If you've used our WinForms & WPF Controls for any length of time, you already know they can bind to almost anything: Entity Framework, Excel workbooks, Code-First Data Sets, XML, etc. Hooking up controls like our Data Grids can be done in a blink of an eye (sometimes two blinks). With the v16.1 release, we've added support for yet another data type - Unbound Data.
The Why and When of our Unbound Source
When you've got data but are not ready to use a standard data source, our new Unbound Source component may be your best choice. This component provides two events to retrieve data from an external storage and write it back after runtime modifications. It includes a number of built-in methods to notify data-aware controls about changes in its underlying data and is available as an option when using our Data Source Configuration Wizard. The bottom line is simple: we've built a way for you to use unbound data easily (and avoid having to read any unbound data KB articles we've written in the past).
To the astute among you - let me read your mind and answer a question you may be considering....Yes, Unbound Grid Columns are still available and Unbound Source component is not meant to replace them. Unbound columns are useful when you need to add columns to an existing data source, whereas Unbound Source is your best bet when no data source exists.
And finally - Unbound Source is a part of the DevExpress Data Library and thus, available for both WinForms and WPF platforms.
So what do you think? Something you're going to take advantage of from day 1? Love to hear your thoughts.
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