Chapter 6: All About LiveBindings
Windows VCL programmers have often used data-aware controls to link data sources with a user interface, reducing the amount of code they need to write. These data sources can be redirected or disabled, fields can be combined on-the-fly by setting properties or hooking into event handlers, and large datasets can be hooked up to powerful grids, enabling complex views with minimal work. Data-aware controls enable prototypes that can easily be turned into production applications.
FireMonkey's components do not come with data-aware controls, but we are not left to code everything ourselves. Right alongside this new GUI framework, another framework was introduced (in Delphi XE2) – one that used expressions to connect datasets to objects in a powerful and flexible way. It's called LiveBindings, and it's not limited to just FireMonkey controls – it works with VCL as well!
The binding expressions can be as simple as connecting...