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Get the Report →Create Dynamic SQL Analysis Services Grids Using the Infragistics XamDataGrid
Learn how you can connect SQL Analysis Services to Infragistics XamDataGrid to build dynamic grids.
Using Infragistics WPF UI controls, you can build contemporary applications reminiscent of Microsoft Office for both desktop and touch-based devices. When coupled with the CData ADO.NET Provider for SQL Analysis Services, you gain the capability to construct interactive grids, charts, and various other visual elements while directly accessing real-time data from SQL Analysis Services data. This article will guide you through the process of creating a dynamic grid within Visual Studio using the Infragistics XamDataGrid control.
You will need to install the Infragistics WPF UI components to continue. Download a free trial here: https://www.infragistics.com/products/wpf.
Create a WPF Project
Open VisualStudio and create a new WPF project.
Add a TextBox for passing a SQL query to the CData ADO.NET Provider and a Button for executing the query.
![Adding a TextBox and Button to the App.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-1.png)
The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Height="44"/> < /Grid> < /Window>
Add and Configure a XamDataGrid
After adding the initial controls, add a XamDataGrid to the App. The component will appear in the Visual Studio toolbox.
![Adding the XamDataGrid to the App.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-2.png)
Arrange the component on the designer so that it is below the TextBox & Button and linked to the boundaries of the app.
![XamDataGrid Placement.](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-3.png)
Once the XamDataGrid is placed, edit the XAML to set the XamDataGrid DataSource attribute to "{Binding}" and set the FieldSettings AllowRecordFiltering and AllowSummaries attributes to "true." Next, add an empty method as the Click event handler for the Button component. The XAML at this stage is as follows:
< Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:local="clr-namespace:CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp" xmlns:igWPF="http://schemas.infragistics.com/xaml/wpf" x:Class="CDataXamDataGridGroupingListApp.MainWindow" mc:Ignorable="d" Title="MainWindow" Height="450" Width="800"> < Grid> < TextBox x:Name="textBox" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="44" TextWrapping="Wrap" Text="TextBox" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="682" Margin="10,10,0,0"/> < Button x:Name="button" Content="Execute" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="697,10,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="85" Click="Button_Click" Height="44"/> < igWPF:XamDataGrid Margin="10,59,10,10" DataSource="{Binding}"> < igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < igWPF:FieldSettings AllowSummaries="True" AllowRecordFiltering="True"/> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid.FieldSettings> < /igWPF:XamDataGrid> < /Grid> < /Window>
Connect to and Query SQL Analysis Services
The last step in building our WPG App with a dynamic DataGrid is connecting to and querying live SQL Analysis Services data. First add a reference to the CData ADO.NET Provider to the project (typically found in C:\Program Files\CData[product_name]\lib).
![Adding the CData ADO.NET Provider as a Reference (Salesforce is shown.)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-4.png)
Next, add the Provider to the namespace, along with the standard Data library:
using System.Data.CData.SSAS; using System.Data;
Finally, add the code to connect to SQL Analysis Services and query using the text from the TextBox to the Click event handler.
To connect, provide authentication and set the Url property to a valid SQL Server Analysis Services endpoint. You can connect to SQL Server Analysis Services instances hosted over HTTP with XMLA access. See the Microsoft documentation to configure HTTP access to SQL Server Analysis Services.
To secure connections and authenticate, set the corresponding connection properties, below. The data provider supports the major authentication schemes, including HTTP and Windows, as well as SSL/TLS.
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HTTP Authentication
Set AuthScheme to "Basic" or "Digest" and set User and Password. Specify other authentication values in CustomHeaders.
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Windows (NTLM)
Set the Windows User and Password and set AuthScheme to "NTLM".
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Kerberos and Kerberos Delegation
To authenticate with Kerberos, set AuthScheme to NEGOTIATE. To use Kerberos delegation, set AuthScheme to KERBEROSDELEGATION. If needed, provide the User, Password, and KerberosSPN. By default, the data provider attempts to communicate with the SPN at the specified Url.
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SSL/TLS:
By default, the data provider attempts to negotiate SSL/TLS by checking the server's certificate against the system's trusted certificate store. To specify another certificate, see the SSLServerCert property for the available formats.
You can then access any cube as a relational table: When you connect the data provider retrieves SSAS metadata and dynamically updates the table schemas. Instead of retrieving metadata every connection, you can set the CacheLocation property to automatically cache to a simple file-based store.
See the Getting Started section of the CData documentation, under Retrieving Analysis Services Data, to execute SQL-92 queries to the cubes.
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { //connecting to SQL Analysis Services string connString = "User=myuseraccount;Password=mypassword;URL=http://localhost/OLAP/msmdpump.dll;"; using (var conn = new SSASConnection(connString)) { //using the query from the TextBox var dataAdapter = new SSASDataAdapter(textBox.Text, conn); var table = new DataTable(); dataAdapter.Fill(table); //passing the DataRowCollection to the DataContext // for use in the XamDataGrid this.DataContext = table.Rows; } }
Run the Application
With the app fully configured, we are ready to display SQL Analysis Services data in our XamDataGrid. When you click "Execute," the app connects to SQL Analysis Services and submits the SQL query through the CData ADO.NET Provider.
![Querying SQL Analysis Services Data](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-5.png)
Live SQL Analysis Services data is displayed in the grid.
![Displying SQL Analysis Services Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-6.png)
Group the data by dragging and dropping a column name into the header.
![Grouping SQL Analysis Services Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-7.png)
As you add groupings and filters, the underlying SQL query is submitted directly to SQL Analysis Services, making it possible to drill down into live SQL Analysis Services data to find only the specific information you need.
![Grouped and filtered SQL Analysis Services Data (Salesforce is shown)](../articles/ado-infragistics-datagrid-8.png)
Free Trial & More Information
At this point, you have created a dynamic WPF App with access to live SQL Analysis Services data. For more information, visit the CData ADO.NET Provider page. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working live SQL Analysis Services data in apps built using the Infragistics UI controls today.