Access FILESTREAM Data with OpenSqlFilestream
Applies to: 
SQL Server
The OpenSqlFilestream API obtains a Win32 compatible file handle for a FILESTREAM binary large object (BLOB) stored in the file system. The handle can be passed to any of the following Win32 APIs: ReadFile, WriteFile, TransmitFile, SetFilePointer, SetEndOfFile, or FlushFileBuffers. If you pass this handle to any other Win32 API, the error ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED is returned. The handle must be closed by passing it to the Win32 CloseHandle API before the transaction is committed or rolled back. Failing to close the handle will cause server-side resource leaks.
You must perform All FILESTREAM data container access in a SQL Server transaction. Transact-SQL statements can also be executed in the same transaction. This maintains consistency between the SQL data and FILESTREAM BLOB data.
To access the FILESTREAM BLOB by using Win32, Windows Authorization must be enabled.
Important
When the file is opened for write access, the transaction is owned by the FILESTREAM agent. Only Win32 file I/O is allowed until the transaction is released. To release the transaction, the write handle must be closed.
Syntax
HANDLE OpenSqlFilestream (
LPCWSTR FilestreamPath,
SQL_FILESTREAM_DESIRED_ACCESS DesiredAccess,
ULONG OpenOptions,
LPBYTE FilestreamTransactionContext,
SIZE_T FilestreamTransactionContextLength,
PLARGE_INTEGER AllocationSize);
Parameters
FilestreamPath
[in] Is the nvarchar(max) path that is returned by the PathName function. PathName must be called from the context of an account that has SQL Server SELECT or UPDATE permissions on the FILESTREAM table and column.
DesiredAccess
[in] Sets the mode used to access FILESTREAM BLOB data. This value is passed to the DeviceIoControl Function.
| Name | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| SQL_FILESTREAM_READ | 0 | Data can be read from the file. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_WRITE | 1 | Data can be written to the file. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_READWRITE | 2 | Data can be read and written from the file. |
Note
These values are defined in the SQL_FILESTREAM_DESIRED_ACCESS enumeration in msoledbsql.h.
OpenOptions
[in] The file attributes and flags. This parameter can also include any combination of the following flags.
| Flag | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_NONE | 0x00000000: | The file is being opened or created with no special options. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_FLAG_ASYNC | 0x00000001L | The file is being opened or created for asynchronous I/O. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING | 0x00000002L | The system opens the file by using no system caching. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_FLAG_NO_WRITE_THROUGH | 0x00000004L | The system does not write through an intermediate cache. Writes go directly to disk. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_FLAG_SEQUENTIAL_SCAN | 0x00000008L | A file is accessed sequentially from beginning to end. The system can use this as a hint to optimize file caching. If an application moves the file pointer for random access, optimal caching may not occur. |
| SQL_FILESTREAM_OPEN_FLAG_RANDOM_ACCESS | 0x00000010L | A file is accessed randomly. The system can use this as a hint to optimize file caching. |
FilestreamTransactionContext
[in] The value that is returned by the GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT function.
FilestreamTransactionContextLength
[in] Number of bytes in the varbinary(max) data that is returned by the GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT function. The function returns an array of N bytes. N is determined by the function and is a property of the byte array that is returned.
AllocationSize
[in] Specifies the initial allocation size of the data file in bytes. It is ignored in read mode. This parameter can be NULL, in which case the default file system behavior is used.
Return Value
If the function succeeds, the return value is an open handle to a specified file. If the function fails, the return value is INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE. For extended error information, call GetLastError().
Examples
The following examples show you how to use the OpenSqlFilestream API to obtain a Win32 handle.
using System.IO;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data.SqlTypes;
namespace FILESTREAM
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
SqlConnection sqlConnection = new SqlConnection(
"Integrated Security=true;server=(local)");
SqlCommand sqlCommand = new SqlCommand();
sqlCommand.Connection = sqlConnection;
try
{
sqlConnection.Open();
//The first task is to retrieve the file path
//of the SQL FILESTREAM BLOB that we want to
//access in the application.
sqlCommand.CommandText =
"SELECT Chart.PathName()"
+ " FROM Archive.dbo.Records"
+ " WHERE SerialNumber = 3";
String filePath = null;
Object pathObj = sqlCommand.ExecuteScalar();
if (DBNull.Value != pathObj)
filePath = (string)pathObj;
else
{
throw new System.Exception(
"Chart.PathName() failed"
+ " to read the path name "
+ " for the Chart column.");
}
//The next task is to obtain a transaction
//context. All FILESTREAM BLOB operations
//occur within a transaction context to
//maintain data consistency.
