Lesson 5 - Bind a Scheduler to Entity Framework Data Source (legacy)

• Apr 01, 2021
• 8 minutes to read

Note

You are viewing documentation for the legacy WPF Scheduler control. If you’re starting a new project, we strongly recommend that you use a new control declared in the DevExpress.Xpf.Scheduling namespace. If you decide to upgrade an existing project in order to switch to the updated scheduler control, see the Migration Guidelines document.

In this lesson, you will learn how to create a simple scheduling application with the SchedulerControl, and how to bind it to the Entity Framework data source. Note that the SchedulerControl can be bound to a variety of other data sources.

This topic also describes how to map all the required data fields for scheduler appointments, and how to populate the scheduler data at runtime.

This lesson consists of the following sections.

• Create a Model
• Modify XAML to Specify Mappings and Bindings
• Add Code that Handles Data Interaction
• Run the Project

Create a Model

1. Open the WPF application with the SchedulerControl, which was created in Lesson 3 of the current tutorial.
2. The scheduler can work without the data source - in unbound mode, but any changes you make will not persist between sessions. To save changes, the scheduler should be bound to an external data source. This example implements Entity Framework objects as the data source. The Entity Framework is Microsoft’s recommended data access technology for new applications. To use the Entity Framework, install the Entity Framework NuGet package. To do this, right-click on the project in the Solution Explorer, and select Manage NuGet Packages.
3. In the Manage NuGet Packages dialog, select the Browse tab and choose the EntityFramework package. Click Install.

4. Add the ADO .NET Entity Data Model to the project. To accomplish this, perform the following.

   1. Right-click on the project name. Select Add, then New Item.
   2. Select Data, ADO .NET Entity Data Model and enter MySchedulerModel for the name.
   3. In the Entity Data Model Wizard, select the Empty Code First model and click Finish. The model template is created.

5. In the model template, replace the public class MyEntity class definition with the code for EFAppointment and EFResource classes, as follows.

   MySchedulerModel.cs

   public class EFAppointment {
       [Key()]
       public int UniqueID { get; set; }
       [Required]
       public int Type { get; set; }
       [Required]
       public DateTime StartDate { get; set; }
       [Required]
       public DateTime EndDate { get; set; }
       public bool AllDay { get; set; }
       public string Subject { get; set; }
       public string Location { get; set; }
       public string Description { get; set; }
       public int Status { get; set; }
       public int Label { get; set; }
       public string ResourceIDs { get; set; }
       public string ReminderInfo { get; set; }
       public string RecurrenceInfo { get; set; }
   }
   
   public class EFResource {
       [Key()]
       public int UniqueID { get; set; }
       public int ResourceID { get; set; }
       public string ResourceName { get; set; }
       public int Color { get; set; }
   }
   

   MySchedulerModel.vb

   Public Class EFAppointment
       <Key()> _
       Public Property UniqueID() As Integer
       <Required> _
       Public Property Type() As Integer
       <Required> _
       Public Property StartDate() As Date
       <Required> _
       Public Property EndDate() As Date
       Public Property AllDay() As Boolean
       Public Property Subject() As String
       Public Property Location() As String
       Public Property Description() As String
       Public Property Status() As Integer
       Public Property Label() As Integer
       Public Property ResourceIDs() As String
       Public Property ReminderInfo() As String
       Public Property RecurrenceInfo() As String
   End Class
   
   Public Class EFResource
       <Key()> _
       Public Property UniqueID() As Integer
       Public Property ResourceID() As Integer
       Public Property ResourceName() As String
       Public Property Color() As Integer
   End Class
   

   Note that the integer type of the Color field implies that the ResourceStorage.ColorSaving property is set to the ColorSavingType.ArgbColor value.

Modify XAML to Specify Mappings and Bindings

• Change the XAML code of the SchedulerControl in the MainWindow page to specify the data source and mappings for the AppointmentStorage and ResourceStorage components, as in the following code snippet.

