This article provides information on how to implement advanced data binding with the DataLink component. The article describes advanced features of the component and shows how to use it together with the InterForm technology.

• General Information
• DataLink Features
• DataLink Advanced Features
• Use Case

General Information

With the DataLink component, you can universally bind all Windows Forms controls to data sources.

The DataLink component simplifies the process of binding controls to a data source. The component is the preferred way to bind your Windows Forms controls to data sources because it provides the following advantages over traditional data binding:

• Design-time data binding
• Encapsulation of CurrencyManager functionality with CurrencyManager events at design time
• Simpler creation of a list that supports the IBindingList interface
• A level of indirection between the data source and the control

The DataLink component is built over the .NET Framework BindingSource class. So, you can use it as an advanced alternative to BindingSource.

DataLink Features

The DataLink component provides several features for binding controls to data. With these features, you can implement most data-binding scenarios with almost no coding on your part. The DataLink component accomplishes this by providing a consistent interface for accessing most usable data sources

The consistent interface provided by the DataLink component greatly simplifies the process of binding data to controls. For data-source types that provide change notification, the DataLink component automatically communicates changes between the control and the data source. For data-source types that do not provide change notification, events are provided that let you raise change notifications. The following list shows the features supported by the DataLink component:

• Design time support
• Indirection
• Currency management
• Data source as a list
• DataLink as an IBindingList
• Custom and transactional item creation
• IEnumerable support
• Sorting and filtering with the IBindingListView interface
• Integration with BindingNavigator

For detailed information on these features please refer to MSDN topic BindingSource Component Architecture.

DataLink Advanced Features

One of the most exciting features about the DataLink component is that it supports the InterForm technology, which means that you can employ cross-form binding in your applications. For example, you can synchronize current positions in two datasets on different forms without writing a line of code. The DataLink component supports both typed and untyped SqlDataSet and SqlDataTable components, as well as relations in the dataset schemas.

The DataLink component has powerful design-time property editor. The editor allows picking data source from any open form in the project.

Use Case

One of the attributes of a good application architecture is unified data source block, in other words, when some set of components uses same data source. The DataLink component allows you to build this scheme and retain convenient design-time setup for multiform applications. To achieve this goal, you should:

1. Setup the data access components on a standalone form.
2. Create DataLink components to reference the data access components.
3. Use the DataLink objects as data source.

Now when you resetup the data access components, the changes are propagated to other controls through DataLink objects automatically.

See Also

General Concepts in Database Application Development  | InterForm Technology  | Developing Database Applications with dotConnect for SQL Server