Feed CheckedListBox with data from XML

dophka

I am writting a small application that works with remote server via http. My application sends a request and in return receives an xml file (i can access it via a string var.) now I need to build a CheckedListBox with the data from this XML. Can someone suggest a simple way to arrange this and maybe give a sample? my XML file looks like a lot of small containers that look like this (for each item): 1 040104 I posted a subject here! content is posted here I want to be able to build CheckedListBox with 4 rows: id, post_date, subject, content. thanks a lot! Alexander

Heath Stewart

First of all, design your XML document to reflect alternatives which are more like siblings. Because you have a fragment like:

This implies that each item should be a separate row. This isn't absolute, but common. If you design your document like this, you could actually use DataSet.ReadXml and create a DataSet which is easily bindable to a CheckedListBox. If you want to use your schema that you posted, you'll have to parse the XML document manually and create an IList or IListSource implementation. The easiest way would be to use an ArrayList, which implements IList. You can then use this object with the CheckedListBox.DataBindings property (if memory serves me correctly), or enumerate the list and add each item to the CheckedListBox.Items property. If you use the latter method, you can forego the ArrayList and just add the different XML elements to the CheckedListBox.Items property in the first place. For information on multi-column CheckedListBoxes, see the CheckedListBox.MultiColumn property documentation, which inherits from the ListBox control class.

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dophka

well, my XML file looks like what you have shown above: all are stored withing one so it looks like: I made a mistake, I want to show the data in a datagrid, not a checkedlistBox. The problem is that this XML is actually a string... I created a new dataset. how can I make dataset.ReadXml() read from a string? many-many thanks! Alexander.

Heath Stewart

dophka wrote: I want to show the data in a datagrid, not a checkedlistBox. Good, a DataGrid is easier to data-bind since you only have to use the DataSource property. You should also consider using the DataMember and TableStyles properties. See the SDK documentation for details or play around with the designer in VS.NET a little. It's not too difficult. dophka wrote: I created a new dataset. how can I make dataset.ReadXml() read from a string? You'll need to read the fragment as a TextReader unfortunately. Let's say your XML fragment is in a string variable named xml:

StringReader reader = null;
DataSet ds = null;
try
{
reader = new StringReader(xml);
ds = new DataSet("news");
ds.ReadXml(reader);
}
finally
{
if (reader != null) reader.Close();
}

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dophka

thanks a lot for your explanations! how I have done reading the xml thingy and I am sorry for asking, but then what? do I create another dataSet, add columns and then fill it with the data from the dataset that grabbed the xml content? can you please please please walk me little further? thanks! Alexander

Heath Stewart

I'm the kind of guy that would rather teach a man to fish than give him a fish. So, read the documentation for the DataGrid. You already have your DataSet, so you assign that to the DataGrid.DataSource property and set the DataGrid.DataMember property to the table name you want to bind to. Columns are automatically created for each column of that table, but you can control this with the DataGrid.TableStyles property. Try doing all this in VS.NET using the designer. Create a new DataSet schema then use the Data toolbox to add a new DataSet object. Add a DataGrid to your form or control and play around with some of the properties. Reading the documentation will fill in the details, which are important to understand. There are also many great articles on data-binding here on CodeProject. Just use the search box toward the top and use generic terms like "DataSet" or "DataGrid". I'm sure you'll find plenty. Besides, going into any great deal really isn't meant for the forums. With all the possibilities, this is better discussed in an article. Always be sure to read the documentation, though. It should be your first stop for any questions.

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dophka

it seems to be helping a lot! :) I finally made the grid how my data and feel very happy about that. I tho have a couple of last (you wish :)) things to ask (something I didn't yet find in the properties): when the grid comes out it has four columns as expected but how do I make them fill all the space horizontally? the actual grid sits in the left upper filling only about 50% of vertical space. when the text in a column does not fit the grid window horizontally, is there a way to make it put it into a new line? like excel does it? o.w. avoid horizontal scroll bar? and again - thanks a lot! Alexander...

Heath Stewart

dophka wrote: (something I didn't yet find in the properties) Don't be a drag-n-drop programmer - read the documentation for the DataGrid You'll find a lot more is possible than what the properties provide (some properties are browsable in the designer, and then there's all the methods that you won't see...) dophka wrote: when the grid comes out it has four columns as expected but how do I make them fill all the space horizontally? This is perhaps the biggest problem with the DataGrid. There's really nothing you can do but resize the column programmatically. I'm sure I've seen a couple articles on this here on the CP site. Just try a search. dophka wrote: when the text in a column does not fit the grid window horizontally, is there a way to make it put it into a new line? like excel does it? First of all, you must understand that Excel is a spreadsheet control - not a grid (just so you don't get any other crazy ieas in your head! :)) Second, you can create a custom DataGridColumnStyle class that allows you to edit text in multiple lines, but the display of the values is dependent on the DataGrid. To my knowledge, there is no way to get the text to display in multiple lines when not in edit mode.

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