Convert generic list to dataset in C# [closed]

Question

I have a Generic list of Objects. Each object has 9 string properties. I want to turn that list into a dataset that i can pass to a datagridview......Whats the best way to go about doing this?

Answer 1

I apologize for putting an answer up to this question, but I figured it would be the easiest way to view my final code. It includes fixes for nullable types and null values :-)

    public static DataSet ToDataSet<T>(this IList<T> list)
    {
        Type elementType = typeof(T);
        DataSet ds = new DataSet();
        DataTable t = new DataTable();
        ds.Tables.Add(t);

        //add a column to table for each public property on T
        foreach (var propInfo in elementType.GetProperties())
        {
            Type ColType = Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(propInfo.PropertyType) ?? propInfo.PropertyType;

            t.Columns.Add(propInfo.Name, ColType);
        }

        //go through each property on T and add each value to the table
        foreach (T item in list)
        {
            DataRow row = t.NewRow();

            foreach (var propInfo in elementType.GetProperties())
            {
                row[propInfo.Name] = propInfo.GetValue(item, null) ?? DBNull.Value;
            }

            t.Rows.Add(row);
        }

        return ds;
    }

Answer 2

Have you tried binding the list to the datagridview directly? If not, try that first because it will save you lots of pain. If you have tried it already, please tell us what went wrong so we can better advise you. Data binding gives you different behaviour depending on what interfaces your data object implements. For example, if your data object only implements IEnumerable (e.g. List), you will get very basic one-way binding, but if it implements IBindingList as well (e.g. BindingList, DataView), then you get two-way binding.