BindingSource and BindingNavigator(OleDbDataAdapter Visual F#)

BindingSource allows us to simplify the binding process to our control. To create a binding source in Visual F#, use the following syntax:

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1. let bindingsourceobjname=new BindingSource()  

let bindingsourceobjname=new BindingSource()

for instance:

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1. let bindingsource=new BindingSource()  

let bindingsource=new BindingSource()

The two most important properties of BindingSource component are DataSource which specifies the data source of the bindingsource, and the Datamember which specifies the specific table to which your bindingsource is bound to.

BindingNavigator are simply used to add navigational buttons to your database application. The syntax in creating a binding source is:

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1. let bindingnavigatorobjvariable=new BindingNavigator()  

let bindingnavigatorobjvariable=new BindingNavigator()

for instance:

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1. let bindingnav=new BindingNavigator()  

let bindingnav=new BindingNavigator()

One of the essential properties of the BindingNavigator component is the BindingSource which specifies the bindingsource name to which the BindingNavigator is bound to.

Follow these steps for a simple example on using binding navigator:

Before the Database Connection and Binding process I want you to make an Ms-Access database file named “dbEmployee” containing a table named “tblEmployee”. Use the following specifications:

Field Name	Data Type	Description
chrempno	text	Handles employee id
chrfname	text	Handles employee’s name
chrlname	text	Holds employee’s last name

After designing the structure of your table, you can enter appropriate values for each field. For instance:

chrempno	chrfname	Chrlname
1	John	Doe
2	Jean	Doe

Now that we are done creating a table, we can now link to it by using OleDbDataAdapter in Visual F#:


1. Click Start>All Programs>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

2. Click File>New>Project>Select Visual F# in the project types>Select F# application in the Visual Studio installed templates category.

3. Click the Project menu>Add reference>Click the .Net tab>Locate then double-click System.Windows.Forms. Do step 3 again and this time, select System.Drawing and System.Data from the .Net tab.

4. Enter the following code after the line “// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net “:

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1. // Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net  
2. //specifies the location of the class files  
3. //that will be needed in our application  
4. open System  
5. open System.Windows.Forms  
6. open System.Data  
7. open System.Drawing  
8. //creates a connection object  
9. let olecon = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;  
10.   Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")  
11. //adds an oleDbDataAdapter  
12. let dataadapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", olecon)  
13. //generate a dataset  
14. let dataset11 = new DataSet()  
15. //fill our dataset with record values  
16. dataadapter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore  
17. //creates a form  
18. let dataform = new Form(Text="Change DataGrid Header",ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(398, 232))  
19. //creates a datagrid  
20. let datagrid = new DataGridView(ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode=DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize,Size=new System.Drawing.Size(341, 143),Location=new System.Drawing.Point(22, 38))  
21. //creates a binding source to simplify the binding process  
22. let bindingsource=new BindingSource()  
23. //creates a binding navigator  
24. //this will allow us to add navigational buttons to our data grid  
25. let bindingnav=new BindingNavigator()  
26. //creates a toolstrip buttons for our binding navigator  
27. let movefirst=new ToolStripButton(Text="Top")  
28. let moveprev=new ToolStripButton(Text="Prev")  
29. let movenext=new ToolStripButton(Text="Next")  
30. let movelast=new ToolStripButton(Text="Bottom")  
31. //adds the toolstripbuttons to our binding navigator  
32. bindingnav.Items.Add(movefirst)|>ignore  
33. bindingnav.Items.Add(moveprev)|>ignore  
34. bindingnav.Items.Add(movenext)|>ignore  
35. bindingnav.Items.Add(movelast)|>ignore  
36. //adds a function to each buttons  
37. bindingnav.MoveFirstItem<-movefirst  
38. bindingnav.MoveNextItem<-movenext  
39. bindingnav.MovePreviousItem<-moveprev  
40. bindingnav.MoveLastItem<-movelast  
41. //assigns the dataset name as a bindingsource datasource  
42. bindingsource.DataSource<-dataset11  
43. //assigns our table as a binding source datamember  
44. bindingsource.DataMember<-"tblEmployee"  
45. //assigns the bindingsource name as a binding navigators  
46. //bindingsource value  
47. bindingnav.BindingSource<-bindingsource  
48. //opens the connection  
49. olecon.Open()  
50. //adds the controls to our form  
51. dataform.Controls.Add(bindingnav)  
52. datagrid.DataSource <- bindingsource  
53.   
54. //add the datagrid to our form  
55. dataform.Controls.Add(datagrid)  
56. //execute our application  
57. dataform.Show()  
58. Application.Run(dataform)  

// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net
//specifies the location of the class files
//that will be needed in our application
open System
open System.Windows.Forms
open System.Data
open System.Drawing
//creates a connection object
let olecon = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
  Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")
//adds an oleDbDataAdapter
let dataadapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", olecon)
//generate a dataset
let dataset11 = new DataSet()
//fill our dataset with record values
dataadapter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore
//creates a form
let dataform = new Form(Text="Change DataGrid Header",ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(398, 232))
//creates a datagrid
let datagrid = new DataGridView(ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode=DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize,Size=new System.Drawing.Size(341, 143),Location=new System.Drawing.Point(22, 38))
//creates a binding source to simplify the binding process
let bindingsource=new BindingSource()
//creates a binding navigator
//this will allow us to add navigational buttons to our data grid
let bindingnav=new BindingNavigator()
//creates a toolstrip buttons for our binding navigator
let movefirst=new ToolStripButton(Text="Top")
let moveprev=new ToolStripButton(Text="Prev")
let movenext=new ToolStripButton(Text="Next")
let movelast=new ToolStripButton(Text="Bottom")
//adds the toolstripbuttons to our binding navigator
bindingnav.Items.Add(movefirst)|>ignore
bindingnav.Items.Add(moveprev)|>ignore
bindingnav.Items.Add(movenext)|>ignore
bindingnav.Items.Add(movelast)|>ignore
//adds a function to each buttons
bindingnav.MoveFirstItem<-movefirst
bindingnav.MoveNextItem<-movenext
bindingnav.MovePreviousItem<-moveprev
bindingnav.MoveLastItem<-movelast
//assigns the dataset name as a bindingsource datasource
bindingsource.DataSource<-dataset11
//assigns our table as a binding source datamember
bindingsource.DataMember<-"tblEmployee"
//assigns the bindingsource name as a binding navigators
//bindingsource value
bindingnav.BindingSource<-bindingsource
//opens the connection
olecon.Open()
//adds the controls to our form
dataform.Controls.Add(bindingnav)
datagrid.DataSource <- bindingsource

//add the datagrid to our form
dataform.Controls.Add(datagrid)
//execute our application
dataform.Show()
Application.Run(dataform)

5. Click the run icon to execute your application. You should now see an output similar to the following screen shot: For more sketchy tutorials on Visual F# visit Microsoft F# Developer Center.

Changing the DataGridView Header Text in Visual F#

To change the header text of a grid contrl in Visual F#, the first thing that you’ll need to do is to create a grid view columns. This can be done by using the following syntax:

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1. let columnname=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()  

let columnname=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()

For instance:

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1. let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()  

let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()

After that, you’ll need to add that column to the data grid. This can be done by using the following syntax:

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1. dataobjvariable.Columns.Add(columnname)  

dataobjvariable.Columns.Add(columnname)

For example:

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1. datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)  

datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)

Then finally, you’ll need to bind the column name to the fieldname where you will be getting the record value followed by changing its header text using the DataPropertyName and HeaderText propeties.

For a simple example on changing the header text of a grid control, follow these steps:

Before the Database Connection and Binding process I want you to make an Ms-Access database file named “dbEmployee” containing a table named “tblEmployee”. Use the following specifications:

Field Name	Data Type	Description
chrempno	text	Handles employee id
chrfname	text	Handles employee’s name
chrlname	text	Holds employee’s last name

After designing the structure of your table, you can enter appropriate values for each field. For instance:

chrempno	chrfname	Chrlname
1	John	Doe
2	Jean	Doe

Now that we are done creating a table, we can now link to it by using OleDbDataAdapter in Visual F#:


1. Click Start>All Programs>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008>Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

2. Click File>New>Project>Select Visual F# in the project types>Select F# application in the Visual Studio installed templates category.

