Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0: Programming Smart Client Data Applications with .NET (Microsoft .NET Development Series)

"Brian Noyes' writing style easily captures your attention as he elaborates on all aspects of data binding in his book. He has a refreshingly clear and crisp delivery as he starts each chapter with a simple tour of each topic, and then leads you into practical concerns for sound practices and extensibility opportunities. Most importantly, as Brian explains approaches to data-binding architecture, patterns of usage, the value of data sets, binding controls and the rest, he always describes how he reaches his recommendations on the topic. This book is perfect for newcomers to .NET 2.0, but also for those that have some experience. Anyone who cares about data in their applications (okay, that should be almost everyone) is guaranteed to learn something new and useful by reading Brian's book." --Michele Leroux Bustamante, IDesign chief architect, Microsoft regional director, and MVP"Brian has saved me a lot of time. I'm writing The Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server 2005 (7th Edition) and I'm not going to have to cover data binding nearly as deeply because Brian has done it for me. His book gets right to the meat of the subject and makes data binding look easy.I was also pleased to see that the book focuses on the misunderstood and under-applied Windows Forms architecture. It's a must-read for anyone trying to make their application more interactive and to leverage the new Visual Studio 2005 technology. I'm planning to point my readers to this resource when they need an in-depth treatment of data binding." --William Vaughn, president, Beta V Corporation"Data binding has finally come of age in Windows applications. Back in the Visual Studio 6.0 days, I ignored data binding completely and wrote my own repetitive code to encapsulate my business logic. With Visual Studio 2005, we finally have a robust and compelling data-binding technology. To ignore it today would make you inefficient and put you behind the curve. Brian delivers a clear and concise discussion of a core topic of development for Windows today. A combination of an easy-to-follow conversational yet technical tone, excellent examples, and solid explanations make this a must-read for any developer writing for Windows or learning to write for Windows." --Stephen Forte, chief technical officer, Corzen Inc. "This book provides a clear, readable, and in-depth treatment of data binding, with detailed discussions of best practices in the presentation and use of data. Brian communicates his knowledge on the mechanics of data binding to give the low-level understanding that makes all the difference when building sophisticated applications and troubleshooting difficult problems. Effective data binding can enormously reduce the amount of code in your applications and will allow new levels of sophistication in your development. Read this book." --Jonathan Cogley, chief executive officer, Thycotic, ASPInsider, and C# MVP"The .NET Framework 2.0, Visual Studio .NET 2005, and Windows Forms 2.0 incorporate the most powerful data-binding platform yet, and absolutely need a book like this to expose it. Brian's extensive data-binding knowledge and experience shine through as he comprehensively explores its many facets, starting with the fundamentals before tackling a wide variety of real-world scenarios. I've always thought a data-binding book was necessary, and I'm glad Brian found the time to write his."--Michael Weinhardt, freelance author and application developer"Data Binding with Windows Forms 2. 0 earns a gold star and a prized place in my development book library. Brian is an exceptional teacher of technology, best practices, and technique. He continues to educate at every presentation I attend; his book carries that quality to paper. I found this book to be highly informative and full of all the important steps and examples necessary to learn this technology. In this book, Brian demonstrates a firm grasp on the concepts and I really enjoy his efforts to promote best practices at every chance. Definitively a cover-to-cover read." --Randy Hayes, president, Expert Network Solutions, Inc."Brian's direct and well-organized presentation makes this much misunderstood topic finally understandable." --Sahil Malik, author of Pro ADO.NET 2.0 and C# MVP Data binding is the most important part of many business applications--and one of the most difficult things to understand. Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0 is the first book to focus on this crucial area of development. It will quickly get you up to speed on binding data sources to Windows Forms components.The book contains clear examples in C# that work with SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. Visual Basic .N ET examples are available on the book's Web site. Brian Noyes, leading consultant and speaker on .NET programming, teaches you both the theory and practice of data binding and provides numerous samples ready to run in Visual Studio 2005. From his in-depth coverage, you'll learn how to \*Use Visual Studio 2005 to generate a data-bound application from a database \*Use the new Visual Studio 2005 typed data set designer, and how and why to use typed data sets and typed data adapters \*Perform simple and complex binding of data to controls, and how to use the .NET 2.0BindingSource \*Use the Binding object for simple binding with automatic formatting, and how to handle binding events \*Generate bound controls with the Visual Studio Designer, and how to use Data Sources \*Present data with the new DataGridView control, and how to implement advanced features of the DataGridView \*Implement custom data-bound controls in Windows Forms \*Create custom business objects and collections that are suitable for use in data binding \*Implement validation and error handling at the Windows Forms and data-binding levels \*Implement data binding with ASP.NET 2.0 and the upcoming Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon) technologies Contents......Page 10 Foreword......Page 22 Preface......Page 24 Acknowledgments......Page 36 About the Author......Page 38 1 Building Data-Bound Applications with Windows Forms......Page 40 What Is Data Binding?......Page 41 Your First Data-Bound Windows Forms 2.0 Application......Page 42 Creating a Windows Application Project......Page 43 Adding a New Data Source and a Data Connection......Page 45 Selecting Data Objects......Page 47 Customizing Data Sources Control Mappings......Page 49 Generating Data-Bound Controls......Page 50 Running the Application......Page 52 Data-Binding Landscape......Page 53 Data Sources......Page 54 Data Objects and Collections......Page 55 DataSets or Not, That Is the Question.........Page 57 Data-Bound Controls......Page 59 Layered Application Architecture......Page 60 What Is a Smart Client?......Page 66 Where Are We?......Page 67 A Quick Review of DataSets......Page 70 The Quest for Type Safety......Page 73 Typed Data Set Internals......Page 76 Creating Typed Data Sets......Page 80 Creating Typed Data Sets with the Data Set Designer......Page 81 Creating a Typed Data Set and Setting Up a Data Connection......Page 82 Adding Tables to a Data Set......Page 87 Typed Data Set-Generated Code......Page 88 Introduction to Table Adapters......Page 91 Filling and Updating a Typed Data Set with a Table Adapter......Page 95 Connection Management......Page 97 Adding Transaction Support to a Table Adapter......Page 101 Adding Helper Data Access Methods......Page 105 Basing Table Adapters on Stored Procedures or Views......Page 106 Adding a Custom Query to a Table Adapter......Page 108 Using the Query Builder to Write a SQL Statement......Page 111 Configuring a Table Adapter to Use Stored Procedures......Page 113 Creating Typed Data Sets with Command Line Tools......Page 116 Using Typed Data Sets in Your Code......Page 117 Where Are We?......Page 118 The 40,000-Foot View of Data Binding......Page 120 Data Binding Concepts......Page 121 .NET Framework 2.0 Data Binding Enhancements......Page 123 Binding Data Collections to a Grid......Page 125 Binding Data Collections to Multi-Valued Controls......Page 127 Binding Data to Individual Controls on a Form......Page 129 Data Paths Within Data Sources......Page 131 Synchronizing Data Between Controls......Page 135 Smarter Data Containment......Page 136 Paging Through Data......Page 138 Master-Details Data Binding......Page 143 Updating Data Sources Through Data Binding......Page 145 Where Are We?......Page 147 Getting to Know the BindingSource Component......Page 150 Simple Data Binding with Binding Sources......Page 151 Chaining Binding Sources for Master-Details Data Binding......Page 155 Navigating Data Through a Binding Source......Page 160 Manipulating Data Through a Binding Source......Page 161 Using a Binding Source as a Data Storage Container......Page 163 Filling a Binding Source with a Data Reader......Page 165 Sorting, Searching, and Filtering Presented Data with a Binding Source......Page 167 Monitoring the Data with Events......Page 170 Restricting Changes to the Data......Page 172 Underneath the Covers of Data