//All SQL FILESTREAM BLOB access must occur in
//a transaction. MARS-enabled connections
//have specific rules for batch scoped transactions,
//which the Transact-SQL BEGIN TRANSACTION statement
//violates. To avoid this issue, client applications
//should use appropriate API facilities for transaction management,
//management, such as the SqlTransaction class.
SqlTransaction transaction = sqlConnection.BeginTransaction("mainTranaction");
sqlCommand.Transaction = transaction;
sqlCommand.CommandText =
"SELECT GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT()";
Object obj = sqlCommand.ExecuteScalar();
byte[] txContext = (byte[])obj;
//The next step is to obtain a handle that
//can be passed to the Win32 FILE APIs.
SqlFileStream sqlFileStream = new SqlFileStream(filePath, txContext, FileAccess.ReadWrite);
byte[] buffer = new byte[512];
int numBytes = 0;
//Write the string, "EKG data." to the FILESTREAM BLOB.
//In your application this string would be replaced with
//the binary data that you want to write.
string someData = "EKG data.";
Encoding unicode = Encoding.GetEncoding(0);
sqlFileStream.Write(unicode.GetBytes(someData.ToCharArray()),
0,
Encoding.GetBytes());
//Read the data from the FILESTREAM
//BLOB.
sqlFileStream.Seek(0L, SeekOrigin.Begin);
numBytes = sqlFileStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
string readData = unicode.GetString(buffer);
if (numBytes != 0)
Console.WriteLine(readData);
//Because reading and writing are finished, FILESTREAM
//must be closed. This closes the c# FileStream class,
//but does not necessarily close the underlying
//FILESTREAM handle.
sqlFileStream.Close();
//The final step is to commit or roll back the read and write
//operations that were performed on the FILESTREAM BLOB.
sqlCommand.Transaction.Commit();
}
catch (System.Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
finally
{
sqlConnection.Close();
}
return;
}
}
}
Imports System.IO
Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Data.SqlTypes
Module Module1
Public Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
' Dim sqlConnection As New SqlConnection("Integrated Security=true;server=(local)")
Dim sqlConnection As New SqlConnection("Integrated Security=true;server=kellyreyue\MSSQL1")
Dim sqlCommand As New SqlCommand()
sqlCommand.Connection = sqlConnection
Try
sqlConnection.Open()
'The first task is to retrieve the file path
'of the SQL FILESTREAM BLOB that we want to
'access in the application.
sqlCommand.CommandText = "SELECT Chart.PathName()" + " FROM Archive.dbo.Records" + " WHERE SerialNumber = 3"
Dim filePath As String = Nothing
Dim pathObj As Object = sqlCommand.ExecuteScalar()
If Not pathObj.Equals(DBNull.Value) Then
filePath = DirectCast(pathObj, String)
Else
Throw New System.Exception("Chart.PathName() failed" + " to read the path name " + " for the Chart column.")
End If
'The next task is to obtain a transaction
'context. All FILESTREAM BLOB operations
'occur within a transaction context to
'maintain data consistency.
'All SQL FILESTREAM BLOB access must occur in
'a transaction. MARS-enabled connections
'have specific rules for batch scoped transactions,
'which the Transact-SQL BEGIN TRANSACTION statement
'violates. To avoid this issue, client applications
'should use appropriate API facilities for transaction management,
'management, such as the SqlTransaction class.
Dim transaction As SqlTransaction = sqlConnection.BeginTransaction("mainTranaction")
sqlCommand.Transaction = transaction
sqlCommand.CommandText = "SELECT GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT()"
Dim obj As Object = sqlCommand.ExecuteScalar()
Dim txContext As Byte() = Nothing
Dim contextLength As UInteger
If Not obj.Equals(DBNull.Value) Then
txContext = DirectCast(obj, Byte())
contextLength = txContext.Length()
Else
Dim message As String = "GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT() failed"
Throw New System.Exception(message)
End If
'The next step is to obtain a handle that
'can be passed to the Win32 FILE APIs.
Dim sqlFileStream As New SqlFileStream(filePath, txContext, FileAccess.ReadWrite)
Dim buffer As Byte() = New Byte(511) {}
Dim numBytes As Integer = 0
'Write the string, "EKG data." to the FILESTREAM BLOB.
'In your application this string would be replaced with
'the binary data that you want to write.
Dim someData As String = "EKG data."
