InvalidCastException when reading a BLOB object (PDF File) from an SQL Database - asp.net

Question

I'm having problems with an Invalid Cast Exception when I try and read a PDF from a database as a BLOB. I am able to write the files into the database no problems at all, however, when I try to retrieve them I just get InvalidCastException.
Here is the code I'm using:
Protected Sub btnPDF_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnPDF.Click
' Request.QueryString["docid"].ToString();
Dim docuid As String = "b39a443d-ccfd-47f4-b333-f12cd94683d6"
'Connection and Parameters
Dim param As SqlParameter = Nothing
Dim conn As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(
ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("menu").ToString())
Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("sp_getdoc", conn)
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure
param = New SqlParameter("#docuid", SqlDbType.NVarChar, 100)
param.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input
param.Value = docuid
cmd.Parameters.Add(param)
'Open connection and fetch the data with reader
conn.Open()
Dim reader As SqlDataReader =
cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection)
If reader.HasRows Then
reader.Read()
'
Dim doctype As String = reader("doctype").ToString()
Dim docname As String = reader("docname").ToString()
'
Response.Buffer = False
Response.ClearHeaders()
Response.ContentType = doctype
Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition",
"attachment; filename=" + docname)
'
'Code for streaming the object while writing
Const ChunkSize As Integer = 1024
Dim buffer() As Byte = New Byte(ChunkSize) {}
Dim binary(reader("document")) As Byte
Dim ms As New MemoryStream(binary)
Dim SizeToWrite As Integer = ChunkSize
For i As Integer = 0 To binary.GetUpperBound(0) - 1 Step i = i + ChunkSize
If Not Response.IsClientConnected Then
Return
End If
If i + ChunkSize >= binary.Length Then
SizeToWrite = binary.Length - i
End If
Dim chunk(SizeToWrite) As Byte
ms.Read(chunk, 0, SizeToWrite)
Response.BinaryWrite(chunk)
Response.Flush()
Next
Response.Close()
End If
End Sub
I am encountering the problem specifically on the following line:
Dim binary(reader("document")) As Byte
It seems to think that binary is being passed an Integer. Is this something to do with the SQLReader? I'm not really sure at this point what the problem is.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks,
Richard E Logan-Baker
*UPDATE*
I have since worked out the problem that I'm getting by changing the lines to:
Dim blob() As Byte
blob = reader.Item("document")
However, the PDF does not display inside firefox, and when I save the file (even though my DB is only 2MB~) it is quite happy at downloading over 40MB of data! Also, the file size reports as unknown. I am really stuck now.
*UPDATE*
I've now got the PDF to open in the browser, but there is no data being displayed and Adobe Acrobat says it has problems extracting the text/fonts from the file and that the PDF is broken somehow.
Here is my updated code now:
Protected Sub btnPDF_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnPDF.Click
' Request.QueryString["docid"].ToString();
Dim docuid As String = "ba32bf45-1b5c-451a-969c-290dc2cf9073"
'Connection and Parameters
Dim param As SqlParameter = Nothing
Dim conn As SqlConnection = New SqlConnection(
ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("menu").ToString())
Dim cmd As New SqlCommand("sp_getdoc", conn)
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure
param = New SqlParameter("#docuid", SqlDbType.NVarChar, 100)
param.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input
param.Value = docuid
cmd.Parameters.Add(param)
'Open connection and fetch the data with reader
conn.Open()
Dim reader As SqlDataReader =
cmd.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection)
If reader.HasRows Then
reader.Read()
'
Dim doctype As String = reader("doctype").ToString()
Dim docname As String = reader("docname").ToString()
'
Response.Buffer = False
Response.ClearHeaders()
Response.ContentType = doctype
Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition",
"attachment; filename=" + docname)
'
'Code for streaming the object while writing
Const ChunkSize As Integer = 1024
Dim buffer() As Byte = New Byte(ChunkSize) {}
Dim blob() As Byte
blob = reader.Item("document")
Dim ms As New MemoryStream(blob)
Dim SizeToWrite As Integer = ChunkSize
For i As Integer = 0 To blob.GetUpperBound(0) - 1
If Not Response.IsClientConnected Then
Return
End If
If i + ChunkSize >= blob.Length Then
SizeToWrite = blob.Length - i
End If
Dim chunk(SizeToWrite) As Byte
ms.Read(chunk, 0, SizeToWrite)
Response.BinaryWrite(chunk)
Response.Flush()
i = i + ChunkSize
Next i
Response.Close()
End If
End Sub

Answer 1

I think your problem is coming from the way you are incrementing "i" inside the loop. After you increment it by the ChunkSize at the end of your For...Next statement, the "Next i" statement will increment it by 1 again. Try changing that line to:
i = i + ChunkSize - 1
Or alternatively you could add a "Step ChunkSize" at the end of the For statement and remove the line I'm referring to.