Object Data Source

• Feb 27, 2023
• 3 minutes to read

This tutorial shows how to add the DashboardObjectDataSource to an in-memory data source storage, and make it available to users.

1. In your application, create the SalesPersonData class and add the following code:

   C#

   public class SalesPersonData {
   
       public string SalesPerson { get; set; }
       public int Quantity { get; set; }
   
       public static List<SalesPersonData> CreateData() {
           List<SalesPersonData> data = new List<SalesPersonData>();
           string[] salesPersons = { "Andrew Fuller", "Michael Suyama",
                                   "Robert King", "Nancy Davolio",
                                   "Margaret Peacock", "Laura Callahan",
                                   "Steven Buchanan", "Janet Leverling" };
           var rnd = new Random();
           for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
               SalesPersonData record = new SalesPersonData();
               record.SalesPerson = salesPersons[rnd.Next(0, salesPersons.Length)];
               record.Quantity = rnd.Next(0, 100);
               data.Add(record);
           }
           return data;
       }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Public Class SalesPersonData
   
       Private privateSalesPerson As String
       Public Property SalesPerson() As String
           Get
               Return privateSalesPerson
           End Get
           Set(ByVal value As String)
               privateSalesPerson = value
           End Set
       End Property
       Private privateQuantity As Integer
       Public Property Quantity() As Integer
           Get
               Return privateQuantity
           End Get
           Set(ByVal value As Integer)
               privateQuantity = value
           End Set
       End Property
   
       Public Shared Function CreateData() As List(Of SalesPersonData)
           Dim data As New List(Of SalesPersonData)()
           Dim salesPersons() As String = { "Andrew Fuller", "Michael Suyama", "Robert King", "Nancy Davolio", "Margaret Peacock", "Laura Callahan", "Steven Buchanan", "Janet Leverling" }
           Dim rnd = New Random()
           For i As Integer = 0 To 99
               Dim record As New SalesPersonData()
               record.SalesPerson = salesPersons(rnd.Next(0, salesPersons.Length))
               record.Quantity = rnd.Next(0, 100)
               data.Add(record)
           Next i
           Return data
       End Function
   End Class
   

2. In the dashboard configuration file (for example, DashboardConfig.cs), create a public method that returns the configured dashboard’s data source storage (DataSourceInMemoryStorage) and define the Object data source.

   C#

   using DevExpress.DashboardWeb;
   
   public static DataSourceInMemoryStorage CreateDataSourceStorage() {
       DataSourceInMemoryStorage dataSourceStorage = new DataSourceInMemoryStorage();
   
       // Registers an Object data source from URL.
       DashboardObjectDataSource objDataSource = new DashboardObjectDataSource("Object Data Source");
       dataSourceStorage.RegisterDataSource("objectDataSource", objDataSource.SaveToXml());   
   
       return dataSourceStorage;
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports DevExpress.DashboardWeb
   
   Public Shared Function CreateDataSourceStorage() As DataSourceInMemoryStorage
       Dim dataSourceStorage As New DataSourceInMemoryStorage()
   
       ' Registers an Object data source from URL.
       Dim objDataSource As New DashboardObjectDataSource("Object Data Source")
       dataSourceStorage.RegisterDataSource("objectDataSource", objDataSource.SaveToXml())
   
       Return dataSourceStorage
   End Function
   

3. Call the DashboardConfigurator.SetDataSourceStorage method to configure the data source storage. Use the created CreateDataSourceStorage method as the SetDataSourceStorage parameter and handle the DashboardConfigurator.DataLoading event to supply the dashboard with actual data at runtime.

   C#

   using DevExpress.DashboardWeb;
   
   public static void RegisterService(RouteCollection routes) {
       routes.MapDashboardRoute("dashboardControl", "DefaultDashboard");
   
       // ...
   
       DashboardConfigurator.Default.SetDataSourceStorage(CreateDataSourceStorage());        
       DashboardConfigurator.Default.DataLoading += DataLoading;
   }
   private static void DataLoading(object sender, DataLoadingWebEventArgs e) {
       if(e.DataSourceName.Contains("Object Data Source")) {
           e.Data = SalesPersonData.CreateData();
       }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports DevExpress.DashboardWeb
   
   Public Shared Sub RegisterService(ByVal routes As RouteCollection)
       routes.MapDashboardRoute("dashboardControl", "DefaultDashboard")
   
       ' ...
   
       DashboardConfigurator.Default.SetDataSourceStorage(CreateDataSourceStorage())
       DashboardConfigurator.Default.DataLoading += DataLoading
   End Sub
   Private Shared Sub DataLoading(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DataLoadingWebEventArgs)
       If e.DataSourceName.Contains("Object Data Source") Then
           e.Data = SalesPersonData.CreateData()
       End If
   End Sub
   

The Object Data Source is now available in the Web Dashboard:

Users can now bind dashboard items to data in the Web Dashboard’s UI.

Example

The example shows how to make a set of data sources available for users in the Web Dashboard application.

View Example: How to Register Data Sources for the ASP.NET MVC Dashboard Extension