how to check if a datareader is null or empty

Question

I have a datareader that return a lsit of records from a sql server database. I have a field in the database called "Additional". This field is 50% of the time empty or null.

I am trying to write code that checks if this field isnull. The logic behind this is: If the field "Additional" contains text then display the info otherwise hide the field.

I have tried:

if (myReader["Additional"] != null) {     ltlAdditional.Text = "contains data"; } else {      ltlAdditional.Text = "is null"; } 

The above code gives me this error:

Exception Details: System.IndexOutOfRangeException: Additional

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

---

See Also:

Check for column name in a SqlDataReader object

Answer 1

if (myReader.HasRows) //The key Word is **.HasRows**  {      ltlAdditional.Text = "Contains data";  }  else  {         ltlAdditional.Text = "Is null Or Empty";  } 

Answer 2

if (myReader["Additional"] != DBNull.Value) {     ltlAdditional.Text = "contains data"; } else {      ltlAdditional.Text = "is null"; }