Binding for Complex Types......Page 173 Binding an Image Column to a PictureBox Control......Page 180 Binding a DateTime Column to a DateTimePicker......Page 181 Binding a DateTime Column to a TextBox......Page 183 Binding a Numeric Column to a TextBox......Page 184 Automatic Formatting and Parsing Summary......Page 186 Going Beyond Built-In Type Conversion with Binding Events......Page 187 Handling the Format Event......Page 193 Handling the Parse Event......Page 195 Completing the Editing Process......Page 196 Making the User’s Life Easier with AutoComplete......Page 199 Data Binding Lifecycle......Page 201 Smarter Child-Parent Data Binding......Page 202 Binding to Multiple Copies of Data......Page 204 Updating Parent Data-Bound Controls from Child Data-Bound Controls......Page 207 Synchronizing Many-to-Many Related Collections......Page 211 Where Are We?......Page 215 Working with the Data Sources Window......Page 216 Adding Data Sources to a Project......Page 218 Choosing the Type of Data Source......Page 219 Adding a Database Data Source......Page 220 Adding a Web Service Data Source......Page 224 Adding an Object Data Source......Page 225 Generating Bound Controls from Data Sources......Page 228 Customizing the Bound Control Types......Page 235 Binding Existing Controls to Data Sources......Page 238 Behind the Scenes: Designer Code and Data Sources Files......Page 241 Other Designer Data-Binding Code Generation......Page 244 Setting Control Data Binding Through the Properties Window......Page 245 Generating Data Bindings with Smart Tags......Page 249 Generating Master-Details Data-Bound Controls with the Designer......Page 253 Where Are We?......Page 255 6 Presenting Data with the DataGridView Control......Page 256 DataGridView Overview......Page 257 Basic Data Binding with the DataGridView......Page 258 Controlling Modifications to Data in the Grid......Page 260 Programmatically Adding Columns to a Grid......Page 261 Programmatically Adding Rows to a Grid......Page 263 Custom Column Content with Unbound Columns......Page 265 Displaying Computed Data in Virtual Mode......Page 272 Setting Up Virtual Mode......Page 273 Initializing the Grid......Page 277 Understanding Virtual Mode Behavior......Page 278 Virtual Mode Summary......Page 279 Using the Built-In Column Types......Page 280 DataGridViewTextBoxColumn......Page 288 DataGridViewLinkColumn......Page 289 DataGridViewImageColumn......Page 290 DataGridViewComboBoxColumn......Page 291 Built-In Header Cells......Page 294 Handling Grid Data Edits......Page 295 Automatic Column Sizing......Page 298 Column and Row Freezing......Page 301 Using the Designer to Define Grids......Page 302 Column Reordering......Page 305 Defining Custom Column and Cell Types......Page 308 Defining a Custom Cell Type......Page 309 Defining a Custom Column Type......Page 312 Utilizing Cell-Oriented Grid Features......Page 316 Formatting with Styles......Page 320 Where Are We?......Page 323 7 Understanding Data-Binding Interfaces......Page 324 What Does Data Binding Have to Do with Interfaces?......Page 325 The IEnumerable and IEnumerator Interfaces: Supporting Iteration Through Collections......Page 328 The ICollection Interface: Controlling Access to a Collection......Page 334 The IList Interface: Enabling Data Binding......Page 337 The IListSource Interface: Exposing Collections of Collections......Page 342 Property Descriptors: Allowing Dynamic Data Item Information Discovery......Page 344 The ITypedList Interface: Exposing Data-Binding Properties......Page 346 Getting to Know the IBindingList Members......Page 349 Notifying Consumers of Changes to the Collection......Page 352 Exercising IBindingList Change Notifications......Page 355 Supporting Sorting with IBindingList......Page 356 Supporting Searching with IBindingList......Page 361 The IBindingListView Interface: Supporting Advanced Sorting and Filtering......Page 362 The ICancelAddNew Interface: Supporting Transactional Inserts in a Collection......Page 364 The IRaiseItemChangedEvents Interface: Providing Item Modification Notifications on Collections......Page 366 The IEditableObject Interface: Supporting Transactional Item Modifications......Page 367 The INotifyPropertyChanged Interface: Publishing Item Change Notifications......Page 368 The IDataErrorInfo Interface: Providing Error Information......Page 369 The ICustomTypeDescriptor Interface: Exposing Custom Type Information......Page 371 The ISupportInitialize Interface: Supporting Designer Initialization......Page 373 The ISupportInitializeNotification Interface: Supporting Interdependent Component