Data Source Controls

With further refinements to ASP.NET 2.0, Microsoft has added many out-of-the-box controls (apart from the standard web control library). Some of the most useful controls are Data Source Controls, complimenting the feature-rich web server controls such as the GridView and the DetailsView. These controls have made it possible to create applications without writing even a single line of data access code. Now it is possible to create web applications within a short timespan, doing away with many lines of routine data access code.

With Data Source Controls, we can use SQL queries as well as stored procedures, and write custom code too. Although we won't go deep into the details of how to use controls, as there are many freely-available online resources and articles on this subject, we will see how using these controls affects the overall architecture, when to use them and what their disadvantages are.

A Sample Project using Inbuilt Data Source Controls

Let's start with our...