Two examples of how to import CSV files into SQL Server

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The concept of building configurable applications and utilizing application configuration files has been around for years. In general the idea behind the use of application configuration files stems from the ability to dictate program behavior without the need to change code and recompile.

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In many cases you may need to be able to call a function and return multiple values.  Many times this functionality is implemented by utilizing an array or similar object as the return value and simply reading the contents back into variables.

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Both out and ref parameters are used to return values in the same variables that you would pass as an argument of a method. Both types of parameters can be useful in an event where you would like to return more than one value from your method.

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The System.Diagnostics.EventLog class allows you to programmatically read and write to the Windows Event log.  This functionality allows you to read and write your application logs to the Windows Event Log rather than writing these log entries to a text-based file.  This logging methodology provides a quick, easy, and performance friendly way to log any type of event.  The EventLog class extends beyond simply writing log entries (reading from logs, creating/deleting event sources, deleting logs, etc.) but this article is geared specifically toward writing to the Windows Event Log.

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