Initialization......Page 376 Where Are We?......Page 380 8 Implementing Custom Data-Bound Controls......Page 382 Extending Framework Data-Bound Controls......Page 383 Creating a Grouped Column DataGridView......Page 384 Deriving from DataGridView and Handling the CellFormatting Event......Page 386 Modifying the Painting Behavior of the Cell......Page 387 Using Custom Controls......Page 389 The User Control Test Container......Page 391 Developing Data-Bound Container Controls......Page 392 Building a Filtered Grid Control......Page 393 Adding Data-Binding Capability to a Custom Control......Page 396 Supporting Designer Initialization of Data Binding......Page 398 Specifying Binding Properties on a Control......Page 399 Supporting Delayed Initialization with ISupportInitialize......Page 401 Dynamically Determining the Properties of a Data Source......Page 406 Dynamically Populating a Combo Box Control......Page 407 Handling the ListChanged Event......Page 409 Autocompleting Input in a TextBox Control......Page 410 Autosizing Columns in the Grid......Page 414 Winding Up the Filtered Grid Example......Page 415 Building a Data-Bound Charting Control for Decision Support......Page 418 Creating a Custom Control That Draws Itself......Page 420 Defining a Custom Data Structure for Rendering......Page 422 Coding a Data-Bound Custom Control......Page 423 Defining the Custom Control Skeleton......Page 424 Initializing and Updating the Data Bindings......Page 426 Adding Bar Chart Instances to the Container......Page 428 Adding Editing Support to a Custom Data Bound Control......Page 430 Where Are We?......Page 436 9 Implementing Custom Data-Bound Business Objects and Collections......Page 438 Defining and Working with Data-Bound Business Objects......Page 439 Defining and Working with Data-Bound Business Object Collections......Page 444 .NET Framework Generic Collection Classes......Page 445 The CustomBusinessObjects Example......Page 447 Binding the Customers and Orders Objects to Form Controls......Page 449 Generating Some Test Data to Bind Against......Page 452 Setting the Textual Data-Binding Behavior of Custom Objects......Page 454 Supporting Transacted Object Editing with IEditableObject......Page 455 Supporting Object Edit Notifications with Property Change Events......Page 459 Supporting Object Edit Notifications with INotifyPropertyChanged......Page 462 Using BindingList to Create Rich Object Collections......Page 463 Creating a Custom Collection Type Based on BindingList ......Page 465 Taking Over the Construction Process......Page 466 Getting Some Test Data to Work With......Page 468 Adding Search Functionality to the Collection......Page 469 Adding Sorting Capabilities to the Collection......Page 471 Managing Transacted Additions to a Collection......Page 478 Raising Item Changed Events......Page 480 Adding IBindingListView Functionality......Page 482 Binding to Business Objects Through the Data Sources Window......Page 492 Where Are We?......Page 494 10 Validating Data Input and Handling Errors......Page 496 Windows Forms Validation......Page 497 Handling Validation Events......Page 498 DataGridView Validation Events......Page 501 Validation Up the Control Hierarchy......Page 502 Displaying Validation Errors with the ErrorProvider Control......Page 503 DataGridView Error Displays......Page 506 DataGridView DataError Event......Page 507 Controlling Validation Behavior with the AutoValidate Property......Page 510 Validation down the Control Hierarchy......Page 511 Extended Validation Controls......Page 513 Capturing Data Errors on Data Sets......Page 514 Providing Error Information from Custom Objects with IDataErrorInfo......Page 518 Data Concurrency Resolution......Page 522 Where Are We?......Page 523 A: Binding to Data in ASP.NET......Page 526 ASP.NET Page Processing Basics......Page 528 Data Binding in ASP.NET 1.X......Page 529 Presenting Tabular Data in a Grid......Page 530 Hooking Up Dynamic Behavior in a Code-Behind Class......Page 531 Handling Row Selecting in the Grid......Page 534 Using Data-Binding Expressions......Page 535 Data-Binding Overview in ASP.NET 2.0......Page 537 Data Sources......Page 538 SqlDataSource Control......Page 539 ObjectDataSource Control......Page 544 XmlDataSource Control......Page 546 Data-Binding Expressions......Page 547 GridView Control......Page 548 DetailsView Control......Page 551 FormView Control......Page 553 Master-Details Binding......Page 554 Hierarchical Binding......Page 557 Where Are We?......Page 558 B: Binding Data in WinFx Applications......Page 560 WinFx UI Programming and Capabilities Overview......Page 561 