BaseDataBoundControl.DataSource Property (System.Web.UI.WebControls)

DataSource Property

.NET Framework Class Library

BaseDataBoundControl..::.DataSource Property

Gets or sets the object from which the data-bound control retrieves its list of data items.

Namespace: System.Web.UI.WebControls
Assembly: System.Web (in System.Web.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<BindableAttribute(True)> _
<ThemeableAttribute(False)> _
Public Overridable Property DataSource As Object

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As BaseDataBoundControl
Dim value As Object

value = instance.DataSource

instance.DataSource = value

[BindableAttribute(true)]
[ThemeableAttribute(false)]
public virtual Object DataSource { get; set; }

Visual C++

[BindableAttribute(true)]
[ThemeableAttribute(false)]
public:
virtual property Object^ DataSource {
    Object^ get ();
    void set (Object^ value);
}

JScript

public function get DataSource () : Object
public function set DataSource (value : Object)

ASP.NET

<asp:BaseDataBoundControl DataSource="Object" />

Property Value

Type: System..::.Object
An object that represents the data source from which the data-bound control retrieves its data. The default is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Remarks

When you set the DataSource property, the ValidateDataSource method is called. In addition, if the data-bound control has already been initialized, the OnDataPropertyChanged method is called to set the RequiresDataBinding property to true.

This property cannot be set by themes or style sheet themes. For more information, see ThemeableAttribute and ASP.NET Themes and Skins Overview.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how the DataSource property of a data-bound control is used. In this example, the GridView control is bound to a DataSet object. After the DataSource property is set, the DataBind method is called explicitly.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page language="VB" %>
<%@ import namespace="System.Data" %>
<%@ import namespace="System.Data.SqlClient" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">

  Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)

    ' This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects
    ' to the Northwind sample database. The data source needs
    ' to be bound to the GridView control only when the 
    ' page is first loaded. Thereafter, the values are
    ' stored in view state.                      
    If Not IsPostBack Then

      ' Declare the query string.
      Dim queryString As String = _
        "Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]"

      ' Run the query and bind the resulting DataSet
      ' to the GridView control.
      Dim ds As DataSet = GetData(queryString)
      If (ds.Tables.Count > 0) Then

        AuthorsGridView.DataSource = ds
        AuthorsGridView.DataBind()

      Else

        Message.Text = "Unable to connect to the database."

      End If

    End If

  End Sub

  Function GetData(ByVal queryString As String) As DataSet

    ' Retrieve the connection string stored in the Web.config file.
    Dim connectionString As String = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("NorthWindConnectionString").ConnectionString

    Dim ds As New DataSet()

    Try

      ' Connect to the database and run the query.
      Dim connection As New SqlConnection(connectionString)
      Dim adapter As New SqlDataAdapter(queryString, Connection)

      ' Fill the DataSet.
      Adapter.Fill(ds)


    Catch ex As Exception

      ' The connection failed. Display an error message.
      Message.Text = "Unable to connect to the database."

    End Try

    Return ds

  End Function

</script>

<html  >
  <head runat="server">
    <title>GridView DataBind Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">

      <h3>GridView DataBind Example</h3>

      <asp:label id="Message"
        forecolor="Red"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>    

      <asp:gridview id="AuthorsGridView" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true" 
        runat="server">
      </asp:gridview>

    </form>
  </body>
</html>

<%@ Page language="C#" %>
<%@ import namespace="System.Data" %>
<%@ import namespace="System.Data.SqlClient" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">

  void Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)
  {

    // This example uses Microsoft SQL Server and connects
    // to the Northwind sample database. The data source needs
    // to be bound to the GridView control only when the 
    // page is first loaded. Thereafter, the values are
    // stored in view state.                      
    if(!IsPostBack)
    {

      // Declare the query string.
      String queryString = 
        "Select [CustomerID], [CompanyName], [Address], [City], [PostalCode], [Country] From [Customers]";

      // Run the query and bind the resulting DataSet
      // to the GridView control.
      DataSet ds = GetData(queryString);
      if (ds.Tables.Count > 0)
      {
        AuthorsGridView.DataSource = ds;
        AuthorsGridView.DataBind();
      }
      else
      {
        Message.Text = "Unable to connect to the database.";
      }

    }     

  }

  DataSet GetData(String queryString)
  {

    // Retrieve the connection string stored in the Web.config file.
    String connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["NorthWindConnectionString"].ConnectionString;      

    DataSet ds = new DataSet();

    try
    {
      // Connect to the database and run the query.
      SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(connectionString);        
      SqlDataAdapter adapter = new SqlDataAdapter(queryString, connection);

      // Fill the DataSet.
      adapter.Fill(ds);

    }
    catch(Exception ex)
    {

      // The connection failed. Display an error message.
      Message.Text = "Unable to connect to the database.";

    }

    return ds;

  }

</script>

<html  >
  <head runat="server">
    <title>GridView DataBind Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">

      <h3>GridView DataBind Example</h3>

      <asp:label id="Message"
        forecolor="Red"
        runat="server"/>

      <br/>    

      <asp:gridview id="AuthorsGridView" 
        autogeneratecolumns="true" 
        runat="server">
      </asp:gridview>

    </form>
  </body>
</html>

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

Reference

BaseDataBoundControl Class

BaseDataBoundControl Members

System.Web.UI.WebControls Namespace

DataSourceID