DB

stormage · November 10th, 2010, 08:49 PM

Hi there all...

On page 472-473, there are these 2 quotes:

" So, when you click Update after making changes to the review in the page, the DetailsView collects all the bound data from the form (the Title, Summary, Body, GenreId, and whether the item is authorized) and then sends it to the SqlDataSource control that has parameters set up for each of the relevant columns of the Review table"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"As you saw earlier, ItemInserting fires right before the InsertCommand is sent to the database. This is a perfect location to supply (default) values for the columns in your table that have no corresponding control in the user interface, as is the case with the UpdateDateTime. This code simply sets the
UpdateDateTime value to todayâs date and time. This value is then sent to the database where it is used to assign a value to the Review tableâs UpdateDateTime column."

Now, in relation to the quotes above, what I don't get is why do we need the Bind syntax?
In the Genre.aspx page, when user clicks on update, the GridView collects the data from the form - includes the textboxes, and forward them to the DataSource control(as elaborated on page 441-442).
In this case, there is no use in the Bind syntax, and yet it's working fine..
How is this possible?

10x...

walbalooshi · November 11th, 2010, 04:28 AM

The reason updating is working in the page that you specified is because you are using BoundField as the column and field types in your GridView and DetailsView on that page.

Bind comes into play when you want to create your own template by using the TemplateField column or field type. This is where you need to use Bind to get two-way data binding. As you progress more into this chapter, you will see examples of the use of the Bind. You will start using it in the AddEditReview.aspx page.

With the GridView and DetailsView there are alternative column or field types that will allow you to perform two-way databinding without the need for Bind, but sometimes you want more control over the output and need to use the TemplateField; this is where the Bind comes into play. Also, note that you have to use Bind when working with the DataList and ListView, because you don't have the additional field types when using those two controls. You have to work with template fields.

Imar · November 11th, 2010, 04:39 AM

Hi stormage,

The GridView uses Bind as well, but by default handles this internally. To see what I mean, take the code example from the bottom of page 440 (the GridView) and place it in an ASP.NET page. You can see that the columns exist of BoundFields. For example, the Name field looks like this:

Code:

 
<asp:BoundField DataField=âNameâ HeaderText=âNameâ SortExpression=âNameâ />

The BoundField acts as a wrapper around the various templates (such as the item, insert and edit templates). Additionally, this control is able to keep track of the column it's associated with without explicit Bind syntax.

Next switch the page into Design View, open the GridView's Smart Tasks panel and choose Edit Columns. In the Selected Fields drop down, click Name and then click the blue Convert This Field Into A TemplateField link. You won't see a difference in Design View. Next, switch back to Markup View and look at the code for the Name field:

Code:

<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Name" SortExpression="Name">
 <EditItemTemplate>
  <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("Name") %>'></asp:TextBox>
 </EditItemTemplate>
 <ItemTemplate>
  <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("Name") %>'></asp:Label>
 </ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateField>

Notice how it now uses Bind to hook up the various columns to their respective controls.

So, the GridView uses a binding concept as well; it's just that by default it hides this from you using BoundField controls if you have no need to alter the appearance of the columns (which you can do once you've converted them to templates).

Does this help?

Imar

Imar · November 11th, 2010, 04:41 AM

Hi walbalooshi,

Thanks for your message; I was typing mine when you submitted yours, so I am more or less just repeating you ;-)

Cheers,

Imar

walbalooshi · November 11th, 2010, 05:37 AM

Hi Imar,

You usually answer questions so quickly that I was surprised I saw this one still unanswered. I should have known that you would be lurking in the background answering the same question :)

Keep up the great work.