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DataBind Charts to ShipStation Data


Use the standard ADO.NET procedures for databinding to provide bidirectional access to ShipStation data from controls in the Visual Studio toolbox. This article demonstrates a graphical approach using wizards in Visual Studio, as well as how to databind with only a few lines of code.

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

    Below is a typical connection string:

    APIKey='YourAPIKey';APISecret='YourAPISecret'

    Use the BASIC Authentication standard to connect.

    1. Login to your ShipStation account
    2. Click on the settings icon in the upper right corner. A column menu will show up on the left
    3. Click Account -> API Settings
    4. On the API Settings page, note the API Key and API Secret.

    Authenticating to ShipStation

    • APIKey: Set this to the API key from the API settings page.
    • APISecret: Set this to the Secret key from the API settings page.

    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 Tags 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 Color.

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

Code Walk-through

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

  1. Connect to ShipStation.
  2. Create the ShipStationDataAdapter 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:

ShipStationConnection conn = new ShipStationConnection("APIKey='YourAPIKey';APISecret='YourAPISecret'"); ShipStationCommand comm = new ShipStationCommand("SELECT Id, Color FROM Tags WHERE CustomerId = '1368175'", conn); ShipStationDataAdapter da = new ShipStationDataAdapter(comm); DataSet dataset = new DataSet(); da.Fill(dataset); chart1.DataSource = dataset; chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Id"; chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "Color"; // Insert code for additional chart formatting here. chart1.DataBind();