title: Converting CLOB to a usable String in VB.NET
body: <p>I'm writing a tool the retrieves data from an Oracle database.  The majority of the fields are VARCHAR2, but there's one particular field I want to retrieve that is a CLOB.  I'm trying to convert the text in this CLOB to a string that I can then run a regex against it to isolate a certain bit of information and then display that information in the program's console.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to convert this CLOB into a usable string.</p>
  
  <p>I've tried a lot of different things, but what I've got at the moment is:</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <pre><code>    With OraDynaset
          If .RecordCount &gt; 0 Then
              .MoveFirst()
              While (Not .EOF Or .BOF)
                  m_StrThis = .Fields("This").Value
                  clobSupportProcs = .Fields("That").Value
                  m_strThat = (clobSupportProcs).ToString
                  .MoveNext()
              End While
          End If
      End With
  </code></pre>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>The field "This" works fine, as it's not a CLOB.  The field "That" is the troublemaker.  I've read in other posts that there's a way to stream this in chunks into something usable, but I've yet to see a clear example of how this is done.</p>
  
  <p>I'd appreciate any CONSTRUCTIVE comments or help.  I understand that using a CLOB wasn't necessary to begin with -- this database is over 10 years old however.  I have no control over that.  I understand that I'm connecting to the database in a less than elegant way. I don't care about that.  I just need these two little bits of information.  I'm not a pro, just a guy trying to write a tool that will make his life easier.  Any help is much appreciated.  Unhelpful comments are not.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>