DataBind Charts to FTP Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for FTP streamlines the process of binding FTP data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between FTP 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 FTP, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific FTP 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 FTP Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;

   To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

   Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

   Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

   The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

   • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
   • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

   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 MyDirectory 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 Filesize and the y-axis to Filename.

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 FTP data. Run the chart to display the current data. 👁 The chart, filled with data at run time.

Code Walk-through

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

1. Connect to FTP.
2. Create the FTPDataAdapter 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:

FTPConnection conn = new FTPConnection("RemoteHost=MyFTPServer;");
FTPCommand comm = new FTPCommand("SELECT Filesize, Filename FROM MyDirectory", conn);
FTPDataAdapter da = new FTPDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

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