[c#] How to select top n rows from a datatable/dataview in ASP.NET

How to the select top n rows from a datatable/dataview in ASP.NET? Currently I am using the following code, passing the table and number of rows to get the records. Is there a better way?

public DataTable  SelectTopDataRow(DataTable dt, int count)
{
     DataTable dtn = dt.Clone();
     for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
     {
         dtn.ImportRow(dt.Rows[i]);
     }

     return dtn;
}

If you want the number of rows to be flexible, you can add row_number in the SQL. For SQL server:

SELECT ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY myOrder) ROW_NUMBER, * FROM myTable

Then filter the datatable on row_number:

Dataview dv= new Dataview(dt, "ROW_NUMBER<=100", "", CurrentRows)

public DataTable TopDataRow(DataTable dt, int count)
    {
        DataTable dtn = dt.Clone();
        int i = 0;
        foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
        {
            if (i < count)
            {
                dtn.ImportRow(row);
                i++;
            }
            if (i > count)
                break;
        }
        return dtn;
    }

I just used Midhat's answer but appended CopyToDataTable() on the end.

The code below is an extension to the answer that I used to quickly enable some paging.

int pageNum = 1;
int pageSize = 25;

DataTable dtPage = dt.Rows.Cast<System.Data.DataRow>().Skip((pageNum - 1) * pageSize).Take(pageSize).CopyToDataTable();

You could modify the query. If you are using SQL Server at the back, you can use Select top n query for such need. The current implements fetch the whole data from database. Selecting only the required number of rows will give you a performance boost as well.

Data view is good Feature of data table . We can filter the data table as per our requirements using data view . Below Functions is After binding data table to list box data source then filter by text box control . ( this condition you can change as per your needs .Contains(txtSearch.Text.Trim()) )

Private Sub BindClients()

   okcl = 0

    sql = "Select * from Client Order By cname"        
    Dim dacli As New SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter
    Dim cmd As New SqlClient.SqlCommand()
    cmd.CommandText = sql
    cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
    dacli.SelectCommand = cmd
    dacli.SelectCommand.Connection = Me.sqlcn
    Dim dtcli As New DataTable
    dacli.Fill(dtcli)
    dacli.Fill(dataTableClients)
    lstboxc.DataSource = dataTableClients
    lstboxc.DisplayMember = "cname"
    lstboxc.ValueMember = "ccode"
    okcl = 1

    If dtcli.Rows.Count > 0 Then
        ccode = dtcli.Rows(0)("ccode")
        Call ClientDispData1()
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub FilterClients()        

    Dim query As EnumerableRowCollection(Of DataRow) = From dataTableClients In 
    dataTableClients.AsEnumerable() Where dataTableClients.Field(Of String) 
    ("cname").Contains(txtSearch.Text.Trim()) Order By dataTableClients.Field(Of 
    String)("cname") Select dataTableClients

    Dim dataView As DataView = query.AsDataView()
    lstboxc.DataSource = dataView
    lstboxc.DisplayMember = "cname"
    lstboxc.ValueMember = "ccode"
    okcl = 1
    If dataTableClients.Rows.Count > 0 Then
        ccode = dataTableClients.Rows(0)("ccode")
        Call ClientDispData1()
    End If
End Sub

myDataTable.AsEnumerable().Take(5).CopyToDataTable()