What does the data source need to have for a GridView to autogenerate columns?

Question

I created custom datatype classes that format the data the way I need it. The data I retrieve from the database comes as .NET base types, so I need to loop through the DataTable, convert each item into it's custom type, and put the converted item into a new table. I also copy the column names from the old table to the new one. The problem is, when I bind a GridView to my new table, it throws an exception:

HttpException:  
The data source for GridView with id 'TestGrid' did not have any properties
or attributes from which to generate columns.  Ensure that your data source 
has content.  

Stack Trace:
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView.CreateAutoGeneratedColumns(PagedDataSource dataSource)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView.CreateColumns(PagedDataSource dataSource, Boolean useDataSource)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView.CreateChildControls(IEnumerable dataSource, Boolean dataBinding)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.CompositeDataBoundControl.PerformDataBinding(IEnumerable data)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView.PerformDataBinding(IEnumerable data)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataBoundControl.OnDataSourceViewSelectCallback(IEnumerable data)
at System.Web.UI.DataSourceView.Select(DataSourceSelectArguments arguments, DataSourceViewSelectCallback callback)
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataBoundControl.PerformSelect()
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.BaseDataBoundControl.DataBind()
at System.Web.UI.WebControls.GridView.DataBind()

What do I need to add to my DataTable to get autogeneratecolumns to work?

Edit: Here is the code for the DataTable:

     // Populate first DataTable with data from database.
     adapter = new DataAdapter("SELECT status, date_ordered, date_due FROM import_table", OpenConnection);
     DataTable originalTable = new DataTable();
     adapter.Fill(originalTable)

     // Second DataTable for converted table data.
     DataTable convertedTable = new DataTable();

     // The list of custom datatypes to convert to.
     Type[] newTypes = {typeof(TrackingStatus), typeof(Date), typeof(Date)};

     // Set the ColumnName and DataType on each column of the new table.
     for(int i = 0; i < originalTable.Columns.Count; i++)
     {
        convertedTable.Columns.Add();
        convertedTable.Columns[i].ColumnName = originalTable.Columns[i].ColumnName;
        if(newTypes.Length > i)
           convertedTable.Columns[i].DataType = newTypes[i];
     }

     // Convert each item from the old table and add it to the new table.
     foreach(DataRow oldRow in originalTable.Rows)
     {
        DataRow newRow = convertedTable.NewRow();

        for(int i = 0; i < convertedTable.Columns.Count; i++)
        {
           if(newTypes.Length <= i)
              newRow[i] = oldRow[i];
           else if(newTypes[i] == typeof(Date))
              newRow[i] = Date.FromObject(oldRow[i]);
           else if(newTypes[i] == typeof(TrackingStatus))
              newRow[i] = TrackingStatus.FromObject(oldRow[i]);
           else if(newTypes[i] == typeof(EmailAddress))
              newRow[i] = EmailAddress.FromObject(oldRow[i]);
        }

        convertedTable.Rows.Add(newRow);
     }

     // Bind the GridView.
     displayGrid.DataSource = convertedTable;
     displayGrid.DataBind();

Answer 1

Instead of creating a new datatable when you convert each to custom types, create a new List and bind the list to the datasource. e.g.

var list = new List<MyClass>();

var myType = //Convert your type
list.Add(myType);

grid.DataSource = list;

And ofcourse this all is just an idea of how to do it.

UPDATE: Saw your code afterwards:

Try this:

Create a class called ImportRow

class ImportRow
{
    private string m_Status = string.Empty;
    private DateTime m_DateOrdered;
    private DateTime m_DateDue;

    public ImportRow() { }

    public string Status
    {
        get { return m_Status; }
        set { m_Status = value; }
    }

    public DateTime DateOrdered
    {
        get { return m_DateOrdered; }
        set { m_DateOrdered = value; }
    }

    public DateTime DateDue
    {
        get { return m_DateDue; }
        set { m_DateDue = value; }
    }

}

Then use it as:

        var importedData = new List<ImportRow>();

        foreach (DataRow oldRow in originalTable.Rows)
        {
            var newRow = new ImportRow();

            newRow.Status = oldRow["status"].ToString();
            newRow.DateDue = Convert.ToDateTime(oldRow["date_due"].ToString());
            newRow.DateOrdered = Convert.ToDateTime(oldRow["date_ordered"].ToString());

            importedData.Add(newRow);
        }

Then

 displayGrid.DataSource = importedData;
 displayGrid.DataBind();

Answer 2

Your custom type needs public properties like these:

public class Foo
{
    public int Id;
    public string Name;
}

or you need to use the DataTable itself as DataSource.