Question

This is what i am trying to do. I have a database that i am reading from using the code:

OleDbCommand command;
command = new OleDbCommand("SELECT " + Student.ID + " FROM " + newStudent.DataFile, conn);
conn.Open();
dt.Load(command.ExecuteReader());
conn.Close();

I then have the datatable bind to a datagridview and display the contents of the table.Now the problem is, i have more information to add to the datatable dt that is not in the database. For example, i have a field for the student object called Grade that is not found in the datafile but entered in by the user and stored in a property for the student object.

Instead of loading the query result into a datatable, is there a way to load it into a list so i can manually create rows and columns for a datatable in another method and then add the contents of the list(containing id) and the grade information in the student object manually?

Answer 1

If you don’t fancy going for a full blown ORM framework such as the one @Bas has suggested…

Take a look at the ToTable method available from on a Datatable’s Dataview. You can get the DataView for your Datatable simply using DataTable.DefaultView:

List<Long> myList = dt.DefaultDataView.ToTable(True, "ID").AsEnumerable().ToList()
myList.Add(1234)
//etc

Alternatively, you can load the additional data you want to append into a second datatable, and use the DataTable.Merge Method

EDIT: To account for wanting to add additional columns, you can change the above list suggestion as follows:

// Create a class to hold the information you want to bind, 
// you could use anonymous types if preferred
class MyDataRow
{
    public long ID { get; set; }
    public string AnotherColumn { get; set; }
    public string AndAnotherColumn { get; set; }
}

// then later on when creating that list use something along the lines of:
List<MyDataRow> myList = dt.DefaultDataView.ToTable(True, "ID").AsEnumerable().Select(x => new MyDataRow { ID = x.ID }).ToList()
// you now have a list of MyDataRow which you can work with
// for example...
if (myList.Any())
    myList.First().AnotherColumn = "foo";

// as an exmaple of using an anoymous type (not my preference, but an option nonetheless)
var anonymousList = dt.DefaultDataView.ToTable(True, "ID").AsEnumerable().Select(x => new { ID = x.ID, whateverYouWantToCallIt = "some other data but this is read only property" }).ToList()
// you can work with the anonymous list in much the same way, it just isn't explicitly declared
// and the properties are Read Only
if (anonymousList.Any())
    Console.WriteLine(anonymousList.First().whateverYouWantToCallIt);