OracleCommand

OracleCommand is a class within the Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET) that represents a Transact-SQL statement or stored procedure to be executed against an Oracle database. It is a fundamental component for interacting with an Oracle database from a .NET application.

An OracleCommand object allows developers to define a SQL query or the name of a stored procedure. This command can then be associated with an OracleConnection object, which establishes the connection to the database. When the command is executed, the ODP.NET provider sends the command text to the Oracle database through the active connection.

Key properties of OracleCommand include CommandText, which holds the SQL statement or stored procedure name, and CommandType, which specifies whether CommandText represents a SQL statement, a stored procedure, or a table name. Parameters can be added to the Command object using the Parameters collection. This is crucial for preventing SQL injection vulnerabilities and for passing dynamic values to the database.

OracleCommand objects are typically used with OracleDataReader for retrieving data, OracleNonQuery for executing DML statements like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE, or for calling stored procedures that do not return a result set. The ExecuteNonQuery method returns the number of rows affected by the command, while ExecuteReader returns an OracleDataReader to iterate over the results. The ExecuteScalar method returns the first column of the first row of the result set.

Proper management of OracleCommand objects, including their disposal after use, is essential for efficient resource utilization and to prevent potential memory leaks or connection pool issues. This is often achieved using the using statement in C#.