Data-Driven Services with Silverlight 2

Data Binding in Silverlight

Although binding can be established using a manual push-and-pull process, the data-binding capabilities of XAML and Silverlight 2 offer more power and flexibility with less runtime code. The result as a more robust data-bound user interface with fewer failure points than what you would get with manual binding.

Automated data binding in Silverlight 2 is the process that links a UI FrameworkElement to a data source entity and back. The entity contains the data that will flow to the FrameworkElement control for presentation. The data can also flow from the control in Silverlight 2 back to the entity. For example, an entity may be bound to a series of controls, each linked to a specific property on the entity, as shown in Figure 2-2.

The entity class instance is set to the DataContext for a control that then allows that control or any child control of that control to be bound directly to the entity. This process involves many important players that we’ll explore in this chapter, including the DataContext, binding modes, and dependency properties on FrameworkElement controls. Each plays a critical role in customizing how the data-binding process operates in a Silverlight application.

Figure 2-2. Data binding in Silverlight 2

There are some basic rules to follow when setting up data binding in Silverlight. Rule 1 states that the target element of a data-binding operation ...