Writing a Simple WinFx Application......Page 564 Getting Started with a “Hello World” Application......Page 565 Building a Slightly More Involved Application......Page 567 WinFx Data Binding......Page 571 Data Contexts and Data Sources......Page 575 What About XAML?......Page 576 Binding a Collection to a Grid with Templates......Page 580 Control Styling in WinFx......Page 582 Where Are We?......Page 584 C: Programming Windows Forms Applications......Page 586 Your First Windows Forms Data Application......Page 587 Creating an Empty Windows Forms Project......Page 593 Working with the Toolbox......Page 594 Adding Members to the Form......Page 596 Hooking Up an Event Handler and Data Binding......Page 600 Windows Forms Designer-Generated Code (New in 2.0)......Page 602 A Brief Tour of the Windows Forms Architecture......Page 606 The Dawn of .NET Execution—The Main Method......Page 609 Handling Control Events......Page 613 Displaying Other Forms......Page 615 Containing Forms Within a Parent Form......Page 616 Common Data Display Controls......Page 617 Label Controls......Page 618 Check Box Controls......Page 619 Text Box Controls......Page 620 List Box Controls......Page 621 List View Controls......Page 623 Data Grid Controls......Page 624 Creating a Custom User Control......Page 625 Absolute Positioning and Sizing of Controls......Page 628 Anchoring Controls......Page 629 Docking Controls......Page 631 Using Layout Container Controls (New in 2.0)......Page 634 Setting Tab Order......Page 635 Command and Control of Your Windows Forms Applications (New in 2.0)......Page 637 Where Are We?......Page 639 D: Accessing Data with ADO.NET......Page 640 Relational Data Access......Page 642 The Ubiquitous DataSet......Page 646 Loading Data Sets from a File......Page 648 Creating a Data Set Programmatically......Page 650 Loading Data Sets from a Database......Page 652 Loading a DataTable with a DataReader......Page 658 Master-Details DataSets......Page 660 Retrieving Data with Stored Procedures......Page 662 Updating the Database Using Data Sets......Page 663 Handling Concurrency......Page 667 Updating with Data Sets and Stored Procedures......Page 671 Searching Data Sets......Page 676 Merging Data from Multiple Data Sets......Page 678 Working with Data Views......Page 680 Working with Transactions......Page 682 Scoping Transactions with System.Transactions......Page 686 Client-Side Transactions......Page 689 Data Set and Data Adapter Events......Page 690 Reading Data into Business Objects......Page 693 XML Data Access......Page 697 Working with the XmlDataDocument Class......Page 698 Working with the XPathDocument Class......Page 702 Loading Data into an XPathDocument......Page 703 Querying XML Data......Page 704 Navigating an XML Document......Page 706 Where Are We?......Page 709 A......Page 710 B......Page 712 C......Page 713 D......Page 716 E......Page 720 F......Page 721 G......Page 722 I......Page 723 M......Page 725 O......Page 726 P......Page 727 R......Page 728 S......Page 729 T......Page 731 V......Page 732 W......Page 733 X......Page 734

“Brian Noyes’ writing style easily captures your attention as he elaborates on all aspects of data binding in his book. He has a refreshingly clear and crisp delivery as he starts each chapter with a simple tour of each topic, and then leads you into practical concerns for sound practices and extensibility opportunities. Most importantly, as Brian explains approaches to data-binding architecture, patterns of usage, the value of data sets, binding controls and the rest, he always describes how he reaches his recommendations on the topic. This book is perfect for newcomers to .NET 2.0, but also for those that have some experience. Anyone who cares about data in their applications (okay, that should be almost everyone) is guaranteed to learn something new and useful by reading Brian’s book.”
—Michele Leroux Bustamante, IDesign chief architect, Microsoft regional director, and MVP“Brian has saved me a lot of time. I’m writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server 2005 (7th Edition) and I’m not going to have to cover data binding nearly as deeply because Brian has done it for me. His book gets right to the meat of the subject and makes data binding look easy. I was also pleased to see that the book focuses on the misunderstood and under-applied Windows Forms architecture. It’s a must-read for anyone trying to make their application more interactive and to leverage the new Visual Studio 2005 technology. I’m planning to point my readers to this resource when they need an in-depth treatment of data binding.”
