How to generalize the name of a DataGridView object?

[fa2020]

Hi,
I want to make a dll library for exporting DataGridView content to Excel file. The code works pretty fine in the main windows form. But I want to generalize it to create dll file for using in other projects. My problem is that I cannot generalize DataGrideView name in my class code.
For example, a part of my code is:

for (int i = 1; i < DataSource.Columns.Count + 1; i++)
            {
                worksheet.Cells[1, i] = DataSource.Columns[i - 1].HeaderText;
            }

DataSource has not defined. It has planned to be the name of a potential DataGrideView. How should I define DataSource ? (My code is in C#)

[jmcilhinney]

You need to define a class in this library that contains a method that does this work on the grid. You declare a parameter on that method of type DataGridView and then use that in the code. Any application that contains a DataGridView can then call that method and pass the grid as an argument.

Public Class DataGridViewProcessor
 
    Public Sub ExportToExcel(grid As DataGridView)
        'Use grid here.
    End Sub
 
End Class

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
    Dim processor As New DataGridViewProcessor
 
    processor.ExportToExcel(DataGridView1)
End Sub

[fa2020]

You need to define a class in this library that contains a method that does this work on the grid. You declare a parameter on that method of type DataGridView and then use that in the code. Any application that contains a DataGridView can then call that method and pass the grid as an argument.

Public Class DataGridViewProcessor
 
    Public Sub ExportToExcel(grid As DataGridView)
        'Use grid here.
    End Sub
 
End Class

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
    Dim processor As New DataGridViewProcessor
 
    processor.ExportToExcel(DataGridView1)
End Sub

DataGridView cannot be defined in C#.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Yes it can. It's a type in the framework, and that is language independent. It sounds like the library is based on .NET Core, not .NET Framework. As far as I can tell, .NET Core does not have a DataGridView.

[fa2020]

Yes it can. It's a type in the framework, and that is language independent. It sounds like the library is based on .NET Core, not .NET Framework. As far as I can tell, .NET Core does not have a DataGridView.

Does it mean that C# is weaker language in comparison with VB.NET?

[jmcilhinney]

Is it mean that C# is weaker language in comparison with VB.NET?

No, it doesn't mean that at all. I didn't even register the C# bit at the start. Why the hell have you posted in the VB.NET forum in the first place if this is a C# question? How about you respect us and the forum enough to post C# questions in the C# forum?

Anyway, the issue likely has nothing at all to do with C# and you just don't know the fundamentals of assemblies and references. If you create a Windows Forms Application project then references to the System.Windows.Forms.dll assembly and a few others are added automatically. That's where the declarations of all the WinForms controls, including the DataGridView class, are made. If you use the Class Library project template then some of those references, including System.Windows.Forms.dll are not added, because most libraries won't need them. If you do need one or more of those references then you have to add them yourself, just as you do any other reference. This applies to C# and VB.NET.

[jmcilhinney]

Yes it can. It's a type in the framework, and that is language independent. It sounds like the library is based on .NET Core, not .NET Framework. As far as I can tell, .NET Core does not have a DataGridView.

WinForms has been supported in .NET Core since version 3.0. That said, a WinForms application is likely targeting .NET Framework so any library to support such an application should target .NET Framework too.

[si_the_geek]

Thread moved from the 'VB.Net' forum to the 'C#' forum