BindingSource Component Overview

The BindingSource component is designed to simplify the process of binding controls to an underlying data source. The BindingSource component acts as both a conduit and a data source for other controls to bind to. It provides an abstraction of your form's data connection while passing through commands to the underlying list of data. Additionally, you can add data directly to it, so that the component itself functions as a data source.

BindingSource Component as an Intermediary

The BindingSource component acts as the data source for some or all of the controls on the form. In Visual Studio, the BindingSource can be bound to a control by means of the DataBindings property, which is accessible from the Properties window. How to: Bind Windows Forms Controls with the BindingSource Component Using the Designer
How to: Bind Windows Forms Controls with the BindingSource Component Using the Designer
How to: Bind Windows Forms Controls with the BindingSource Component Using the Designer
How to: Bind Windows Forms Controls with the BindingSource Component Using the Designer

You can bind the BindingSource component to both simple data sources, like a single property of an object or a basic collection like ArrayList, and complex data sources, like a database table. The BindingSource component acts as an intermediary that provides binding and currency management services. At design time or run time, you can bind a BindingSource component to a complex data source by setting its DataSource and DataMember properties to the database and table, respectively. The following illustration demonstrates where the BindingSource component fits into the existing data-binding architecture.

Note
At design time, some actions, like dragging a database table from a data window onto a blank form, will create the BindingSource component, bind it to the underlying data source, and add data-aware controls all in one operation. Displaying Data Overview Binding Windows Forms Controls to Data in Visual Studio

BindingSource Component as a Data Source

If you start adding items to the BindingSource component without first specifying a list to be bound to, the component will act like a list-style data source and accept these added items.

Additionally, you can write code to provide custom "AddNew" functionality by means of the AddingNew event, which is raised when the AddNew method is called prior to the item being added to the list. For more information, see BindingSource Component Architecture.

Navigation

For users that need to navigate the data on a form, the BindingNavigator component enables you to navigate and manipulate data, in coordination with a BindingSource component. For more information, see BindingNavigator Control (Windows Forms).

Data Manipulation

The: BindingSource acts as a CurrencyManager for all of its bindings and can, therefore, provide access to currency and position information regarding the data source. The following table shows the members that the BindingSource component provides for accessing and manipulating the underlying data.

Sorting and Filtering

Usually, you should work with an ordered or filtered view of the data source. The following table shows the members that the BindingSource component data source provides.

See Also

Reference

BindingSource
BindingNavigator

Concepts

BindingSource Component Architecture

Other Resources

BindingSource Component
BindingNavigator Control (Windows Forms)
Windows Forms Data Binding
Controls to Use on Windows Forms