3. Click the Project menu>Add reference>Click the .Net tab>Locate then double-click System.Windows.Forms. Do step 3 again and this time, select System.Drawing and System.Data from the .Net tab.

4. Enter the following code after the line “// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net “:

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1. // Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net  
2. //specifies the location of the class files  
3. //that will be needed in our application  
4. open System  
5. open System.Windows.Forms  
6. open System.Data  
7. open System.Drawing  
8. //creates a connection object  
9. let olecon = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;  
10.   Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")  
11. //adds an oleDbDataAdapter  
12. let dataadapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", olecon)  
13. //generate a dataset  
14. let dataset11 = new DataSet()  
15. //fill our dataset with record values  
16. dataadapter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore  
17. //creates a form  
18. let dataform = new Form(Text="Change DataGrid Header",ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(398, 232))  
19. //creates a datagrid  
20. let datagrid = new DataGridView(ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode=DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize,Size=new System.Drawing.Size(341, 143),Location=new System.Drawing.Point(22, 38))  
21. //creates a grid control colums  
22. let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()  
23. let chrfnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()  
24. let chrlnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()  
25. //adds the columns into our datagrid  
26. datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)|>ignore  
27. datagrid.Columns.Add(chrfnamecol)|>ignore  
28. datagrid.Columns.Add(chrlnamecol)|>ignore  
29. //opens the database connection and  
30. //set our table as the datagrid's datasource  
31. olecon.Open()  
32. datagrid.DataSource <- dataset11.Tables.["tblEmployee"]  
33. //links our fieldname to each grid  
34. //and change its header text  
35. chrempnocol.DataPropertyName<-"chrempno"  
36. chrempnocol.HeaderText<-"Employee No."  
37. chrfnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrfname"  
38. chrfnamecol.HeaderText<-"First Name"  
39. chrlnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrlname"  
40. chrlnamecol.HeaderText<-"Last Name"  
41. //add the datagrid to our form  
42. dataform.Controls.Add(datagrid)  
43. //execute our application  
44. dataform.Show()  
45. Application.Run(dataform)  

// Learn more about F# at http://fsharp.net
//specifies the location of the class files
//that will be needed in our application
open System
open System.Windows.Forms
open System.Data
open System.Drawing
//creates a connection object
let olecon = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;
  Data Source=C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\dbEmployee.mdb")
//adds an oleDbDataAdapter
let dataadapter = new System.Data.OleDb.OleDbDataAdapter("Select * from tblEmployee", olecon)
//generate a dataset
let dataset11 = new DataSet()
//fill our dataset with record values
dataadapter.Fill(dataset11,"tblEmployee")|>ignore
//creates a form
let dataform = new Form(Text="Change DataGrid Header",ClientSize=new System.Drawing.Size(398, 232))
//creates a datagrid
let datagrid = new DataGridView(ColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode=DataGridViewColumnHeadersHeightSizeMode.AutoSize,Size=new System.Drawing.Size(341, 143),Location=new System.Drawing.Point(22, 38))
//creates a grid control colums
let chrempnocol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
let chrfnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
let chrlnamecol=new DataGridViewTextBoxColumn()
//adds the columns into our datagrid
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrempnocol)|>ignore
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrfnamecol)|>ignore
datagrid.Columns.Add(chrlnamecol)|>ignore
//opens the database connection and
//set our table as the datagrid's datasource
olecon.Open()
datagrid.DataSource <- dataset11.Tables.["tblEmployee"]
//links our fieldname to each grid
//and change its header text
chrempnocol.DataPropertyName<-"chrempno"
chrempnocol.HeaderText<-"Employee No."
chrfnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrfname"
chrfnamecol.HeaderText<-"First Name"
chrlnamecol.DataPropertyName<-"chrlname"
chrlnamecol.HeaderText<-"Last Name"
//add the datagrid to our form
dataform.Controls.Add(datagrid)
//execute our application
dataform.Show()
Application.Run(dataform)

5. Click the run icon to execute your application. You should now see an output similar to the following screen shot:
For more sketchy tutorials on Visual F# visit Microsoft F# Developer Center.That's all for now:)