Windows Forms FAQ resources

5. Windows Forms Datagrid

5.29 How can I bind the datagrid to a datasource without using any wizards?

Here is a really simple data binding sample. Just drag and drop a datagrid onto a default Windows Forms application. Follow the steps below to bind this grid to the NorthWind db in SQL server.

Complete Sample: simpledata.zip

// Create a connection

SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(this.GetConnectionString());

// Create a data adapter. Think of the data adapter as an object that knows how to get the data from the

// data source into a dataset

SqlDataAdapter dataAdapter = new SqlDataAdapter(this.GetCommandText(), connection);

// fill the dataset using the data adapter

DataSet dataSet = new DataSet("Customers");

dataAdapter.Fill(this.dataSet, "Customers");

// bind to the grid

grid.DataSource = this.dataSet; // the big picture

grid.DataMember = "Customers"; // the specific table that we want to bind to

// The connection text looks like this

// If your SQL server is running on the default port, you can remove the port attribute.

private string GetConnectionString()

{

string server = "your_server_name";

string serverPort = "port_address";

string catalog = "NorthWind";

string password = "user_pass";

string userId = "user_name";

string connectionString = "data source={0},{1};initial catalog={2};" +

"password={3}; user id={4}; packet size=4096";

return string.Format(connectionString,

server, serverPort, catalog, password, userId);

}

// The command text looks like this

private string GetCommandText()

{

string commandText = "Select * from customers";

return commandText;

}