How to insert List<> values into SQL Binary field using C#

Question

I'm not entirely new to programming but I still see myself as a novice. I'm currently creating an Invoicing system with a max of 5 line items, this being said, I'm creating a String<> item, serializing it to store and then de-serializing it to display. So far I've managed the serializing, and de-serializing, and from the de-serialized value I've managed to display the relevant information in the correct fields.

My question comes to: HOW do I add the list of items in the String<> object to either a Binary or XML field in my SQL table? I know it should be similar to adding an Image object to binary but there's a catch there. usually:

byte[] convertToByte(string sourcePath)
    { 
        //get the byte file size of image
        FileInfo fInfo = new FileInfo(sourcePath);
        long byteSize = fInfo.Length;

        //read the file using file stream
        FileStream fStream = new FileStream(sourcePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);

        //read again as byte using binary reader
        BinaryReader binRead = new BinaryReader(fStream);

        //convert image to byte (already)
        byte[] data = binRead.ReadBytes((int)byteSize);

        return data;
    }

this kind of thing is done for an image however the whole "long" thing does not apply to the List<> object.

Any assistance would be helpful

Answer 1

If you simply want to store your data as "readable" text, you can use the varchar(MAX) or nvarchar(MAX) (depending on whether you need extended character support). That translates directly into a string in ADO.NET or EntityFramework.

If all you need are bytes from a string, the Encoding class will do that:

System.Text.Encoding.Default.GetBytes(yourstring);

See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ds4kkd55%28v=vs.110%29.aspx

Answer 2

A way of saving a binary file in a string is to convert the image to a Base64 string. This can be done with the Convert.ToBase64String (Byte[]) method:

Convert.ToBase64String msdn

string convertImageToBase64(string sourcePath)
{ 
    //get the byte file size of image
    FileInfo fInfo = new FileInfo(sourcePath);
    long byteSize = fInfo.Length;

    //read the file using file stream
    FileStream fStream = new FileStream(sourcePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);

    //read again as byte using binary reader
    BinaryReader binRead = new BinaryReader(fStream);

    //convert image to byte (already)
    byte[] data = binRead.ReadBytes((int)byteSize);

    return Convert.ToBase64String (data);
}

Now you will be able to save the Base64 string in a string field in your database.