CreateFloatingRow Method

Overview

The CreateFloatingRow method creates a new floating (sparse) data row. A floating row initially contains no fields. Fields are considered provided only when they are explicitly assigned.

This method is a foundational building block for delta (PATCH-style) changesets, where only primary keys and explicitly modified fields should be transmitted or applied. It allows POCO DataSet to distinguish between a field that is missing and a field that is explicitly set to null.

Declaration

/// <summary>
/// Creates a floating (sparse) row. The row initially contains no fields.
/// Fields become "provided" only when explicitly set.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="initialCapacity">Optional initial capacity for internal storage.</param>
/// <returns>Created floating row.</returns>
public static IFloatingDataRow CreateFloatingRow(int initialCapacity = 0)

Namespace and Assembly

Namespace: PocoDataSet.Extensions
Assembly: PocoDataSet.Extensions.dll

Behavior

• The returned row contains no fields initially.
• Fields appear in the row only after explicit assignment.
• Missing fields are not equivalent to fields set to null.
• The row can participate in Added, Modified, or Deleted state transitions.
• The method does not associate the row with any table.

Usage Example

// 1. Create floating data row and observe that it has no fields
IFloatingDataRow floatingDataRow = DataRowExtensions.CreateFloatingRow();

// Add any field of any type according to the business needs by assigning values to floating data row
// Add FirstName field type of string
floatingDataRow["FirstName"] = "Sara";

// Add DepartmentId field type of int
floatingDataRow["DepartmentId"] = 2;

// Add DateOfBirth field with null value
floatingDataRow["DateOfBirth"] = null;

// and so on...
// Floating data row can be added to any table because its schema doesn't bound to the schema of any table

// 2. Create data set
IDataSet dataSet = DataSetFactory.CreateDataSet();

// 3. Create Employee data table
IDataTable employmentTypeDataTable = dataSet.AddNewTable("Employee");
employmentTypeDataTable.AddColumn("Id", DataTypeNames.INT32);
employmentTypeDataTable.AddColumn("FirstName", DataTypeNames.STRING);
employmentTypeDataTable.AddColumn("LastName", DataTypeNames.STRING);

// 4. Add floating row to Employee data table and observe that floating data row still contains
// "DepartmentId" and "DateOfBirth" fields despite the table schema doesn't define them.
// Observe that floating data row does not contain "LastName" field despite table schema defines it
employmentTypeDataTable.AddRow(floatingDataRow);

Typical Use Cases

• Building delta (floating) changesets.
• Representing PATCH-style updates.
• Representing deleted rows that require only primary key(s).
• Concurrency-aware delete operations with optional tokens.
• Forward-compatible payloads where schema may evolve.

Design Notes

• Floating rows are intentionally minimal and do not auto-populate schema columns.
• This method should not be used for baseline dataset creation.
• Dense rows created via AddNewRow are preferred for UI baselines.
• This method is commonly paired with CreateChangeset.

 

Table of Content POCO DataSet DataRow Members

 

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Business Process Programming in .Net
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