DataBind Charts to Gumroad Data

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

   Below is a typical connection string:

   Profile=C:\profiles\Gumroad.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;

   Using OAuth Authentication

   To authenticate to Gumroad and connect to your own data or to allow other users to connect to their data, you can use the OAuth 2.0 standard. This is the recommended authentication method.

   First you need to register an OAuth application with Gumroad. You can create an OAuth application by visiting your Gumroad account settings at https://app.gumroad.com/settings/advanced and navigating to the Applications section.

   After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. The CData API Profile for Gumroad will automatically walk through the OAuth process in order to obtain the access token.
   • OAuthClientID: Set this to the client_id that is specified in your app settings.
   • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the client_secret that is specified in your app settings.
   • CallbackURL: Set this to the Redirect URI you specified in your app settings.

   Example connection string

   Profile=C:\profiles\Gumroad.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;
   

   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 CustomFields 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 and the y-axis to .

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

Code Walk-through

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

1. Connect to Gumroad.
2. Create the APIDataAdapter 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:

APIConnection conn = new APIConnection("Profile=C:\profiles\Gumroad.apip;AuthScheme=OAuth;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;CallbackUrl=your_callback_url;");
APICommand comm = new APICommand("SELECT ,  FROM CustomFields WHERE ProductId = 'prod_abc123xyz'", conn);
APIDataAdapter da = new APIDataAdapter(comm);
DataSet dataset = new DataSet();
da.Fill(dataset);

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