—William Vaughn, president, Beta VCorporation“Data binding has finally come of age in Windows applications. Back in the Visual Studio 6.0 days, I ignored data binding completely and wrote my own repetitive code to encapsulate my business logic. With Visual Studio 2005, we finally have a robust and compelling data-binding technology. To ignore it today would make you inefficient and put you behind the curve. Brian delivers a clear and concise discussion of a core topic of development for Windows today. A combination of an easy-to-follow conversational yet technical tone, excellent examples, and solid explanations make this a must-read for any developer writing for Windows or learning to write for Windows.”
—Stephen Forte, chief technical officer, Corzen Inc.“This book provides a clear, readable, and in-depth treatment of data binding, with detailed discussions of best practices in the presentation and use of data. Brian communicates his knowledge on the mechanics of data binding to give the low-level understanding that makes all the difference when building sophisticated applications and troubleshooting difficult problems. Effective data binding can enormously reduce the amount of code in your applications and will allow new levels of sophistication in your development. Read this book.”
—Jonathan Cogley, chief executive officer, Thycotic, ASPInsider, and C# MVP“The .NET Framework 2.0, Visual Studio .NET 2005, and Windows Forms 2.0 incorporate the most powerful data-binding platform yet, and absolutely need a book like this to expose it. Brian’s extensive data-binding knowledge and experience shine through as he comprehensively explores its many facets, starting with the fundamentals before tackling a wide variety of real-world scenarios. I’ve always thought a data-binding book was necessary, and I’m glad Brian found the time to write his.”
—Michael Weinhardt, freelance author and application developer“Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0 earns a gold star and a prized place in my development book library. Brian is an exceptional teacher of technology, best practices, and technique. He continues to educate at every presentation I attend; his book carries that quality to paper. I found this book to be highly informative and full of all the important steps and examples necessary to learn this technology. In this book, Brian demonstrates a firm grasp on the concepts and I really enjoy his efforts to promote best practices at every chance. Definitively a cover-to-cover read.”
—Randy Hayes, president, Expert Network Solutions, Inc.“Brian’s direct and well-organized presentation makes this much misunderstood topic finally understandable.”
—Sahil Malik, author of Pro ADO.NET 2.0 and C# MVP

Data binding is the most important part of many business applications—and one of the most difficult things to understand. Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0 is the first book to focus on this crucial area of development. It will quickly get you up to speed on binding data sources to Windows Forms components. The book contains clear examples in C# that work with SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. Visual Basic .NET examples are available on the book’s Web site.

Brian Noyes, leading consultant and speaker on .NET programming, teaches you both the theory and practice of data binding and provides numerous samples ready to run in Visual Studio 2005.

