asp.net datalist data binding

Question

I am using an ASP.NET/C# DataList.

 <asp:DataList ID="EquipmentList" RepeatColumns="5".....  

I have the following line inside the <ItemTemplate> tag:

 <a href=""`><%# {I want to put something here but dont know how} %> </a>  

In my code behind I have a NameValueCollection variable that contains all strings:

 NameValueCollection myListofStrings = //calling a method here that populates myListofStrings   
this.EquipmentList.DataSource =  myListofStrings;  
this.EquipmentList.DataBind();

Please can someone tell me how to bind this NameValueCollection variable to my DataList tag in the markup? Also additional knowledge on how to bind a DataList to a DataSet, sqldatareader, IList<> would be helpful.

Thank you all. but for now what do I write inside the tag if lets say I have to bind to a 1NameValueCollection1 variable like in my case above. It has no properties or columns so I cannot write anything like Eval("propertyname") which is the answer that most here gave me. It is just like I am binding it to an array of strings.

So what do I write now?

Solution

Please can someone tell me how to bind this NameValueCollection variable to my datalist tag in the markup? Also additional knowledge on how to bind a datalist to a dataset, sqldatareader, IList<> would be helpful. Thannks

I declare my List<ComplexObject> in my codebehind (say ... in a method attached to an OnClick) and then I will databind it like so:

private void DoDataGetAndBind() {
  List<ComplexObject> complexObjects = _dataAccessLayer.GetComplexObjectsMethod(parameter1, parameter2, sortParameter);
  datalist1.DataSource = complexObjects;
  datalist1.DataBind();
}

Now please understand how simplified my code is, I didn't put any error checks (like, if the database dropped or you returned no results) and I didn't define the parameters or the ComplexObject (because I presume you understand how those things work).

In the .aspx of the page, I would then define inside the ItemTemplate of the DataList control fields where I <%# Eval('ComplexObjectFieldOneName') %> or <%# Eval('ComplexObjectFieldTwoName') %> (etc).

So given a

public class ComplexObject {
  public string MyFirstField {get;set;}
  public string MySecondField {get;set;}
}

I would define the fields in the .aspx as <%# Eval('MyFirstField') %> and <%# Eval('MySecondField') %>

Ok, that was rather long winded, so I hope it really did help.

---

Another point: You can also use ObjectDataSources (or the derived classes like SqlDataSource, etc) and do all the linking on the .aspx, assuming properly built object classes. Something to consider.

Comments

[zack]

thanks. but for now what do I write inside the tag if lets say i HAVE to bind to a NameValueCollection variable like in my case above. It has no properties or columns so I cannot write anything like Eval("propertyname") which is the answer that most here gave me. It is just like I am binding it to an array of strings. So what do I write now?

[jcolebrand]

@VP ~ @Dismissile already gave you the answer there. You would Eval('Value') or Eval('Name') according to which you wanted.

[zack]

there is no DATAITEMNAME as you can see that I am binding it to a namevaluecollection. Its just a collection of string. There is no property to bind to. I have updated my question

[jcolebrand]

@VP ~ I take that back. No you can't. So instead, you should try to find a different form of storing your information, or you should convert it right before you need to consume it.

[jcolebrand]

@VP ~ My apologies. I can see that I really can't assume that you know that a 'value' in C# means a char and for strings one should use "value" ... in other words, Acceptable : '|', "|", "||" ~~ Not Acceptable : '||'

[zack]

I do understand the difference between a string inside "" and char inside ''. The link you posted above works for me. Thanks a lot.

[jcolebrand]

@VP ~ lol, I figured you did ;) ... Or at least I hoped you did. I just find myself shortcutting that in examples. Maybe I shouldn't. Just looks cleaner to use a single quote. Glad the link helped.

[Nathan Tuggy]

Generally, answers are much more helpful if they include an explanation of what the code is intended to do, and why that solves the problem without introducing others. (This post was flagged by at least one user, presumably because they thought an answer without explanation should be deleted.)