Binding Relational and XML Data in ASP.NET 2.0

With the initial release of ASP.NET in 2002, developers were given a simplified way to bind data to controls that minimized coding and reduced spaghetti code. ASP.NET version 2 adds many new classes that further simplify the process of data-binding. In addition to many new server controls, V2 adds several new data source controls as well that are responsible for communicating with relational and hierarchical data sources:

• AccessDataSource
• ObjectDataSource
• SiteMapDatasource
• SqlDataSource
• XmlDataSource

The sample code available below demonstrates how to use the ObjectDataSource control to access a business object in a logical n-tier architecture, how to select, update, insert and delete data using the SqlDataSource and shows how the XmlDataSource can be used to bind sitemap data as well as RSS feeds quickly and easily. The sample code is based upon a Webinar given by Dan Wahlin for Global Knowledge.