repeater weirdness...

• Container.DataItem is a runtime alias for the DataItem for this specific item in the bound list.
  • the type of DataItem is determined by the datasource
  • Some examples (all C#)
    • Array of Strings:
      • <%# Container.DataItem %>
    • Field from DataView:
      • <%# ((DataRowView)Container.DataItem)["EmployeeName"] %>
    • Property from a collection of objects:
      • <%# ((Customer)Container.DataItem).CustomerName %>
    • Non-String property from a collection of objects:
      • <%# ((Customer)Container.DataItem).CustomerID.ToString() %>
  • Pain in the ass... (ugly syntax because C# requires explicit casting - so we are given:)
• DataBinder.Eval()
  • Helper function that figures out the syntax for you AND formats the result to a string!
    • late bound and only supports basic data types
  • takes 2 or 3 arguments
    • first is data object to bind to
      • for DataGrid, DataList and Repeater Container.DataItem is a single row
  • Second is string name of field from data object you wish to display
  • Third arg (optional) is a .NET formatting string
• So - what does this all mean?
  • <%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Cost", "{0:c}")%>
  • where {placeholderNumber:formatCharacter} - so the 0th variable, make it currency
  • (interesting to note if you change the servers global locale information to say China, you'll get the Yen symbol)