C# DataView Examples

DataView selectively filters and sorts DataTable rows.

The DataView class in System.Data is ideal for sorting data for UIs or for database INSERT. We use the data in a DataTable by sorting it with DataView.

Intro. First, DataTable stores the physical data—the DataView is only a view of that data. You cannot easily sort a DataTable without a DataView reference. DataView has a Sort string, which we specify the column to sort with.

DataTable: Where you populate your data, from the user or database—an in-memory representation.

DataView: Accessed with the DefaultView property on DataTable. DataViews allow you to filter and sort data, not store it.

DefaultView: Access this property on your DataTable instance. This is an instance of DataView.

Count: This is an instance property on all DataView instances. You can use this in a for-loop on the DataView.

Sort: This is a string property on every DataView. Assign this to a string containing the name of a column.

Example. We first use DataView to sort one of four columns on a DataTable. In your program, the DataTable may be generated from user input or a database, but here we programmatically create it. The GetTable method returns a table with four columns.

C# program that uses DataView

using System;
using System.Data;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
	//
	// Specify the column to sort on.
	//
	DataTable table = GetTable();
	table.DefaultView.Sort = "Weight";

	//
	// Display all records in the view.
	//
	DataView view = table.DefaultView;
	Console.WriteLine("=== Sorted by weight ===");
	for (int i = 0; i < view.Count; i++)
	{
	    Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}, {2}, {3}",
		view[i][0],
		view[i][1],
		view[i][2],
		view[i][3]);
	}

	//
	// Now sort on the Name.
	//
	view.Sort = "Name";
	//
	// Display all records in the view.
	//
	Console.WriteLine("=== Sorted by name ===");
	for (int i = 0; i < view.Count; i++)
	{
	    Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}, {2}, {3}",
		view[i][0],
		view[i][1],
		view[i][2],
		view[i][3]);
	}
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// This example method generates a DataTable.
    /// </summary>
    static DataTable GetTable()
    {
	//
	// Here we create a DataTable with four columns.
	//
	DataTable table = new DataTable();
	table.Columns.Add("Weight", typeof(int));
	table.Columns.Add("Name", typeof(string));
	table.Columns.Add("Breed", typeof(string));
	table.Columns.Add("Date", typeof(DateTime));

	//
	// Here we add unsorted data to the DataTable and return.
	//
	table.Rows.Add(57, "Koko", "Shar Pei", DateTime.Now);
	table.Rows.Add(130, "Fido", "Bullmastiff", DateTime.Now);
	table.Rows.Add(92, "Alex", "Anatolian Shepherd Dog", DateTime.Now);
	table.Rows.Add(25, "Charles", "Cavalier King Charles Spaniel", DateTime.Now);
	table.Rows.Add(7, "Candy", "Yorkshire Terrier", DateTime.Now);
	return table;
    }
}

Output

=== Sorted by weight ===
7, Candy, Yorkshire Terrier, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
25, Charles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
57, Koko, Shar Pei, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
92, Alex, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
130, Fido, Bullmastiff, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM

=== Sorted by name ===
92, Alex, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
7, Candy, Yorkshire Terrier, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
25, Charles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
130, Fido, Bullmastiff, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM
57, Koko, Shar Pei, 4/5/2014 3:38:22 PM

The program first has the Main entry point, which we use to sort the DataTable. The final method, GetTable, is a custom method that returns a new DataTable. Before we can use DataView, we must have a complete table.

Note: The GetTable method returns a DataTable with four columns, each specifying an attribute of a dog—Weight, Name, Breed and Date.

DataView. In the Main method, the DefaultView is accessed. DefaultView is a property of type DataView. This means it has a Sort property. We assign the Sort property to a string that matches one of the column names ("Weight").

Strings

Finishing the code. The first for-loop displays all fields in the DataTable, sorted by the Weight integer. Then, the DataView is resorted on Name, and then that view is displayed.

For

Output: In the first section, the Weight integer is ordered in ascending (low to high) order.

And: In the second section, the Name string is ordered in ascending ASCII (a - z) sort order.

Filter. You can also filter your DataView, which allows you to exclude rows. This means you can view your DataTable with certain rows matching a condition omitted. The two properties we use here are RowFilter, and RowStateFilter.

Property

Summary. We saw a complete example of using DataView to sort rows in a DataTable. This is powerful. It allows you to sort your data before using it in your program, and before INSERT-ing it into your SQL database.

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