How can i return more than one value from a function in vb 2008?

Question

The issue i'm having is i'm trying to build a small class that handles connecting and disconnecting from an sql server so that i don't have to worry about it after setting the initial connection properties i'm new to using system.data.sqlclient and vb 2008 basically this is my code:

 Public Function ExecuteQuery(ByVal SqlStatement As String) As System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader
        Dim DbConnection As New SqlClient.SqlConnection(GetConnectionString)
        Dim DbCommand As New SqlClient.SqlCommand(SqlStatement)

        Try
            DbCommand.Connection = DbConnection
            DbConnection.Open()
            ExecuteQuery = DbCommand.ExecuteReader()

        Catch ex As Exception

            Debug.Print(ex.Description)

        End Try

        DbConnection.Dispose()
        DbCommand.Dispose()
    End Function

What i want to be able to do is 1. return the SqlDataReader (which i believe ExecuteReader returns) and return any potential errors that may have occured should i just be trying to handle the null reference exception if it occurs (which would indicate a problem of sorts returning the reader) or how can i return the error code as well as the reader?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Create a helper class with fields to hold the two return parameters. Then return an instance of your class holding the data reader and errors.

Calling Dispose() never hurts.

TheMadProfessor · Answer

While you can only return one value, you could pass the address of  whatever else (exception flags, etc.) to the function parameters to be interrogated after return.

Mohsen · Answer

you can either create a structure holding these return values and return the structure or return an array of object that holds your return values.

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How can i return more than one value from a function in vb 2008?

3 Answers