Question

I have a c# .net application with SQL Server backend. The app logs item movements within a company based on bar codes. Users add their items to the software along with the users, each have a bar code assigned. The software accompanies an item tracking system which sits on the wall. The system tracks keys for example, there is a board that holds 100 bar coded keys, each position on the board is numbered 1-100. In the software, the user needs to be able to see a “virtual item board” which displays information laid out in a virtual board, showing which key is in, which is out, who has what, etc, from a glance.

The user programs into the software what capacity system they are using when they first install the software, so the software knows then that they are using a 100 system. My question is, how can I dynamically create a table or some form of layout to present this data in a grid like format? I have researched using the tablelayoutpanel control but it doesn’t seem to be doing what I need. I had the following code in the Form_Load event:

private void frmItemBoard_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    try
    {
        // table data linked to form controls (first 5)
        if (Properties.Settings.Default.systemsize == "5" || Properties.Settings.Default.systemsize == "5")
        {
            // load the layout for a 5 system
        }
        else if (Properties.Settings.Default.systemsize == "10")
        {
            // load the layout for a 10 system
        }
        else if (Properties.Settings.Default.systemsize == "25")
        {
            // load the layout for a 25 system
        }

        // etc.....
        // other system sizes can go here. The software needs to support at least up to 20,000 keys somehow
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString(), ex.Message, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
        return;
    }
}

Answer 1

How about something like

int size = Properties.Settings.Default.systemsize;
int height = 0;
int width = 0;

//check our sizes
if (size == 5)
{
    height = 1;
    width = 5;   
else if (size == 10)
{
    height = 2;
    width = 5;
}
else if (size == 25)
{
    height = 5;
    width = 5;
}

//build a table
string table = "<table>";

for (int i = 1, i<=height,i++)
    {
    table += "<tr>"

    for (int j = 1, j<=width,i++)
        {
        table += "<td>"
        table += "some content"
        table += "</td>"
        }

    table += "</tr>"
    }

table += "</table>"

//write table to your page