How to: Bind a Report to a Collection of Custom Objects Implementing the ITypedList Interface

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a hierarchical master-detail datasource at runtime, and bind a report to it.

To bind a report to a collection of custom objects, do the following.

• Implement the ITypedList Interface to Data Objects
• Create Data
• Create a Report
• Get the Result

Implement the ITypedList Interface to Data Objects

For the XtraReport to work correctly with a master-detail datasource, which consists of objects created at runtime, it's required that this datasource implements the System.ComponentModel.ITypedList interface. The code below demonstrates how to implement the ITypedList interface for a 3-level Supplier-Product-OrderDetail hierarchical data source.

using System; using System.Collections; using System.ComponentModel; // ...    public class SupplierCollection : ArrayList, ITypedList {     PropertyDescriptorCollection ITypedList.GetItemProperties(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         if (listAccessors != null && listAccessors.Length > 0) {             PropertyDescriptor listAccessor = listAccessors[listAccessors.Length - 1];             if (listAccessor.PropertyType.Equals(typeof(ProductCollection)))                 return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(Product));             else if (listAccessor.PropertyType.Equals(typeof(OrderDetailCollection)))                 return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(OrderDetail));         }         return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(Supplier));     }     string ITypedList.GetListName(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         return "Suppliers";     } }   public class Supplier {     static int nextID = 0;     int id;     string name;     ProductCollection products = new ProductCollection();       public ProductCollection Products { get { return products; } }     public int SupplierID { get { return id; } }     public string CompanyName { get { return name; } }       public Supplier(string name) {         this.name = name;           this.id = nextID;         nextID++;     }     public void Add(Product product) {         products.Add(product);     } }   public class ProductCollection : ArrayList, ITypedList {     PropertyDescriptorCollection ITypedList.GetItemProperties(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(Product));     }     string ITypedList.GetListName(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         return "Products";     } }   public class Product {     static int nextID = 0;       OrderDetailCollection orderDetails = new OrderDetailCollection();     int suppID;     int prodID;     string name;       public int SupplierID { get { return suppID; } }     public int ProductID { get { return prodID; } }     public string ProductName { get { return name; } }     public OrderDetailCollection OrderDetails { get { return orderDetails; } }       public Product(int suppID, string name) {         this.suppID = suppID;         this.name = name;           this.prodID = nextID;         nextID++;     } }   public class OrderDetailCollection : ArrayList, ITypedList {     PropertyDescriptorCollection ITypedList.GetItemProperties(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         return TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(typeof(OrderDetail));     }     string ITypedList.GetListName(PropertyDescriptor[] listAccessors) {         return "OrderDetails";     } }   public class OrderDetail {     int prodID;     short quantity;     public int ProductID { get { return prodID; } }     public short Quantity { get { return quantity; } }       public OrderDetail(int prodID, int quantity) {         this.prodID = prodID;         this.quantity = Convert.ToInt16(quantity);     } }

Create Data

The following code demonstrates how to create the data objects which were declared above, and fill them with data.

private SupplierCollection CreateData() {     SupplierCollection suppliers = new SupplierCollection();       Supplier supplier = new Supplier("Exotic Liquids");     suppliers.Add(supplier);     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Chai"));     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Chang"));     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Aniseed Syrup"));       supplier = new Supplier("New Orleans Cajun Delights");     suppliers.Add(supplier);     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Chef Anton's Cajun Seasoning"));     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Chef Anton's Gumbo Mix"));       supplier = new Supplier("Grandma Kelly's Homestead");     suppliers.Add(supplier);     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Grandma's Boysenberry Spread"));     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Uncle Bob's Organic Dried Pears"));     supplier.Add(CreateProduct(supplier.SupplierID, "Northwoods Cranberry Sauce"));       return suppliers; }   static Random random = new Random(5);   private Product CreateProduct(int supplierID, string productName) {     Product product = new Product(supplierID, productName);       product.OrderDetails.AddRange(new OrderDetail[] {         new OrderDetail(product.ProductID, random.Next(0, 100)),         new OrderDetail(product.ProductID, random.Next(0, 100)),         new OrderDetail(product.ProductID, random.Next(0, 100)) });       return product; }

Create a Report

The following code demonstrates how to create a 3-level master-detail report at runtime, add all necessary band and controls to it, and bind it to an ITypedList datasource, which was created by the above code.

private XtraReport CreateReport() {     XtraReport report = new XtraReport();       DetailBand detail = new DetailBand();     detail.Height = 30;     report.Bands.Add(detail);       DetailReportBand detailReport1 = new DetailReportBand();     report.Bands.Add(detailReport1);       DetailBand detail1 = new DetailBand();     detail1.Height = 30;     detailReport1.Bands.Add(detail1);       DetailReportBand detailReport2 = new DetailReportBand();     detailReport1.Bands.Add(detailReport2);       DetailBand detail2 = new DetailBand();     detail2.Height = 30;     detailReport2.Bands.Add(detail2);       report.DataSource = CreateData();     detailReport1.DataMember = "Products";     detailReport2.DataMember = "Products.OrderDetails";       detail.Controls.Add(CreateBoundLabel("CompanyName", Color.Gold, 0));     detail1.Controls.Add(CreateBoundLabel("Products.ProductName", Color.Aqua, 100));     detail2.Controls.Add(CreateBoundLabel("Products.OrderDetails.Quantity", Color.Pink, 200));       return report; }   private XRLabel CreateBoundLabel(string dataMember, Color backColor, int offset) {     XRLabel label = new XRLabel();       label.DataBindings.Add(new XRBinding("Text", null, dataMember));     label.BackColor = backColor;     label.Location = new Point(offset, 0);       return label; }

Get the Result

The following code creates a report, and shows its Print Preview.

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) {     XtraReport report = CreateReport();       report.ShowPreview(); }

The resulting report is shown in the image below.

Show Me

The complete sample project is available in the DevExpress Code Central database at http://www.devexpress.com/example=E137. Depending on the target platform type (ASP.NET, WinForms, etc), you can either run this example online or download an auto-executable sample.

See Also