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DataBind Charts to HCL Domino Data


Use the standard ADO.NET procedures for databinding to provide bidirectional access to HCL Domino data from controls in the Visual Studio toolbox. This article demonstrates a graphical approach using wizards in Visual Studio, as well as how to databind with only a few lines of code.

DataBinding facilitates two-way interaction with data through UI controls. Using the CData ADO.NET Provider for HCL Domino streamlines the process of binding HCL Domino data to Windows Forms and Web controls within Visual Studio. In this article, we will demonstrate using wizards to establish a binding between HCL Domino data and a chart that dynamically updates. Additionally, the code walk-through section will guide you through the creation of a chart using just 10 lines of code.

DataBind to a Chart

DataBinding consists of three steps: Instantiate the control, configure the data source, and databind.

Configure the Connection and Select Database Objects

To create a chart control and establish a connection to HCL Domino, follow the steps outlined below using the Data Source Configuration Wizard. Within the wizard, you'll have the option to choose the specific HCL Domino entities you wish to bind to.

  1. In a Windows Forms project, drag and drop a Chart control from the toolbox to the form. In the Data section of the Chart properties, select DataSource and then select Add Project Data Source from the menu.
  2. In the Data Source Configuration Wizard that appears, select Database -> Dataset.
  3. In the Choose Your Data Connection step, click New Connection.

  4. In the Add Connection dialog, click Change to select the CData HCL Domino Data Source.

    Below is a typical connection string:

    Server=https://domino.corp.com;Database=names.nsf;Port=3002;SSLClientCertType=PEMKEY_FILE;SSLClientCert=full_path_of_certificate.pem;SSLServerCert=*

    Prerequisites

    The connector requires the Proton component to be installed. Normally, Proton is distributed as part of the AppDev pack. See the HCL documentation for instructions on acquiring and installing Proton or the AppDev pack.

    Once the Proton service is installed and running, you will also need to create a user account and download its Internet certificate. This certificate can be used to set the connector certificate connection properties.

    Authenticating to Domino

    • Server: The name or IP address of the server running Domino with the Proton service.
    • Port: The port number that the Proton service is listening on.
    • Database: The name of the database file, including the .nsf extension.
    • SSLClientCertType: This must match the format of the certificate file. Typically this will be either PEMKEY_FILE for .pem certificates or PFXFILE for .pfx certificates.
    • SSLClientCert: The path to the certificate file.
    • SSLServerCert: This can be set to (*) if you trust the server. This is usually the case, but if you want to perform SSL validation, you may provide a certificate or thumbprint instead. See the documentation for SSLServerCert for details.

    Additional Server Configuration

    The connector supports querying Domino views if any are defined. Before views can be queried by the connector they must be registered with the design catalog.

    Please refer to the Catalog Administration section of the AppDev pack documentation for details on how to do this.

    When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

  5. Choose the database objects you want to work with. This example uses the ByName table.

DataBind

After adding the data source and selecting database objects, you can bind the objects to the chart. This example assigns the x-axis to Name and the y-axis to Address.

  1. In the Chart properties, click the button in the Series property to open the Series Collection Editor.
  2. In the Series properties, select the columns you want for the x- and y-axes: Select columns from the menu in the XValueMember and YValueMember properties.

The chart is now databound to the HCL Domino data. Run the chart to display the current data.

Code Walk-through

DataBinding to HCL Domino data requires only a few lines of code and can be completed in three easy steps.

  1. Connect to HCL Domino.
  2. Create the DominoDataAdapter to execute the query and create a DataSet to be filled with its results.
  3. DataBind the result set to the chart.

Below is the complete code:

DominoConnection conn = new DominoConnection("Server=https://domino.corp.com;Database=names.nsf;Port=3002;SSLClientCertType=PEMKEY_FILE;SSLClientCert=full_path_of_certificate.pem;SSLServerCert=*"); DominoCommand comm = new DominoCommand("SELECT Name, Address FROM ByName WHERE City = 'Miami'", conn); DominoDataAdapter da = new DominoDataAdapter(comm); DataSet dataset = new DataSet(); da.Fill(dataset); chart1.DataSource = dataset; chart1.Series[0].XValueMember = "Name"; chart1.Series[0].YValueMembers = "Address"; // Insert code for additional chart formatting here. chart1.DataBind();