How to store query results in a variable

Question

I am trying to store the results of a MySql query into a variable so that I can output the result as part of a sentence.

The query is as follows:

MySqlCommand command = conn.CreateCommand();
command.CommandText = "select count(*) from customerdetails";
conn.Open();
command.ExecuteNonQuery(); 

I have read other forums and they have spoken about a method using "addwithvalue" however this hasnt been successful when I have used it, and the query result hasn't been outputted.

Answer 1

ExecuteNonQuery() is used for doing any insert, updates or delete operations only.

ExecuteNonQuery :

Executes a Transact-SQL statement against the connection and returns the number of rows affected.

For selecting data you need to use ExecuteReader() which will read the data from the table in a sequential way.

ExecuteReader :

Sends the CommandText to the Connection and builds a SqlDataReader .

So you will have to write it like:

MySqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();
int rowsCount = 0;
if(reader.Read())
{
   rowsCount = reader.GetInt32(0);
}