  MainWindow.xaml

  <dxsch:SchedulerControl.Storage>
      <dxsch:SchedulerStorage>
          <dxsch:SchedulerStorage.AppointmentStorage>
              <dxsch:AppointmentStorage DataSource="{Binding}">
                  <dxsch:AppointmentStorage.Mappings>
                      <dxsch:AppointmentMapping 
                          AllDay="AllDay"
                          AppointmentId="UniqueId"
                          Start="StartDate"
                          End="EndDate"
                          Subject="Subject"
                          Description="Description"
                          ResourceId="ResourceIDs"
                          Label="Label"
                          Location="Location"
                          RecurrenceInfo="RecurrenceInfo"
                          ReminderInfo="ReminderInfo"
                          Status="Status"
                          Type="Type" />
                  </dxsch:AppointmentStorage.Mappings>
              </dxsch:AppointmentStorage>
          </dxsch:SchedulerStorage.AppointmentStorage>
          <dxsch:SchedulerStorage.ResourceStorage>
              <dxsch:ResourceStorage DataSource="{Binding}">
                  <dxsch:ResourceStorage.Mappings>
                      <dxsch:ResourceMapping 
                          Id="ResourceID"
                          Caption="ResourceName" />
                  </dxsch:ResourceStorage.Mappings>
              </dxsch:ResourceStorage>
          </dxsch:SchedulerStorage.ResourceStorage>
      </dxsch:SchedulerStorage>
  </dxsch:SchedulerControl.Storage>
  

Add Code that Handles Data Interaction

1. The Entity Framework requires a context object. It should be the class that descends from the System.Data.Entity.DbContext class. Name it MySchedulerModel and implement it as follows.

   MySchedulerModel.cs

   public class MySchedulerModel : DbContext {
       // Your context has been configured to use a 'MySchedulerModel' connection string from your application's 
       // configuration file (App.config or Web.config). By default, this connection string targets the 
       // 'DXSchedulerGettingStarted.MySchedulerModel' database on your LocalDb instance. 
       // 
       // If you wish to target a different database and/or database provider, modify the 'MySchedulerModel' 
       // connection string in the application configuration file.
       public MySchedulerModel()
           : base("name=MySchedulerModel")
       {
           Database.SetInitializer<MySchedulerModel>(new SchedulerDBInitializer());
       }
   
       // Add a DbSet for each entity type that you want to include in your model. For more information 
       // on configuring and using a Code First model, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=390109.
   
       public virtual DbSet<EFAppointment> MyAppointments { get; set; }
       public virtual DbSet<EFResource> MyResources { get; set; }
   }
   

   MySchedulerModel.vb

   Public Class MySchedulerModel
       Inherits DbContext
   
       ' Your context has been configured to use a 'MySchedulerModel' connection string from your application's 
       ' configuration file (App.config or Web.config). By default, this connection string targets the 
       ' 'DXSchedulerGettingStarted.MySchedulerModel' database on your LocalDb instance. 
       ' 
       ' If you wish to target a different database and/or database provider, modify the 'MySchedulerModel' 
       ' connection string in the application configuration file.
       Public Sub New()
           MyBase.New("name=MySchedulerModel")
           Database.SetInitializer(Of MySchedulerModel)(New SchedulerDBInitializer())
       End Sub
   
       ' Add a DbSet for each entity type that you want to include in your model. For more information 
       ' on configuring and using a Code First model, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=390109.
   
       Public Overridable Property MyAppointments() As DbSet(Of EFAppointment)
       Public Overridable Property MyResources() As DbSet(Of EFResource)
   End Class
   

   Provide a database initializer that populates the database with data immediately after the database is generated. The SchedulerDBInitializer initializer class inherits from the DropCreateDatabaseIfModelChanges interface (this strategy means that it will automatically delete and recreate the database, and optionally seed it with new data if a model changes). To initially populate a Resource table, override the SchedulerDBInitializer’s Seed method.

   To accomplish this task, implement the SchedulerDBInitializer class as follows.

