ASP.NET 2.0 Unleashed

In this chapter, you learned how to use the ObjectDataSource control to represent different types of objects. In the first section, you were provided with sample code that demonstrated how you can use the ObjectDataSource control to represent a collection, a DataReader, and a DataSet.

We also discussed how you can use the ObjectDataSource control to page, sort, and filter data. You learned how to implement both user interface paging and data source paging, which enables you to efficiently work with very large sets of records.

Next, we examined how you can handle ObjectDataSource control events. You learned how to add and modify the parameters represented by the ObjectDataSource control. You also learned how to gracefully handle errors raised when executing an ObjectDataSource control method.

Finally, we discussed two methods of extending the ObjectDataSource control. You learned how to derive a new control from the base ObjectDataSource control to represent specialized data sources such as a Product data source. We also discussed how you can create custom Parameter objects that can be used with the ObjectDataSource control.