DataBind Charts to SingleStore Data

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

   Below is a typical connection string:

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

   The following connection properties are required in order to connect to data.

   • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
   • Port: The port of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
   • Database (Optional): The default database to connect to when connecting to the SingleStore Server. If this is not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

   Connect Using Standard Authentication

   To authenticate using standard authentication, set the following:

   • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the SingleStore server.
   • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the SingleStore server.

   Connect Using Integrated Security

   As an alternative to providing the standard username and password, you can set IntegratedSecurity to True to authenticate trusted users to the server via Windows Authentication.

   Connect Using SSL Authentication

   You can leverage SSL authentication to connect to SingleStore data via a secure session. Configure the following connection properties to connect to data:

   • SSLClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate. Used in the case of 2-way SSL, where truststore and keystore are kept on both the client and server machines.
   • SSLClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSLClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSLClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSLServerCert: The certificate to be accepted from the server.

   Connect Using SSH Authentication

   Using SSH, you can securely login to a remote machine. To access SingleStore data via SSH, configure the following connection properties:

   • SSHClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.
   • SSHClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSHClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSHClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSHPassword: The password that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.
   • SSHPort: The port used for SSH operations.
   • SSHServer: The SSH authentication server you are trying to authenticate against.
   • SSHServerFingerPrint: The SSH Server fingerprint used for verification of the host you are connecting to.
   • SSHUser: Set this to the username that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.

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

Code Walk-through

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

1. Connect to SingleStore.
2. Create the SingleStoreDataAdapter 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:

SingleStoreConnection conn = new SingleStoreConnection("User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=3306;");
SingleStoreCommand comm = new SingleStoreCommand("SELECT ShipName, ShipCity FROM Orders WHERE ShipCountry = 'USA'", conn);
SingleStoreDataAdapter da = new SingleStoreDataAdapter(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();