DataBind Charts to Quickbase Data

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for Quickbase streamlines the process of binding Quickbase data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between Quickbase 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.

DataBind to a Chart

DataBinding 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 Quickbase, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific Quickbase 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.
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 Quickbase Data Source.

   Below is a typical connection string:

   User=user@domain.com;Password=password;Domain=myinstance.quickbase.com;ApplicationToken=bwkxrb5da2wn57bzfh9xn24

   User Authentication Method

   To authenticate with user credentials, specify the following connection properties:

   1. Set the User and Password.
   2. If your application requires an ApplicationToken;, you must provide it otherwise an error will be thrown. You can find the ApplicationToken under SpecificApp > Settings > App management > App properties > Advanced settings > Security options > Manage Application Token.

   User Token Authentication

   To authenticate with a user token, specify the following connection properties:

   1. Set UserToken and you are ready to connect. You can find the UserToken under Quick Base > My Preferences > My User Information > Manage User Tokens.

   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.

5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the SampleTable_1 table.

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 Id and the y-axis to Column1.

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 Quickbase data. Run the chart to display the current data.

Code Walk-through

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

1. Connect to Quickbase.
2. Create the QuickBaseDataAdapter 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:

QuickBaseConnection conn = new QuickBaseConnection("User=user@domain.com;Password=password;Domain=myinstance.quickbase.com;ApplicationToken=bwkxrb5da2wn57bzfh9xn24"); QuickBaseCommand comm = new QuickBaseCommand("SELECT Id, Column1 FROM SampleTable_1 WHERE Column2 = '100'", conn); QuickBaseDataAdapter da = new QuickBaseDataAdapter(comm); DataSet dataset = new DataSet(); da.Fill(dataset); chart1.DataSource = dataset; chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Id"; chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "Column1"; // Insert code for additional chart formatting here. chart1.DataBind();