Element and relative binding

The versatility of data binding extends beyond linking our Views with ViewModel data. It’s also possible to bind to different elements within our visual tree, opening up many new possibilities.

Both element bindings and relative bindings serve the purpose of allowing bindings to other elements. However, they differ in how they identify the source element:

• In an element binding, you specify the source element by its name, which is defined by using the x:Name attribute in XAML. The binding refers to this specific named element.
• In a relative binding, you refer to the source element concerning the position of the current element in the XAML tree. For example, you might bind to a property of the parent element or a property of the next sibling element, or you might even bind to a property of the element itself.

Let’s have a look at both types of binding in more detail. First up: element binding.

Element binding

With...