Is is apparent that for my current project I need a third party grid control, what would you all suggest?



My criteria are:



1) full complete SF support is a must (I don't want to write my own ibindable code wrapper if I don't have to)

2) Full XML binding a well as database/ADO binding support (DB2 !!!! woot)

3) Pertiness



I'll need columns with buttons, dropdownlists, comboboxes, etc



appreciate any input you have....

Keith Chisarik

A couple of thoughts on this requirement...it may not be possible/likely...



- Don't be afraid of subclassing a control and adding the IBusinessBindable implementation. It is pretty easy, having done it a few times now.



- On the other hand, if it was easy to wrap the normal MS grid with IBusinessBindable, I'm sure SF would have done it. Since they didn't, there must be some problems with doing this. I'm sure those problems would also apply to any other grid out there (a guess). The BusinessBindingSource is usually used to bind data to a grid.







- I believe the BusinessBindingSource from SF provides any control that can bind using ADO.NET to be bound to a BO.



- DB2 support... Oh, I'm feeling your pain...no really I do...





As to specific recommendations...sorry, haven't used any 3rd party grids yet and barely have used the MS one. I'll be watching the post though as I will likely need to deal with this soon myself!

We use the Infragistics UltraGrid within PracticeStudio.NET, but the DevEx grid is also a solid choice.  I haven't use any of the WinForms controls from Telerik, so I can't comment on those.  As for choosing between Infragistics and DevExpress, it comes down to which one looks better within your application: the skinned DevEx grid, or the gradient-ed appearance of Infragistics? 

As for subclassing a grid, you won't need to... that's why we created the BusinessBindingSource.  IBusinessBindable is designed to be used expose 1 bindable property on a control, but a grid has lots more than just one data element in it, so the IBusinessBindable doesn't really apply to grids.