CloneColumnsFrom Method

Overview

The CloneColumnsFrom method clones column metadata from one table into another table. For every column in the source table, it creates a new ColumnMetadata instance, copies all metadata properties, and adds the cloned column metadata to the target table.

This method clones schema only (column metadata). It does not clone rows. To clone both schema and rows, use Clone (which calls CloneColumnsFrom and CloneRowsFrom).

Declaration

/// <summary>
/// Clones columns from the source data table
/// </summary>
/// <param name="dataTable">Data table</param>
/// <param name="sourceDataTable">Source data table</param>
public static void CloneColumnsFrom(this IDataTable? dataTable, IDataTable? sourceDataTable)

Namespace and Assembly

Namespace: PocoDataSet.Extensions
Assembly: PocoDataSet.Extensions.dll

Behavior

• If clonedDataTable is null or dataTable is null, the method returns immediately.
• Iterates through dataTable.Columns and for each IColumnMetadata:
  • Creates a new ColumnMetadata instance.
  • Copies metadata properties such as ColumnName, DataType, nullability, PK/FK flags, display metadata, and reference metadata.
  • Adds the cloned metadata into clonedDataTable.Columns.
• The method does not clear existing columns in clonedDataTable; it appends cloned columns to the current list.

Usage Example

The following example shows how to clone column metadata from Department into a new table:

// 1. Create an empty data set
IDataSet dataSet = DataSetFactory.CreateDataSet();

// 2. Create an empty Department table
IDataTable departmentDataTable = dataSet.AddNewTable("Department");
departmentDataTable.AddColumn("Id", DataTypeNames.INT32);
departmentDataTable.AddColumn("Name", DataTypeNames.STRING);

// 3. Create an empty ClonedDepartment table
IDataTable clonedDepartmentDataTable = new DataTable();
clonedDepartmentDataTable.TableName = departmentDataTable.TableName;

// 4. Clone only the column metadata (schema)
clonedDepartmentDataTable.CloneColumnsFrom(departmentDataTable);

Notes

• This method copies column metadata into new ColumnMetadata instances. The cloned table does not share IColumnMetadata object references with the source table.
• The method does not validate for duplicate column names in the destination table. If clonedDataTable already contains columns, you should ensure you are not creating duplicates.

 

Table of Content POCO DataSet DataTable Extensions Group DataTable Members

 

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Business Process Programming in .Net
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