DataGridView / DataPropertyName - Displaying nested object information

[connected]

I'm having difficulty with populating a DataGridView control with data
correctly. It works with a single class, for example...
class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
}
}
I can create a DataGridView and bind it to a BindingList of MyClasses
as follows:
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small"),
new MyClass("hot", "cold"),
new MyClass("fast", "slow")
}
);
This works very well, and now I have a DataGridView with two columns
and three rows of data being displayed. However, in the real world, we
often deal with composition. For example...
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}
}

class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;
private MyNestedClass _nestedObject;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }
public MyNestedClass NestedObject { get { return
this._nestedObject; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo,
MyNestedClass nestedObject)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
this._nestedObject = nestedObject;
}
}
Unfortunately, this is where I start having a problem because now I
have to adjust the code for the DataGridView...
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyThreeColumn", "Property 3");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = ?????;

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small", new MyNestedClass("medium")),
new MyClass("hot", "cold", new MyNestedClass("warm")),
new MyClass("fast", "slow", new MyNestedClass("steady"))
}
);
As you can see, I don't know what to put for the DataPropertyName for
the third column. Someone previously suggested
"NestedObject.PropertyThree," however this does NOT work. Yet another
suggestion was to create a public accessor in MyClass like this:
public string PropertyThree { get { return
this._nestedObject.PropertyThree; } }
To say that this is a half-assed workaround would be modest at best. I
am looking for the proper way to implement this, not a cheap hack. If
anyone knows the right way, I would be very grateful if you would share
your wisdom on this topic.

[Chester]

Hi,

If you try to display an object in DataGridView, it will display the string
property of the object. So, 1st you must override the ToString() method of
MyNestedClass.

class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}

public override string ToString()
{
return this._propertyThree;
}
}

Now you must change the DataPropertyName as bellow,
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = "NestedObject";

Cheers,
Chester

"connected" wrote:

I'm having difficulty with populating a DataGridView control with data
correctly. It works with a single class, for example...
class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
}
}
I can create a DataGridView and bind it to a BindingList of MyClasses
as follows:
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small"),
new MyClass("hot", "cold"),
new MyClass("fast", "slow")
}
);
This works very well, and now I have a DataGridView with two columns
and three rows of data being displayed. However, in the real world, we
often deal with composition. For example...
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}
}

class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;
private MyNestedClass _nestedObject;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }
public MyNestedClass NestedObject { get { return
this._nestedObject; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo,
MyNestedClass nestedObject)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
this._nestedObject = nestedObject;
}
}
Unfortunately, this is where I start having a problem because now I
have to adjust the code for the DataGridView...
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyThreeColumn", "Property 3");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = ?????;

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small", new MyNestedClass("medium")),
new MyClass("hot", "cold", new MyNestedClass("warm")),
new MyClass("fast", "slow", new MyNestedClass("steady"))
}
);
As you can see, I don't know what to put for the DataPropertyName for
the third column. Someone previously suggested
"NestedObject.PropertyThree," however this does NOT work. Yet another
suggestion was to create a public accessor in MyClass like this:
public string PropertyThree { get { return
this._nestedObject.PropertyThree; } }
To say that this is a half-assed workaround would be modest at best. I
am looking for the proper way to implement this, not a cheap hack. If
anyone knows the right way, I would be very grateful if you would share
your wisdom on this topic.

[connected]

Thanks for the prompt response. Unfortunately, while valid in this
particular case, this is not a universal solution. Consider the
possibility that MyNestedClass may have more properties that must also
be displayed in their own columns on the DataGridView, as in...
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;
private string _propertyFour;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }
public string PropertyFour { get { return this._propertyFour; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree, string propertyFour)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
this._propertyFour = propertyFour;
}
}
Now the ToString() hack will not work because it can only return one
property at a time.

Chester wrote:

Hi,

If you try to display an object in DataGridView, it will display the string
property of the object. So, 1st you must override the ToString() method of
MyNestedClass.

class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}

public override string ToString()
{
return this._propertyThree;
}
}

Now you must change the DataPropertyName as bellow,
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = "NestedObject";

Cheers,
Chester

"connected" wrote:

I'm having difficulty with populating a DataGridView control with data
correctly. It works with a single class, for example...
class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
}
}
I can create a DataGridView and bind it to a BindingList of MyClasses
as follows:
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small"),
new MyClass("hot", "cold"),
new MyClass("fast", "slow")
}
);
This works very well, and now I have a DataGridView with two columns
and three rows of data being displayed. However, in the real world, we
often deal with composition. For example...
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}
}

class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;
private MyNestedClass _nestedObject;

public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }
public MyNestedClass NestedObject { get { return
this._nestedObject; } }

public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo,
MyNestedClass nestedObject)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
this._nestedObject = nestedObject;
}
}
Unfortunately, this is where I start having a problem because now I
have to adjust the code for the DataGridView...
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;

myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyThreeColumn", "Property 3");

myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = ?????;

myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small", new MyNestedClass("medium")),
new MyClass("hot", "cold", new MyNestedClass("warm")),
new MyClass("fast", "slow", new MyNestedClass("steady"))
}
);
As you can see, I don't know what to put for the DataPropertyName for
the third column. Someone previously suggested
"NestedObject.PropertyThree," however this does NOT work. Yet another
suggestion was to create a public accessor in MyClass like this:
public string PropertyThree { get { return
this._nestedObject.PropertyThree; } }
To say that this is a half-assed workaround would be modest at best. I
am looking for the proper way to implement this, not a cheap hack. If
anyone knows the right way, I would be very grateful if you would share
your wisdom on this topic.

[Chester]

Hi,

Good point, but DataGridView doesn't support databinding to child
properties. For more info, check this post -
http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/Sho...34204&SiteID=1

Cheers,
Chester

"connected" wrote:

Thanks for the prompt response. Unfortunately, while valid in this
particular case, this is not a universal solution. Consider the
possibility that MyNestedClass may have more properties that must also
be displayed in their own columns on the DataGridView, as in...
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;
private string _propertyFour;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }
public string PropertyFour { get { return this._propertyFour; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree, string propertyFour)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
this._propertyFour = propertyFour;
}
}
Now the ToString() hack will not work because it can only return one
property at a time.

Chester wrote:

Hi,

If you try to display an object in DataGridView, it will display the string
property of the object. So, 1st you must override the ToString() method of
MyNestedClass.

class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;

public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }

public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}

public override string ToString()
{
return this._propertyThree;
}
}

Now you must change the DataPropertyName as bellow,
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = "NestedObject";

Cheers,
Chester

"connected" wrote:

I'm having difficulty with populating a DataGridView control with data
correctly. It works with a single class, for example...
>
>
class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;
>
public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }
>
public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
}
}
>
>
I can create a DataGridView and bind it to a BindingList of MyClasses
as follows:
>
>
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;
>
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");
>
myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";
>
myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small"),
new MyClass("hot", "cold"),
new MyClass("fast", "slow")
}
);
>
>
This works very well, and now I have a DataGridView with two columns
and three rows of data being displayed. However, in the real world, we
often deal with composition. For example...
>
>
class MyNestedClass
{
private string _propertyThree;
>
public string PropertyThree { get { return this._propertyThree; } }
>
public MyNestedClass(string propertyThree)
{
this._propertyThree = propertyThree;
}
}
>
class MyClass
{
private string _propertyOne;
private string _propertyTwo;
private MyNestedClass _nestedObject;
>
public string PropertyOne { get { return this._propertyOne; } }
public string PropertyTwo { get { return this._propertyTwo; } }
public MyNestedClass NestedObject { get { return
this._nestedObject; } }
>
public MyClass(string propertyOne, string propertyTwo,
MyNestedClass nestedObject)
{
this._propertyOne = propertyOne;
this._propertyTwo = propertyTwo;
this._nestedObject = nestedObject;
}
}
>
>
Unfortunately, this is where I start having a problem because now I
have to adjust the code for the DataGridView...
>
>
myGrid.AutoGenerateColumns = false;
>
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyOneColumn", "Property 1");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyTwoColumn", "Property 2");
myGrid.Columns.Add("propertyThreeColumn", "Property 3");
>
myGrid.Columns["propertyOneColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyOne";
myGrid.Columns["propertyTwoColumn"].DataPropertyName = "PropertyTwo";
myGrid.Columns["propertyThreeColumn"].DataPropertyName = ?????;
>
myGrid.DataSource = new BindingList<MyClass>(
new MyClass[]
{
new MyClass("big", "small", new MyNestedClass("medium")),
new MyClass("hot", "cold", new MyNestedClass("warm")),
new MyClass("fast", "slow", new MyNestedClass("steady"))
}
);
>
>
As you can see, I don't know what to put for the DataPropertyName for
the third column. Someone previously suggested
"NestedObject.PropertyThree," however this does NOT work. Yet another
suggestion was to create a public accessor in MyClass like this:
>
>
public string PropertyThree { get { return
this._nestedObject.PropertyThree; } }
>
>
To say that this is a half-assed workaround would be modest at best. I
am looking for the proper way to implement this, not a cheap hack. If
anyone knows the right way, I would be very grateful if you would share
your wisdom on this topic.
>
>