Chapter 5. Data binding in ASP.NET Web Forms

Data binding plays a central role in ASP.NET Web Forms model. As you’ve seen in previous chapters, ASP.NET Web Forms are based on the notion of server controls. Server controls are objects placed on the page and programmed to offer a result. You can write specific code to intercept events and develop your pages using an event-driven methodology.

Data binding is essential in the ASP.NET ecosystem because web pages are often a gateway to display data coming from different sources, like a database, web service, or object. Data binding offers a simple way to implement the action to bind the data to the form and display the visual results easily.

Data binding itself hasn’t changed in the last few versions of ASP.NET, but server controls and data access strategies have. As you learned in chapters 2 and 3, the past few years have seen the adoption of strongly typed collections versus the initial DataSet approach. New trends, like service-oriented applications and cloud computing, have amplified the notion of data and changed the way we think about storage. Plus, AJAX techniques are considered standard today. The initial concept of data binding has evolved because the environment has also evolved.

5.1. Displaying data

5.2. Modifying data

5.3. Filtering and sorting data

5.4. Working with Dynamic Data controls

5.5. Summary