From his in-depth coverage, you’ll learn how to

• Use Visual Studio 2005 to generate a data-bound application from a database
• Use the new Visual Studio 2005 typed data set designer, and how and why to use typed data sets and typed data adapters
• Perform simple and complex binding of data to controls, and how to use the .NET 2.0 BindingSource
• Use the Binding object for simple binding with automatic formatting, and how to handle binding events
• Generate bound controls with the Visual Studio Designer, and how to use Data Sources
• Present data with the new DataGridView control, and how to implement advanced features of the DataGridView
• Implement custom data-bound controls in Windows Forms
• Create custom business objects and collections that are suitable for use in data binding
• Implement validation and error handling at the Windows Forms and data-binding levels
• Implement data binding with ASP.NET 2.0 and the upcoming Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon) technologies

"Brian Noyes' writing style easily captures your attention as he elaborates on all aspects of data binding in his book. He has a refreshingly clear and crisp delivery as he starts each chapter with a simple tour of each topic, and then leads you into practical concerns for sound practices and extensibility opportunities. Most importantly, as Brian explains approaches to data-binding architecture, patterns of usage, the value of data sets, binding controls and the rest, he always describes how he reaches his recommendations on the topic. This book is perfect for newcomers to .NET 2.0, but also for those that have some experience. Anyone who cares about data in their applications (okay, that should be almost everyone) is guaranteed to learn something new and useful by reading Brian's book." --Michele Leroux Bustamante, IDesign chief architect, Microsoft regional director, and MVP "Brian has saved me a lot of time. I'm writing The Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server 2005 (7th Edition) and I'm not going to have to cover data binding nearly as deeply because Brian has done it for me. His book gets right to the meat of the subject and makes data binding look easy. I was also pleased to see that the book focuses on the misunderstood and under-applied Windows Forms architecture. It's a must-read for anyone trying to make their application more interactive and to leverage the new Visual Studio 2005 technology. I'm planning to point my readers to this resource when they need an in-depth treatment of data binding." --William Vaughn, president, Beta V Corporation "Data binding has finally come of age in Windows applications. Back in the Visual Studio 6.0 days, I ignored data binding completely and wrote my own repetitive code to encapsulate my business logic. With Visual Studio 2005, we finally have a robust and compelling data-binding technology. To ignore it today would make you inefficient and put you behind the curve. Brian delivers a clear and concise discussion of a core topic of development for Windows today. A combination of an easy-to-follow conversational yet technical tone, excellent examples, and solid explanations make this a must-read for any developer writing for Windows or learning to write for Windows." --Stephen Forte, chief technical officer, Corzen Inc. "This book provides a clear, readable, and in-depth treatment of data binding, with detailed discussions of best practices in the presentation and use of data. Brian communicates his knowledge on the mechanics of data binding to give the low-level understanding that makes all the difference when building sophisticated applications and troubleshooting difficult problems. Effective data binding can enormously reduce the amount of code in your applications and will allow new levels of sophistication in your development. Read this book." --Jonathan Cogley, chief executive officer, Thycotic, ASPInsider, and C# MVP "The .NET Framework 2.0, Visual Studio .NET 2005, and Windows Forms 2.0 incorporate the most powerful data-binding platform yet, and absolutely need a book like this to expose it. Brian's extensive data-binding knowledge and experience shine through as he comprehensively explores its many facets, starting with the fundamentals before tackling a wide variety of real-world scenarios. I've always thought a data-binding book was necessary, and I'm glad Brian found the time to write his." --Michael Weinhardt, freelance author and application developer " Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0 earns a gold star and a prized place in my development book library. Brian is an exceptional teacher of technology, best practices, and technique. He continues to educate at every presentation I attend; his book carries that quality to paper. I found this book to be highly informative and full of all the important steps and examples necessary to learn this technology. In this book, Brian demonstrates a firm grasp on the concepts and I really enjoy his efforts to promote best practices at every chance. Definitively a cover-to-cover read." --Randy Hayes, president, Expert Network Solutions, Inc. "Brian's direct and well-organized presentation makes this much misunderstood topic finally understandable." --Sahil Malik, author of Pro ADO.NET 2.0 and C# MVP Data binding is the most important part of many business applications--and one of the most difficult things to understand. Data Binding with Windows Forms 2.0 is the first book to focus on this crucial area of development. It will quickly get you up to speed on binding data sources to Windows Forms components. The book contains clear examples in C# that work with SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005. Visual Basic .NET examples are available on the book's Web site. Brian Noyes, leading consultant and speaker on .NET programming, teaches you both the theory and practice of data binding and provides numerous samples ready to run in Visual Studio 2005. From his in-depth coverage, you'll learn how to Use Visual Studio 2005 to generate a data-bound application from a database Use the new Visual Studio 2005 typed data set designer, and how and why to use typed data sets and typed data adapters Perform simple and complex binding of data to controls, and how to use the .NET 2.0 BindingSource Use the Binding object for simple binding with automatic formatting, and how to handle binding events Generate bound controls with the Visual Studio Designer, and how to use Data Sources Present data with the new DataGridView control, and how to implement advanced features of the DataGridView Implement custom data-bound controls in Windows Forms Create custom business objects and collections that are suitable for use in data binding Implement validation and error handling at the Windows Forms and data-binding levels Implement data binding with ASP.NET 2.0 and the upcoming Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon) technologies