DataBind Charts to Bitbucket Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for Bitbucket streamlines the process of binding Bitbucket data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between Bitbucket data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

Binding Data to a Chart

DataBinding to a Chart consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to Bitbucket, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific Bitbucket entities you wish to bind to.

1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu. 👁 Add a data source to be bound to the chart.
   
2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData Bitbucket Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   Workspace=myworkspaceslug;Schema=Information;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;

   For most queries, you must set the Workspace. The only exception to this is the Workspaces table, which does not require this property to be set, as querying it provides a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace. To query this table, you must set Schema to 'Information' and execute the query SELECT * FROM Workspaces>.

   Setting Schema to 'Information' displays general information. To connect to Bitbucket, set these parameters:

   • Schema: To show general information about a workspace, such as its users, repositories, and projects, set this to Information. Otherwise, set this to the schema of the repository or project you are querying. To get a full set of available schemas, query the sys_schemas table.
   • Workspace: Required if you are not querying the Workspaces table. This property is not required for querying the Workspaces table, as that query only returns a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace.

   Authenticating to Bitbucket

   Bitbucket supports OAuth authentication only. To enable this authentication from all OAuth flows, you must create a custom OAuth application, and set AuthScheme to OAuth.

   Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

   Creating a custom OAuth application

   From your Bitbucket account:

   1. Go to Settings (the gear icon) and select Workspace Settings.
   2. In the Apps and Features section, select OAuth Consumers.
   3. Click Add Consumer.
   4. Enter a name and description for your custom application.
   5. Set the callback URL:
      • For desktop applications and headless machines, use http://localhost:33333 or another port number of your choice. The URI you set here becomes the CallbackURL property.
      • For web applications, set the callback URL to a trusted redirect URL. This URL is the web location the user returns to with the token that verifies that your application has been granted access.
   6. If you plan to use client credentials to authenticate, you must select This is a private consumer. In the driver, you must set AuthScheme to client.
   7. Select which permissions to give your OAuth application. These determine what data you can read and write with it.
   8. To save the new custom application, click Save.
   9. After the application has been saved, you can select it to view its settings. The application's Key and Secret are displayed. Record these for future use. You will use the Key to set the OAuthClientId and the Secret to set the OAuthClientSecret.

   When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   👁 Connection properties for the selected data source in the Add Connection dialog. (Salesforce is shown.)
   
5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the Issues table. 👁 Select database objects. (Salesforce is shown.)
   

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to Title and the y-axis to ContentRaw.

1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the Bitbucket data. Run the chart to display the current data. 👁 The chart, filled with data at run time.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to Bitbucket data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

1. Connect to Bitbucket.
2. Create the BitbucketDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

BitbucketConnection conn = new BitbucketConnection("Workspace=myworkspaceslug;Schema=Information;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;");
BitbucketCommand comm = new BitbucketCommand("SELECT Title, ContentRaw FROM Issues WHERE Id = '1'", conn);
BitbucketDataAdapter da = new BitbucketDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

chart1.DataSource = dataset; 
chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Title";
chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "ContentRaw";
// Insert code for additional chart formatting here.
chart1.DataBind();