   MySchedulerModel.cs

   public class SchedulerDBInitializer : CreateDatabaseIfNotExists<MySchedulerModel> {
       protected override void Seed(MySchedulerModel context) {
           IList<EFResource> defaultResources = new List<EFResource>();
   
           defaultResources.Add(new EFResource() { ResourceID = 1, ResourceName = "Resource 1" });
           defaultResources.Add(new EFResource() { ResourceID = 2, ResourceName = "Resource 2" });
   
           foreach (EFResource res in defaultResources)
               context.MyResources.Add(res);
           base.Seed(context);
       }
   }
   

   MySchedulerModel.vb

   Public Class SchedulerDBInitializer
       Inherits CreateDatabaseIfNotExists(Of MySchedulerModel)
   
       Protected Overrides Sub Seed(ByVal context As MySchedulerModel)
           Dim defaultResources As IList(Of EFResource) = New List(Of EFResource)()
   
           defaultResources.Add(New EFResource() With {.ResourceID = 1, .ResourceName = "Resource 1"})
           defaultResources.Add(New EFResource() With {.ResourceID = 2, .ResourceName = "Resource 2"})
   
           For Each res As EFResource In defaultResources
               context.MyResources.Add(res)
           Next res
           MyBase.Seed(context)
       End Sub
   End Class
   

2. Declare a new variable of the MySchedulerModel type in the MainWindow’s code behind file and initialize it. It will be used to hold the data context.

3. Subscribe to the MainWindow’s Loaded event in XAML. In the code behind file (MainWindow.xaml.cs), load data from the database and set the data context for the AppointmentStorage and the ResourceStorage objects. Note that to use the Load extension method of the System.Data.Entity.DbContext class you should declare the System.Data.Entity namespace with the using (C#) or Imports (Visual Basic) directive. The Local property of the System.Data.Entity.DbContext class should be used for data binding.

   To post data back to the database, use the SaveChanges method of the System.Data.Entity.DbContext<EFAppointment> class. Subscribe to the SchedulerStorage.AppointmentsInserted, SchedulerStorage.AppointmentsChanged, SchedulerStorage.AppointmentsDeleted events and call the SaveChanges method in the event handler.

   The code is shown below.

   MainWindow.xaml.cs

   using System.Windows;
   using System.Data.Entity;
   using DevExpress.XtraScheduler;
   using DevExpress.Xpf.Ribbon;
   // ...
   MySchedulerModel context = new MySchedulerModel();
   private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) {
       context.MyAppointments.Load();
       context.MyResources.Load();
   
       this.scheduler.Storage.AppointmentStorage.DataContext = context.MyAppointments.Local;
       this.scheduler.Storage.ResourceStorage.DataContext = context.MyResources.Local;
   
   
       this.scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsInserted +=
           new PersistentObjectsEventHandler(Storage_AppointmentsModified);
       this.scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsChanged +=
           new PersistentObjectsEventHandler(Storage_AppointmentsModified);
       this.scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsDeleted +=
           new PersistentObjectsEventHandler(Storage_AppointmentsModified);
   }
   void Storage_AppointmentsModified(object sender, PersistentObjectsEventArgs e) {
       context.SaveChanges();
   }
   

   MainWindow.xaml.vb

   Imports System.Windows
   Imports System.Data.Entity
   Imports DevExpress.XtraScheduler
   Imports DevExpress.Xpf.Ribbon
   ' ...
   Private context As New MySchedulerModel()
   Private Sub Window_Loaded(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As RoutedEventArgs)
       context.MyAppointments.Load()
       context.MyResources.Load()
   
       Me.scheduler.Storage.AppointmentStorage.DataContext = context.MyAppointments.Local
       Me.scheduler.Storage.ResourceStorage.DataContext = context.MyResources.Local
   
   
       AddHandler scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsInserted, AddressOf Storage_AppointmentsModified
       AddHandler scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsChanged, AddressOf Storage_AppointmentsModified
       AddHandler scheduler.Storage.AppointmentsDeleted, AddressOf Storage_AppointmentsModified
   End Sub
   Private Sub Storage_AppointmentsModified(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As PersistentObjectsEventArgs)
       context.SaveChanges()
   End Sub
   

4. Override the OnClosing method of the MainWindow class for correct disposal of the data context, as in the following code snippet.

   MainWindow.xaml.cs

   protected override void OnClosing(System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs e) {
       base.OnClosing(e);
       this.context.Dispose();
   }
   

   MainWindow.xaml.vb

   Protected Overrides Sub OnClosing(ByVal e As System.ComponentModel.CancelEventArgs)
       MyBase.OnClosing(e)
       Me.context.Dispose()
   End Sub
   

Run the Project

• Compile and run the application. If it is run for the first time, then the MySchedulerModel database is created automatically in the (LocalDb)\v11.0 server and the Resource table is populated with data.

  The application window looks as follows.