OracleGetClob Woes

Must... type... this... before... head... explodes!

Ok, I have constructed a query and I'm fetching data from the database, including an Oracle Clob column.

The regular columns work great and look like this:

description = reader.GetValue(5).ToString();

bot for some inane reason,

description = reader.GetValue(6).ToString();

...when run against a clob field will not work if your life depends on it.

I have been to a total of 25 web pages now looking of one solitary example of how to read an oracleclob, and there isn't one! Just one f'ing example is all I need, to see what needs to be done to put the data from my clob object into my string object.

There are many sites that contain volumes about the OracleGetClob() method, and some about the Fetchsize property, but not one solid example that starts with a clob and ends up with the text in a string!

How does it all work together? Anyone?

This is so goddamned frustrating. Where is my Delphi CD?

Microsoft! Please let the pain come to an end!

I have a website that sells a peice of software. My client wants to keep 90 seperate little pages, one for each little "feature" of the program. This is the perfect application for using a "web template", and store all these features into a database.

So, Lets set up the database first.

Piece of cake, right? so now, I need to get 90 of these pop-up windows into the datafields...

So I design a form for editing the data...

I can run the form, it shows my empty data table. I add a row and enter the small data, and then I cut/paste the feature window text into the "Feature Text" column.

Oh no! it only accepts the FIRST LINE of text! BUT WAIT! this is a "text" type, it should just KNOW that we want to put free-form text in here. Ok, so now I want to go into the properties of the FEATURE TEXT column and set Multiline to True.

What's this? There IS NO multiline property! Ok now lets hit the trusty F1 key.

After waiting an horribly long time, I search for Multiline Text Fields and nothing that comes back is relevant to what I'm trying to do.

Just to make the point come home a little better, I could solve this problem with Oracle and Delphi WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO WRITE A PROGRAM! PL/SQL developer allows me to pop open a window on a CLOB (text) field and cut/paste/edit/whatever. This whole project would take about 15 minutes. BUT IN VISUAL STUDIO IT SEEMS TO BE IMPOSSIBLE!

Please, Microsoft! We beg you! Buy a copy of PL/SQL Developer and MAKE SQL SERVER WORK LIKE THAT!

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Update: There IS a way... I will update on Friday! (Not this Friday, but "A" Friday)