DataBind Charts to MariaDB Data

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

   Below is a typical connection string:

   User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=3306;

   The Server and Port properties must be set to a MariaDB server. If IntegratedSecurity is set to false, then User and Password must be set to valid user credentials. Optionally, Database can be set to connect to a specific database. If not set, the tables from all databases are reported.

   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 Orders 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 ShipName and the y-axis to ShipCity.

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

Code Walk-through

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

1. Connect to MariaDB.
2. Create the MariaDBDataAdapter 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:

MariaDBConnection conn = new MariaDBConnection("User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=3306;");
MariaDBCommand comm = new MariaDBCommand("SELECT ShipName, ShipCity FROM Orders", conn);
MariaDBDataAdapter da = new MariaDBDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

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