Figure 17.1 Our new application will include a tab control with a data grid on one tab page and a set of data-bound controls on a second tab page.

We begin with the DataGrid control, which displays a data source in tabular format. We will look at this class in some detail, and discuss the concept of simple data binding later in the chapter.

17.1DATA GRIDS

A data grid is just that: a grid in which data is displayed. The DataGrid class encapsulates this concept, allowing various collections of data to be displayed and manipulated by a user. The concept of data binding is central to the DataGrid class, as data is typically displayed in the control by binding an existing database table or collection class to the data grid object.

As shown in figure 17.1, the DataGrid class displays data as a set of rows and columns. The grid in general represents a specific collection of data, and this case represents a PhotoAlbum instance. Each row, in turn, represents a specific item in the overall collection, and each column represents a specific field that can be assigned to each item. In our application, each row will represent a Photograph object, and each column a possible property of a photograph.

There are a number of terms related to DataGrid controls. A summary of these is shown in figure 17.2 as they relate to our application. An overview of the DataGrid class is provided in .NET Table 17.1.

b

Figure 17.2

This chapter will discuss many of the terms and classes related to data grids.

bCaption

Displays a short string describing the table.

cDataGridTableStyle class

Used to customize the appearance and behavior of tables.

DataGridColumnStyle class

Used to customize the order, appearance and behavior of columns. The framework supports text and boolean columns by default.

dRow Header

The area in front of a row. The small triangle indicates the current item.

eGrid Lines

The color and style of lines are configurable.

fCell

Refers to an individual value within the grid.

gColumn Header

Shows the name of each column.

The ListView class discussed in chapter 14 can also be used to present a table of information. The Windows Forms namespace provides explicit classes to represent the rows and columns in a list view. As you may recall, each item, or row, in the list is represented by the ListViewItem class instance, and each column by a ListViewSubItem instance and is presented based on a ColumnHeader instance.

As illustrated by figure 17.2, the DataGrid class takes a somewhat different approach. The contents of the grid are contained in a single collection, such as an array, a photo album, or a database table. Classes exist to configure the style in which the provided data is displayed, including colors, column ordering, and other properties. We will discuss the details of these style classes later in the chapter.

.NET Table 17.1 DataGrid class

The DataGrid class represents a control that displays a collection of data as a grid of rows and columns. The data displayed and the style in which it is presented is fully configurable. This class is part of the System.Windows.Forms namespace, and inherits from the Control class. See .NET Table 4.1 on page 104 for a list of members inherited by this class.

17.1.1CREATING THE MYALBUMDATA PROJECT

While the DataGrid class includes numerous members for customizing the appearance and behavior of the control, it is possible to create a very simple grid with only a few lines of code. We will begin with such an application, and enhance it over the course of the chapter.

The following table lays out the creation and initial layout of our new application.

CREATE THE MYALBUMDATA PROJECT