Using Custom Converter in XAML

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:22:12 +0000

In my previous post : WPF-LINQ To SQL Sample, I had to resort to modifying .dbml file to get the images stored as varbinary into the WPF ListView control. I had to change the Type of image fields to System.Byte[], instead of using System.Data.Linq.Binary. A better way to do this is to use a custom converter. WPF allows you to specify custom converter as part of the Binding in .xaml, like this -

<Image Grid.Row="2"
Source="{Binding Path=ThumbNailPhoto ,
Converter={StaticResource imageConverter}}"></Image>

The custom converter is declared in the same .xaml file as a resource -

<Window.Resources>
<local:ImageDataConverter x:Key="imageConverter" />
</Window.Resources>

ImageDataConverter is implemented in .xaml.cs file -

public class ImageDataConverter : IValueConverter
{
 public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter,
 System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
 {
 byte[] image = ((System.Data.Linq.Binary)value).ToArray();
 return image;
 }

 public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter,
 System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
 {
 throw new NotSupportedException();
 }
}

The updated sample code can be downloaded here : WPF-LINQ to SQL Sample License : Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

WPF - LINQ to SQL Sample

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:15:35 +0000

This exercise in binding a WPF ListView control with LINQ to SQL was a lot of fun ! The following image shows data from AdventureWorks sample database displayed in the ListView control. The end result is very admirable, even in this very basic demo. Feeling a complete sense of freedom is unavoidable when working with WPF.

This sample demonstrates :

LINQ to SQL mapping.
WPF ListView Control DataBinding.
Displaying images stored in database as varbinary in WPF control.

The sample code can be downloaded here : WPF-LINQ to SQL Sample License : Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Listview on Ash Tewari

Using Custom Converter in XAML

WPF - LINQ to SQL Sample