How to: Create and Bind to an ObservableCollection
This example shows how to create and bind to a collection that derives from the ObservableCollection<T> class, which is a collection class that provides notifications when items get added or removed.
Example
The following example shows the implementation of a NameList collection:
Public Class NameList
Inherits ObservableCollection(Of PersonName)
' Methods
Public Sub New()
MyBase.Add(New PersonName("Willa", "Cather"))
MyBase.Add(New PersonName("Isak", "Dinesen"))
MyBase.Add(New PersonName("Victor", "Hugo"))
MyBase.Add(New PersonName("Jules", "Verne"))
End Sub
End Class
Public Class PersonName
' Methods
Public Sub New(ByVal first As String, ByVal last As String)
Me._firstName = first
Me._lastName = last
End Sub
' Properties
Public Property FirstName() As String
Get
Return Me._firstName
End Get
Set(ByVal value As String)
Me._firstName = value
End Set
End Property
Public Property LastName() As String
Get
Return Me._lastName
End Get
Set(ByVal value As String)
Me._lastName = value
End Set
End Property
' Fields
Private _firstName As String
Private _lastName As String
End Class
public class NameList : ObservableCollection<PersonName>
{
public NameList() : base()
{
Add(new PersonName("Willa", "Cather"));
Add(new PersonName("Isak", "Dinesen"));
Add(new PersonName("Victor", "Hugo"));
Add(new PersonName("Jules", "Verne"));
}
}
public class PersonName
{
private string firstName;
private string lastName;
public PersonName(string first, string last)
{
this.firstName = first;
this.lastName = last;
}
public string FirstName
{
get { return firstName; }
set { firstName = value; }
}
public string LastName
{
get { return lastName; }
set { lastName = value; }
}
}
You can make the collection available for binding the same way you would with other common language runtime (CLR) objects, as described in How to: Make Data Available for Binding in XAML. For example, you can instantiate the collection in XAML and specify the collection as a resource, as shown here:
<Window
xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="https://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:c="clr-namespace:SDKSample"
x:Class="SDKSample.Window1"
Width="400"
Height="280"
Title="MultiBinding Sample">
<Window.Resources>
<c:NameList x:Key="NameListData"/>
...
</Window.Resources>
You can then bind to the collection:
<ListBox Width="200"
ItemsSource="{Binding Source={StaticResource NameListData}}"
ItemTemplate="{StaticResource NameItemTemplate}"
IsSynchronizedWithCurrentItem="True"/>
The definition of NameItemTemplate is not shown here.
Note
The objects in your collection must satisfy the requirements described in the Binding Sources Overview. In particular, if you are using OneWay or TwoWay (for example, you want your UI to update when the source properties change dynamically), you must implement a suitable property changed notification mechanism such as the INotifyPropertyChanged interface.
For more information, see the Binding to Collections section in the Data Binding Overview.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Sort and Group Data Using a View in XAML