is this the way BindingList should work?

Question

I have a DevExpress GridControl bound to a BindingList. I used a BindingList so that changes are automatically applied to the bound control.

It works perfectly when I add or remove items from the list, but when I change an item, it doesn't quit work the way I want it.

I created a foreach loop that runs in another thread (to keep the UI thread free to update) that iterates thru all the objects in the BindingList and changes some of their properties.

The way I expect it to work is that each property updated updates on the GridControl in real time. However the updating is very "chunky". Sometimes it updates 2 rows at a time, sometimes I have to click the GridControl to get the new values.

Why does this happen?

Is it a good solution to call DataControl.RefreshDataSource() after each item?

Answer 1

but when I change an item, it doesn't quit work the way I want it.

Becasue changes within an item are not somethign the BindingList cares about -that is why the items should implement INotifyPropertyChanged.

Basically the binding list says when the LIST has changed, but if you update a property - how should the list know ;) And why should it care - every item is separately responsible for publishing updates to its properties using said interface.

Is it a good solution to call DataControl.RefreshDataSource() after each item?

Worst way. Make sure the items implement INotifyPropertyChange and raise the PropertyChanged event accordingly.

Answer 2

The objects in your BindingList should implement the INotifyPropertyChanged interface and raise the PropertyChanged event when the value of their properties change.