFile/dacca2/improveperformanceandscalabilityofadonetcode/

2/4

6/9/2015

ImprovePerformanceandScalabilityofADO.NETCode

unnecessary data from the database.

Cache data to reduce unnecessary work
Caching data can reduce the load on the database server. By caching data, we can avoid the overhead of
connecting to a database again and aging in order to process the same operation. The question is when to cache
data? Those are a few scenarios where we can cache data in an application.
If the data is used applicationwide and shared by all users, for example a list of products then we can cache
the data to improve performance.
Try to cache data as near as possible to the user. The best form of data to cache is usually determined by the
form that your clients require the data to be in. Try to reduce the number of times that you need to transfer
data.
Consider the mechanism that you will use to clear old items from the cache and what is the best expiration
time for your application.
Use service account in order to performance
If security is the first concern then use Windows Authentication. If not then use a fixed service account to the
database connection and avoid impersonation. The fixed service account is typically the process account of the
application. By using a fixed service account and a consistent connection string, we can ensure that connection
pooling is working efficiently and the same connection object is shareable across multiple clients.
Acquire Late, Release Early
Keep this golden rule for opening database connections and transactions. Open a database connection right when
we need it. Close the database connection as soon as we are finished with it. Do not open them early or keep them
open during some other operation. This is true for a lock also. Acquire locks late, and release them early.
Dispose after finish
If any class implements the IDisposiable interface then we can call the Dispose method by it's object . Most of the
database objects can dispose by calling the Dispose method. If possible, always use them after finishing the
operation. It is better to use a using block to do it automatically.
Use a Stored Procedure rather than embedded query
The ultimate goal for this point is to store an execution plan in the database server. If we use a Stored Procedure
then SQL Server can cache the execution plan in memory whereas that is not possible if we use an embedded
query. If it is not possible to use a Stored Procedure then an alternative is to write a parameterized query. The
following are a few more advantages of Stored Procedures:
Logic separation: We can separate all our database operation logic from the application using the Stored
Procedure.
Reduce network traffic: Using the Store procedure it's possible to reduce network traffic. Hence performance
improves.
Simplified batch of command: A Stored Procedure makes it easy to batch work and provide simpler
maintenance.
Avoid SQL Injection: This is the simplest method to avoid SQL Injection.
Conclusion
So, those are a few suggestions from my side for improving performance of an ADO.NET operation. Hope you have
understood them. You can add your own suggestions by a few keystrokes in the comments section.

Sourav Kayal
I am .NET learner passionate logger, like to .NET eat and sleep. Have little experience in
Web technology with new development platform including node.js, MVC Web API. Feel
free to teach me .NET.
Personal Blog:http://ctrlcvprogrammer.blogspot.com

Rank

2.5m

Platinum

http://www.csharpcorner.com/UploadFile/dacca2/improveperformanceandscalabilityofadonetcode/

3/4

6/9/2015

ImprovePerformanceandScalabilityofADO.NETCode

Readers

25

Member

Times

RELATED ARTICLES
5 Tips to Improve Your C# Code: Part 2
Improve Performance of Word 2013
Using Regions to Improve Code Readability
Glue IIS with Business Logical Tier using
Batching, Asynchrony, and Parallel
Computation
Caching in ASP.NET

Tips to Improve the Performance of ASP.Net

Application
5 Tips to Improve Performance of C# Code
C# .NET Application Design Considerations
Scalability in SQL Azure
Tips to improve the performance in ASP.Net
application

2 of 2

COMMENTS

If we query a table on a column that is not indexed, then will the primary index prevent a table
scan operation being done? If not, then if we never query on the primary index then I do not
see the value of the primary index for that table. Also, if we always read every record of a table,
then would the primary index be efficient or inefficient?
Oct 22, 2013

Sam Hobbs
9 9.4k 674.5k

Post Reply

Since we need to open a connection late, it is possible that we might waste the user's time
when a connection fails. Is there a way to test a connection early?
Oct 22, 2013

Sam Hobbs
9 9.4k 674.5k

Post Reply

Type your comment here and press Enter Key....

Follow Comments

COMMENT USING
Addacomment...
AlsopostonFacebook

PostingasAlankritPatnaik

Comment

Facebooksocialplugin

MVPs

MOST VIEWED

PHOTOS
CONTACT US

LEGENDS

CODE SNIPPETS
PRIVACY POLICY

NOW

PRIZES

CONSULTING
TERMS & CONDITIONS

REVIEWS

TRAINING
SITEMAP

SURVEY

CERTIFICATIONS

STUDENTS

MEMBERS

Hosted By CBeyond Cloud Services

DOWNLOADS

MEDIA KIT

ABOUT US

LINKS

IDEAS

REPORT ABUSE

2015 C# Corner. All contents are copyright of their authors.

http://www.csharpcorner.com/UploadFile/dacca2/improveperformanceandscalabilityofadonetcode/

4/4