Dim unicode As Encoding = Encoding.GetEncoding(0)
sqlFileStream.Write(unicode.GetBytes(someData.ToCharArray()), 0, Encoding.GetBytes())
'Read the data from the FILESTREAM
'BLOB.
sqlFileStream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin)
numBytes = sqlFileStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
Dim readData As String = unicode.GetString(buffer)
If numBytes <> 0 Then
Console.WriteLine(readData)
End If
'Because reading and writing are finished, FILESTREAM
'must be closed. This closes the c# FileStream class,
'but does not necessarily close the underlying
'FILESTREAM handle.
sqlFileStream.Close()
'The final step is to commit or roll back the read and write
'operations that were performed on the FILESTREAM BLOB.
sqlCommand.Transaction.Commit()
Catch ex As System.Exception
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString())
Finally
sqlConnection.Close()
End Try
Return
End Sub
End Module
#include <windows.h>
#include <sql.h>
#include<sqltypes.h>
#include<sqlext.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <msodbcsql.h>
#define COPYBUFFERSIZE 4096
/// <summary>
///This class iterates though the ODBC error queue and prints all of the
///accumulated error messages to the console.
/// </summary>
class ODBCErrors
{
private:
int m_iLine; //Source code line on which the error occurred
SQLSMALLINT m_type; //Type of handle on which the error occurred
SQLHANDLE m_handle; //ODBC handle on which the error occurred
public:
/// <summary>
///Default constructor for the ODBCErrors class
///</summary>
ODBCErrors()
{
m_iLine = -1;
m_type = 0;
m_handle = SQL_NULL_HANDLE;
}
/// <summary>
///Constructor for the ODBCErrors class
/// </summary>
/// <param name="iLine">
/// This parameter is the source code line
/// at which the error occurred.
///</param>
/// <param name="type">
/// This parameter is the type of ODBC handle passed in
/// the next parameter.
///</param>
/// <param name="handle">
/// This parameter is the handle on which the error occurred.
///</param>
ODBCErrors(int iLine, SQLSMALLINT type, SQLHANDLE handle)
{
m_iLine = iLine;
m_type = type;
m_handle = handle;
}
///<summary>
/// This method iterates though the error stack for the handle passed
/// into the constructor and displays those errors on the console.
///</summary>
void Print()
{
SQLSMALLINT i = 0, len = 0;
SQLINTEGER native;
SQLTCHAR state[9], text[256];
SQLRETURN sqlReturn = SQL_SUCCESS;
if ( m_handle == SQL_NULL_HANDLE )
{
wprintf_s(TEXT("The error handle is not a valid handle.\n"), m_iLine);
return;
}
wprintf_s(TEXT("Error Line(%d)\n"), m_iLine);
while( sqlReturn == SQL_SUCCESS )
{
len = 0;
sqlReturn = SQLGetDiagRec(
m_type,
m_handle,
++i,
state,
&native,
text,
sizeof(text)/sizeof(SQLTCHAR),
&len);
if ( SQL_SUCCEEDED(sqlReturn) )
wprintf_s(TEXT("Error(%d, %ld, %s) : %s\n"), i, native, state, text);
}
}
};
BOOL CopyFileToSQL(LPTSTR srcFilePath, LPTSTR dstFilePath, LPBYTE transactionToken, SQLINTEGER cbTransactionToken)
{
BOOL bRetCode = FALSE;
HANDLE srcHandle = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
HANDLE dstHandle = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
BYTE buffer[COPYBUFFERSIZE] = { 0 };
TCHAR *szErrMsgSrc = TEXT("Error opening source file.");
TCHAR *szErrMsgDst = TEXT("Error opening destFile file.");
TCHAR *szErrMsgRead = TEXT("Error reading source file.");
TCHAR *szErrMsgWrite = TEXT("Error writing SQL file.");
try
{
if ( (srcHandle = CreateFile(
srcFilePath,
GENERIC_READ,
FILE_SHARE_READ,
NULL,
OPEN_EXISTING,
FILE_FLAG_SEQUENTIAL_SCAN,
NULL)) == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE )
throw szErrMsgSrc;
if ( (dstHandle = OpenSqlFilestream(
dstFilePath,
Write,
0,
transactionToken,
cbTransactionToken,
0)) == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
throw szErrMsgDst;
DWORD bytesRead = 0;
DWORD bytesWritten = 0;
do
{
if ( ReadFile(srcHandle, buffer, COPYBUFFERSIZE, &bytesRead, NULL) == 0 )
throw szErrMsgRead;
if (bytesRead > 0)
{
if ( WriteFile(dstHandle, buffer, bytesRead, &bytesWritten, NULL) == 0 )
throw szErrMsgWrite;
}
} while (bytesRead > 0);
bRetCode = TRUE;
}
catch( TCHAR *szErrMsg )
{
wprintf_s(szErrMsg);
bRetCode = FALSE;
}
if ( srcHandle != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE )
CloseHandle(srcHandle);
if ( dstHandle != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE )
CloseHandle(dstHandle);
return bRetCode;
}
void main()
{
TCHAR *sqlDBQuery =
TEXT("INSERT INTO Archive.dbo.Records(Id, SerialNumber, Chart)")
TEXT(" OUTPUT GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT(), inserted.Chart.PathName()")
TEXT("VALUES (newid (), 5, CONVERT(VARBINARY, '**Temp**'))");
SQLCHAR transactionToken[32];
SQLHANDLE henv = SQL_NULL_HANDLE;
SQLHANDLE hdbc = SQL_NULL_HANDLE;
SQLHANDLE hstmt = SQL_NULL_HANDLE;
try
{
//These statements Initialize ODBC for the client application and
//connect to the database.
if ( SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, SQL_NULL_HANDLE, &henv) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_ENV, henv);
if ( SQLSetEnvAttr(henv, SQL_ATTR_ODBC_VERSION,(void*)SQL_OV_ODBC3, NULL) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_ENV, henv);
if ( SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, henv, &hdbc) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_ENV, henv);
//This code assumes that the dataset name "Sql Server FILESTREAM"
//has been previously created on the client computer system. An
//ODBC DSN is created with the ODBC Data Source item in
//the Windows Control Panel.
if ( SQLConnect(hdbc, TEXT("Sql Server FILESTREAM"),
SQL_NTS, NULL, 0, NULL, 0) <= 0 )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hdbc);
//FILESTREAM requires that all read and write operations occur
//within a transaction.
if ( SQLSetConnectAttr(hdbc,
SQL_ATTR_AUTOCOMMIT,
(SQLPOINTER)SQL_AUTOCOMMIT_OFF,
SQL_IS_UINTEGER) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hdbc);
if ( SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hdbc, &hstmt) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hdbc);
if ( SQLExecDirect(hstmt, sqlDBQuery, SQL_NTS) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
//Retrieve the transaction token.
if ( SQLFetch(hstmt) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
SQLINTEGER cbTransactionToken = sizeof(transactionToken);
if ( SQLGetData(hstmt, 1,
SQL_C_BINARY,
transactionToken,
sizeof(transactionToken),
&cbTransactionToken) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
//Retrieve the file path for the inserted record.
TCHAR dstFilePath[1024];
SQLINTEGER cbDstFilePath;
if ( SQLGetData(hstmt, 2, SQL_C_TCHAR, dstFilePath, sizeof(dstFilePath), &cbDstFilePath) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
if ( SQLCloseCursor(hstmt) != SQL_SUCCESS )
throw new ODBCErrors(__LINE__, SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
SQLUSMALLINT mode = SQL_ROLLBACK;
if ( CopyFileToSQL(
TEXT("C:\\Users\\Data\\chart1.jpg"),
dstFilePath,
transactionToken,
cbTransactionToken) == TRUE )
mode = SQL_COMMIT;
SQLTransact(henv, hdbc, mode);
}
catch(ODBCErrors *pErrors)
{
pErrors->Print();
delete pErrors;
}
if ( hstmt != SQL_NULL_HANDLE )
SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, hstmt);
if ( hdbc != SQL_NULL_HANDLE )
SQLDisconnect(hdbc);
if ( hdbc != SQL_NULL_HANDLE )
SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, hdbc);
if ( henv != SQL_NULL_HANDLE )
SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, henv);
}
Remarks
This sample was originally written for the SQL Server Native Client (sqlncli.h) but has been updated to use the Microsoft OLE DB Driver (msoledbsql.h) for SQL Server. The SQL Server Native Client (often abbreviated SNAC) has been removed from SQL Server 2022 (16.x) and SQL Server Management Studio 19 (SSMS). Both the SQL Server Native Client OLE DB provider (SQLNCLI or SQLNCLI11) and the legacy Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server (SQLOLEDB) are not recommended for new development. Switch to the new Microsoft OLE DB Driver (MSOLEDBSQL) for SQL Server going forward.
See Also
Binary Large Object (Blob) Data (SQL Server)
Make Partial Updates to FILESTREAM Data
Avoid Conflicts with Database Operations in FILESTREAM Applications