Saving any file to in the database, just convert it to a byte array?

Question

Is converting a file to a byte array the best way to save ANY file format to disk or database var binary column?

So if someone wants to save a .gif or .doc/.docx or .pdf file, can I just convert it to a bytearray UFT8 and save it to the db as a stream of bytes?

Answer 1

What database are you using? normally you don't save files to a database but i think sql 2008 has support for it...

A file is binary data hence UTF 8 does not matter here..

UTF 8 matters when you try to convert a string to a byte array... not a file to byte array.

Answer 2

Yes, generally the best way to store a file in a database is to save the byte array in a BLOB column. You will probably want a couple of columns to additionally store the file's metadata such as name, extension, and so on.

It is not always a good idea to store files in the database - for instance, the database size will grow fast if you store files in it. But that all depends on your usage scenario.

Answer 3

It really depends on the database server.

For example, SQL Server 2008 supports a FILESTREAM datatype for exactly this situation.

Other than that, if you use a MemoryStream, it has a ToArray() method that will convert to a byte[] - this can be used for populating a varbinary field..

Answer 4

While you can store files in this fashion, it has significant tradeoffs:

• Most DBs are not optimized for giant quantities of binary data, and query performance often degrades dramatically as the table bloats, even with indexes. (SQL Server 2008, with the FILESTREAM column type, is the exception to the rule.)
• DB backup/replication becomes extremely slow.
• It's a lot easier to handle a corrupted drive with 2 million images -- just replace the disk on the RAID -- than a DB table that becomes corrupted.
• If you accidentally delete a dozen images on a filesystem, your operations guys can replace them pretty easily from a backup, and since the table index is tiny by comparison, it can be restored quickly. If you accidentally delete a dozen images in a giant database table, you have a long and painful wait to restore the DB from backup, paralyzing your entire system in the meantime.

These are just some of the drawbacks I can come up with off the top of my head. For tiny projects it may be worth storing files in this fashion, but if you're designing enterprise-grade software I would strongly recommend against it.

Answer 5

Since it's not mentioned what database you mean I'm assuming SQL Server. Below solution works for both 2005 and 2008.

You have to create table with VARBINARY(MAX) as one of the columns. In my example I've created Table Raporty with column RaportPlik being VARBINARY(MAX) column.

Method to put file into database from drive:

    public static void databaseFilePut(string varFilePath) {
        byte[] file;
        using (var stream = new FileStream(varFilePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)) {
            using (var reader = new BinaryReader(stream)) {
                file = reader.ReadBytes((int) stream.Length);

            }

        }
        using (var varConnection = Locale.sqlConnectOneTime(Locale.sqlDataConnectionDetails))
        using (var sqlWrite = new SqlCommand("INSERT INTO Raporty (RaportPlik) Values(@File)", varConnection)) {
            sqlWrite.Parameters.Add("@File", SqlDbType.VarBinary, file.Length).Value = file;
            sqlWrite.ExecuteNonQuery();
        }
    }

This method is to get file from database and save it on drive:

    public static void databaseFileRead(string varID, string varPathToNewLocation) {
        using (var varConnection = Locale.sqlConnectOneTime(Locale.sqlDataConnectionDetails))
        using (var sqlQuery = new SqlCommand(@"SELECT [RaportPlik] FROM [dbo].[Raporty] WHERE [RaportID] = @varID", varConnection)) {
            sqlQuery.Parameters.AddWithValue("@varID", varID);
            using (var sqlQueryResult = sqlQuery.ExecuteReader())
                if (sqlQueryResult != null) {
                    sqlQueryResult.Read();
                    var blob = new Byte[(sqlQueryResult.GetBytes(0, 0, null, 0, int.MaxValue))];
                    sqlQueryResult.GetBytes(0, 0, blob, 0, blob.Length);
                    using (var fs = new FileStream(varPathToNewLocation, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write)) fs.Write(blob, 0, blob.Length);
                }
        }
    }

This method is to get file from database and put it as MemoryStream:

    public static MemoryStream databaseFileRead(string varID) {
        MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
        using (var varConnection = Locale.sqlConnectOneTime(Locale.sqlDataConnectionDetails))
        using (var sqlQuery = new SqlCommand(@"SELECT [RaportPlik] FROM [dbo].[Raporty] WHERE [RaportID] = @varID", varConnection)) {
            sqlQuery.Parameters.AddWithValue("@varID", varID);
            using (var sqlQueryResult = sqlQuery.ExecuteReader())
                if (sqlQueryResult != null) {
                    sqlQueryResult.Read();
                    var blob = new Byte[(sqlQueryResult.GetBytes(0, 0, null, 0, int.MaxValue))];
                    sqlQueryResult.GetBytes(0, 0, blob, 0, blob.Length);
                    //using (var fs = new MemoryStream(memoryStream, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write)) {
                    memoryStream.Write(blob, 0, blob.Length);
                    //}
                }
        }
        return memoryStream;
    }

This method is to put MemoryStream into database:

public static int databaseFilePut(MemoryStream fileToPut) {
        int varID = 0;
        byte[] file = fileToPut.ToArray();
        const string preparedCommand = @"
                    INSERT INTO [dbo].[Raporty]
                               ([RaportPlik])
                         VALUES
                               (@File)
                        SELECT [RaportID] FROM [dbo].[Raporty]
            WHERE [RaportID] = SCOPE_IDENTITY()
                    ";
        using (var varConnection = Locale.sqlConnectOneTime(Locale.sqlDataConnectionDetails))
        using (var sqlWrite = new SqlCommand(preparedCommand, varConnection)) {
            sqlWrite.Parameters.Add("@File", SqlDbType.VarBinary, file.Length).Value = file;

            using (var sqlWriteQuery = sqlWrite.ExecuteReader())
                while (sqlWriteQuery != null && sqlWriteQuery.Read()) {
                    varID = sqlWriteQuery["RaportID"] is int ? (int) sqlWriteQuery["RaportID"] : 0;
                }
        }
        return varID;
    }

Happy coding :-)