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How to: Raise Change Notifications Using a BindingSource and the INotifyPropertyChanged Interface

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The BindingSource component automatically detects changes in a data source when the type contained in the data source implements INotifyPropertyChanged and raises PropertyChanged events when a property value is changed. This change detection is useful because controls bound to the BindingSource automatically update as the data source values change.

Note

If your data source implements INotifyPropertyChanged and you are performing asynchronous operations, you should not make changes to the data source on a background thread. Instead, you should read the data on a background thread and merge the data into a list on the UI thread.

Example

The following code example demonstrates a simple implementation of the INotifyPropertyChanged interface. It also shows how the BindingSource automatically passes a data source change to a bound control when the BindingSource is bound to a list of the INotifyPropertyChanged type.

If you use the CallerMemberName attribute, calls to the NotifyPropertyChanged method don't have to specify the property name as a string argument. For more information, see Caller Information (C#) or Caller Information (Visual Basic).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
using System.Windows.Forms;

// Change the namespace to the project name.
namespace TestNotifyPropertyChangedCS
{
    // This form demonstrates using a BindingSource to bind
    // a list to a DataGridView control. The list does not
    // raise change notifications. However the DemoCustomer type
    // in the list does.
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        // This button causes the value of a list element to be changed.
        private Button changeItemBtn = new Button();

        // This DataGridView control displays the contents of the list.
        private DataGridView customersDataGridView = new DataGridView();

        // This BindingSource binds the list to the DataGridView control.
        private BindingSource customersBindingSource = new BindingSource();

        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            // Set up the "Change Item" button.
            this.changeItemBtn.Text = "Change Item";
            this.changeItemBtn.Dock = DockStyle.Bottom;
            this.changeItemBtn.Click +=
                new EventHandler(changeItemBtn_Click);
            this.Controls.Add(this.changeItemBtn);

            // Set up the DataGridView.
            customersDataGridView.Dock = DockStyle.Top;
            this.Controls.Add(customersDataGridView);

            this.Size = new Size(400, 200);
        }

        private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // Create and populate the list of DemoCustomer objects
            // which will supply data to the DataGridView.
            BindingList<DemoCustomer> customerList = new BindingList<DemoCustomer>();
            customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer());
            customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer());
            customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer());

            // Bind the list to the BindingSource.
            this.customersBindingSource.DataSource = customerList;

            // Attach the BindingSource to the DataGridView.
            this.customersDataGridView.DataSource =
                this.customersBindingSource;
        }

        // Change the value of the CompanyName property for the first
        // item in the list when the "Change Item" button is clicked.
        void changeItemBtn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // Get a reference to the list from the BindingSource.
            BindingList<DemoCustomer> customerList =
                this.customersBindingSource.DataSource as BindingList<DemoCustomer>;

            // Change the value of the CompanyName property for the
            // first item in the list.
            customerList[0].CustomerName = "Tailspin Toys";
            customerList[0].PhoneNumber = "(708)555-0150";
        }
    }

    // This is a simple customer class that
    // implements the IPropertyChange interface.
    public class DemoCustomer : INotifyPropertyChanged
    {
        // These fields hold the values for the public properties.
        private Guid idValue = Guid.NewGuid();
        private string customerNameValue = String.Empty;
        private string phoneNumberValue = String.Empty;

        public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;

        // This method is called by the Set accessor of each property.
        // The CallerMemberName attribute that is applied to the optional propertyName
        // parameter causes the property name of the caller to be substituted as an argument.
        private void NotifyPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] String propertyName = "")
        {
            if (PropertyChanged != null)
            {
                PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
            }
        }

        // The constructor is private to enforce the factory pattern.
        private DemoCustomer()
        {
            customerNameValue = "Customer";
            phoneNumberValue = "(312)555-0100";
        }

        // This is the public factory method.
        public static DemoCustomer CreateNewCustomer()
        {
            return new DemoCustomer();
        }

        // This property represents an ID, suitable
        // for use as a primary key in a database.
        public Guid ID
        {
            get
            {
                return this.idValue;
            }
        }

        public string CustomerName
        {
            get
            {
                return this.customerNameValue;
            }

            set
            {
                if (value != this.customerNameValue)
                {
                    this.customerNameValue = value;
                    NotifyPropertyChanged();
                }
            }
        }

        public string PhoneNumber
        {
            get
            {
                return this.phoneNumberValue;
            }

            set
            {
                if (value != this.phoneNumberValue)
                {
                    this.phoneNumberValue = value;
                    NotifyPropertyChanged();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
Imports System.Windows.Forms

' This form demonstrates using a BindingSource to bind
' a list to a DataGridView control. The list does not
' raise change notifications. However the DemoCustomer type 
' in the list does.

