.NET 2.0+ WinForms Data-binding

[jmcilhinney]

C# version here.

There seems to be a lot of misconception, misinformation and downright lack of knowledge where data-binding is concerned. I'm a big fan of data-binding. I use it at every opportunity and I suggest that everyone else do the same. To that end, I decided that it would be a good idea to start a thread dedicated to the topic.

I'll add posts over time dedicated to different aspects of data-binding and hopefully I can help dispel some of the misconceptions and increase the knowledge of those who would like to save themselves some time writing laborious code to shuffle data back and forth between business objects or other lists and their UI.

Before I begin, I should point out that data-binding is not a panacea. It is just one of the tools in your tool box. Use it when it will help you accomplish your goal, especially when it will save you time. That said, it won't always be the right tool for the job. A good developer will be able to recognise those occasions and write their own code to do the job.

Now, one of the things I hear people say is that data-binding doesn't offer the control that writing your own code. To those people I say that that's a crock. Data-binding offers tremendous power out of the box, plus you can customise many aspects of it to accomplish many different things. If a situation comes along that is too curly for data-binding you still have the freedom to write your own custom routines. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use data-binding for the meat and potatoes though.

The first genuine instalment will be arriving very soon.