Table Binding

Summary

In this chapter, you learned how to bind the query results to a table-based Web control such as a GridView, DataList, or Repeater. Unless you tell it otherwise, the GridView will present the results in a preformatted grid, one column per table cell; the DataList and Repeater, on the other hand, must be given a template for each row of information to be displayed.

You learned that you can customize the GridView quite heavily, even when it auto-generates a grid to display query results. You can use SQL to make the data more readable, use styles to make it more attractive, and implement simple sorting and paging functions to improve the way that users can view the results.

In the next chapter, you’ll finish your look at handling the data from a query by exposing it as read-write data. You’ll also learn how to send the changes made to that data back to the database.