PocoListToDataTable Method

Overview

The PocoListToDataTable extension method creates a new IDataTable in an IDataSet and populates it from a list of POCO items. It is a convenience method that combines two common steps:

• Create a new table with a specified schema (column metadata).
• Copy values from a POCO list into table rows using CopyFromPocoList.

This method is typically used when you already have a list of in-memory objects (for example, returned from a repository, API, or EF Core query) and want to expose them to UI or other POCO DataSet workflows through a metadata-driven IDataTable.

Declaration

/// <summary>
/// Creates data table and populates its rows from POCO items
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">POCO item type</typeparam>
/// <param name="dataSet">Data set</param>
/// <param name="tableName">Table name</param>
/// <param name="pocoItems">POCO items</param>
/// <param name="listOfColumnMetadata">List of column metadata</param>
/// <returns>Created table</returns>
public static IDataTable PocoListToDataTable<T>(this IDataSet dataSet, string tableName, IList<T> pocoItems, List<IColumnMetadata> listOfColumnMetadata)

Namespace and Assembly

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

Behavior

• Creates a new table by calling dataSet.AddNewTable(tableName, listOfColumnMetadata).
• Populates rows by calling dataTable.CopyFromPocoList(pocoItems).
• Returns the created IDataTable instance.

Usage Example

Assuming that there is IEmploymentType interface:

/// <summary>
/// Defines employment type functionality
/// </summary>
public interface IEmploymentType
{
    #region Public Properties
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets code
    /// </summary>
    string Code
    {
        get; set;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets description
    /// </summary>
    string? Description
    {
        get; set;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets identifier
    /// </summary>
    int Id
    {
        get; set;
    }
    #endregion
}

Assuming that there is an EmploymentType class, which implements IEmploymentType interface:

/// <summary>
/// Provides employment type functionality
/// </summary>
public class EmploymentType : IEmploymentType
{
    #region Public Properties
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets code
    /// IEmploymentType interface implementation
    /// </summary>
    public string Code
    {
        get; set;
    } = default!;

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets description
    /// IEmploymentType interface implementation
    /// </summary>
    public string? Description
    {
        get; set;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets identifier
    /// IEmploymentType interface implementation
    /// </summary>
    public int Id
    {
        get; set;
    }
    #endregion
}

// 1. Create an empty data set
IDataSet dataSet = DataSetFactory.CreateDataSet();

// 2. Prepare column metadata (data table schema)
List<ColumnMetadata> listOfColumnMetadata = new List<IColumnMetadata>();

ColumnMetadata columnMetadata = new ColumnMetadata();
columnMetadata.ColumnName = "Id";
columnMetadata.DataType = DataTypeNames.INT32;
columnMetadata.IsNullable = false;
columnMetadata.IsPrimaryKey = true;
listOfColumnMetadata.Add(columnMetadata);

columnMetadata = new ColumnMetadata();
columnMetadata.ColumnName = "Code";
columnMetadata.DataType = DataTypeNames.STRING;
listOfColumnMetadata.Add(columnMetadata);

columnMetadata = new ColumnMetadata();
columnMetadata.ColumnName = "Description";
columnMetadata.DataType = DataTypeNames.STRING;
listOfColumnMetadata.Add(columnMetadata);

// 3. Prepare list of employment types
IList<IEmploymentType> employmentTypes = new List<IEmploymentType>();
IEmploymentType employmentType = new EmploymentType();
employmentType.Id = 1;
employmentType.Code = "ET01";
employmentType.Description = "Full Time";
employmentTypes.Add(employmentType);

employmentType = new EmploymentType();
employmentType.Id = 1;
employmentType.Code = "ET02";
employmentType.Description = "Part Time";
employmentTypes.Add(employmentType);

// 4. Create table and populate it from the POCO list
IDataTable employmentTypeDataTable = dataSet.PocoListToDataTable("EmploymentType", employmentTypes, listOfColumnMetadata);

Notes

• The mapping between POCO properties and columns is performed by CopyFromPocoList. Ensure that your column names and POCO property names (or configured mapping conventions) align with the expectations of that method.
• If your schema already exists in the data set, use the appropriate table retrieval method and call CopyFromPocoList directly instead of creating a new table.
• This method creates the table unconditionally; if a table with the same name already exists, the behavior depends on the implementation of AddNewTable.

 

Table of Content POCO DataSet DataSet Members

 

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Business Process Programming in .Net
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