Question

Is there a way to group content within a Repeater with a dynamic heading?

For example, I have the following in a database:

• Tuesday – math
• Tuesday – science
• Friday – history
• Friday – art

I want it to be displayed in output on a web page as:

• Tuesday – math, science
• Friday – history, art

I want the items to be grouped by day; however, I do not want to create a new database connection for each day of the week, and I don’t want to hard code groups. Is there a way to group content by a database field?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer 1

You can use LINQ to modify the datasource that you’re binding to the repeater.

This should work:

//original datasource from database
DataTable table = new DataTable();

//modify the datasource using LINQ
var results = from row in table.AsEnumerable()
              group row by row.Field<string>("Day") into days
              select new
              {
                  Day = days.Key,
                  Class = String.Join(", ", days.Select(t => t.Field<string>("Class")).ToArray())
              };

//bind the repeater to the modified datasource
Repeater1.DataSource = results;

EDIT

Here are some tutorials to get you started using LINQ:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vcsharp/aa336746
• http://aktripathi.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/linq-for-beginners/
• http://www.programmersheaven.com/2/CSharp3-4