Public Class Form1
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
    ' This button causes the value of a list element to be changed.
    Private changeItemBtn As New Button()

    ' This DataGridView control displays the contents of the list.
    Private customersDataGridView As New DataGridView()

    ' This BindingSource binds the list to the DataGridView control.
    Private customersBindingSource As New BindingSource()

    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()

        ' Set up the "Change Item" button.
        Me.changeItemBtn.Text = "Change Item"
        Me.changeItemBtn.Dock = DockStyle.Bottom
        AddHandler Me.changeItemBtn.Click, AddressOf changeItemBtn_Click
        Me.Controls.Add(Me.changeItemBtn)

        ' Set up the DataGridView.
        customersDataGridView.Dock = DockStyle.Top
        Me.Controls.Add(customersDataGridView)

        Me.Size = New Size(400, 200)
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
        ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load

        ' Create and populate the list of DemoCustomer objects
        ' which will supply data to the DataGridView.
        Dim customerList As New BindingList(Of DemoCustomer)

        customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer())
        customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer())
        customerList.Add(DemoCustomer.CreateNewCustomer())

        ' Bind the list to the BindingSource.
        Me.customersBindingSource.DataSource = customerList

        ' Attach the BindingSource to the DataGridView.
        Me.customersDataGridView.DataSource = Me.customersBindingSource
    End Sub

    ' This event handler changes the value of the CompanyName
    ' property for the first item in the list.
    Private Sub changeItemBtn_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        ' Get a reference to the list from the BindingSource.
        Dim customerList As BindingList(Of DemoCustomer) = _
            CType(customersBindingSource.DataSource, BindingList(Of DemoCustomer))

        ' Change the value of the CompanyName property for the 
        ' first item in the list.
        customerList(0).CustomerName = "Tailspin Toys"
        customerList(0).PhoneNumber = "(708)555-0150"
    End Sub
End Class

' This class implements a simple customer type 
' that implements the IPropertyChange interface.
Public Class DemoCustomer
    Implements INotifyPropertyChanged

    ' These fields hold the values for the public properties.
    Private idValue As Guid = Guid.NewGuid()
    Private customerNameValue As String = String.Empty
    Private phoneNumberValue As String = String.Empty

    Public Event PropertyChanged As PropertyChangedEventHandler _
        Implements INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged

    ' This method is called by the Set accessor of each property.
    ' The CallerMemberName attribute that is applied to the optional propertyName
    ' parameter causes the property name of the caller to be substituted as an argument.
    Private Sub NotifyPropertyChanged(<CallerMemberName()> Optional ByVal propertyName As String = Nothing)
        RaiseEvent PropertyChanged(Me, New PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName))
    End Sub

    ' The constructor is private to enforce the factory pattern.
    Private Sub New()
        customerNameValue = "Customer"
        phoneNumberValue = "(312)555-0100"
    End Sub

    ' This is the public factory method.
    Public Shared Function CreateNewCustomer() As DemoCustomer
        Return New DemoCustomer()
    End Function

    ' This property represents an ID, suitable
    ' for use as a primary key in a database.
    Public ReadOnly Property ID() As Guid
        Get
            Return Me.idValue
        End Get
    End Property

    Public Property CustomerName() As String
        Get
            Return Me.customerNameValue
        End Get

        Set(ByVal value As String)
            If Not (value = customerNameValue) Then
                Me.customerNameValue = value
                NotifyPropertyChanged()
            End If
        End Set
    End Property

    Public Property PhoneNumber() As String
        Get
            Return Me.phoneNumberValue
        End Get

        Set(ByVal value As String)
            If Not (value = phoneNumberValue) Then
                Me.phoneNumberValue = value
                NotifyPropertyChanged()
            End If
        End Set
    End Property
End Class

Compiling the Code

This example requires:

  • References to the System, System.Data, System.Drawing, and System.Windows.Forms assemblies.

See also