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.NET Framework 3.5
 GetDataSources Method
This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
SqlDataSourceEnumerator..::.GetDataSources Method

Updated: November 2007

Retrieves a DataTable containing information about all visible SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 instances.

Namespace:  System.Data.Sql
Assembly:  System.Data (in System.Data.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Overrides Function GetDataSources As DataTable
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As SqlDataSourceEnumerator
Dim returnValue As DataTable

returnValue = instance.GetDataSources()
C#
public override DataTable GetDataSources()
Visual C++
public:
virtual DataTable^ GetDataSources() override
J#
public DataTable GetDataSources()
JScript
public override function GetDataSources() : DataTable

Return Value

Type: System.Data..::.DataTable

Returns a DataTable containing information about the visible SQL Server instances.

The table returned by this method contains the following columns, all of which contain strings:

Column

Description

ServerName

Name of the server.

InstanceName

Name of the server instance. Blank if the server is running as the default instance.

IsClustered

Indicates whether the server is part of a cluster.

Version

Version of the server (8.00.x for SQL Server 2000, and 9.00.x for SQL Server 2005).

Note:

Due to the nature of the mechanism used by SqlDataSourceEnumerator to locate data sources on a network, the method will not always return a complete list of the available servers, and the list might not be the same on every call. If you plan to use this function to let users select a server from a list, make sure that you always also supply an option to type in a name that is not in the list, in case the server enumeration does not return all the available servers. In addition, this method may take a significant amount of time to execute, so be careful about calling it when performance is critical.

The following console application retrieves information about all the visible SQL Server instances and displays the information in the console window.

Visual Basic
Imports System.Data.Sql

Module Module1
  Sub Main()
    ' Retrieve the enumerator instance and then the data.
    Dim instance As SqlDataSourceEnumerator = _
     SqlDataSourceEnumerator.Instance
    Dim table As System.Data.DataTable = instance.GetDataSources()

    ' Display the contents of the table.
    DisplayData(table)

    Console.WriteLine("Press any key to continue.")
    Console.ReadKey()
  End Sub

  Private Sub DisplayData(ByVal table As DataTable)
    For Each row As DataRow In table.Rows
      For Each col As DataColumn In table.Columns
        Console.WriteLine("{0} = {1}", col.ColumnName, row(col))
      Next
      Console.WriteLine("============================")
    Next
  End Sub
End Module
C#
using System.Data.Sql;

class Program
{
  static void Main()
  {
    // Retrieve the enumerator instance and then the data.
    SqlDataSourceEnumerator instance =
      SqlDataSourceEnumerator.Instance;
    System.Data.DataTable table = instance.GetDataSources();

    // Display the contents of the table.
    DisplayData(table);

    Console.WriteLine("Press any key to continue.");
    Console.ReadKey();
  }

  private static void DisplayData(System.Data.DataTable table)
  {
    foreach (System.Data.DataRow row in table.Rows)
    {
      foreach (System.Data.DataColumn col in table.Columns)
      {
        Console.WriteLine("{0} = {1}", col.ColumnName, row[col]);
      }
      Console.WriteLine("============================");
    }
  }
}

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
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