True DBList supports an array-based unbound mode, or storage mode, that does not rely upon the Visual Basic Data control or any other data provider that follows the Microsoft data binding specifications. Instead, storage mode uses an ComponentOne XArrayDB object as a data source. XArrayDB, which is included with True DBList Pro 8.0, is packaged as a separate file, XARRAYDB.OCX. You must distribute this file along with your application if you use storage mode.
To use storage mode, set the DataMode property of the list to 4 - Storage at design time. In code, redimension and populate an XArrayDB object with your data just as you would a Visual Basic array, then assign the XArrayDB object to the Array property of the list. The data will then be maintained and exchanged between the list and the XArrayDB object automatically. There are no unbound events to write, making this mode the easiest to use.
Storage mode was created to deliver ease of use without sacrificing the power and flexibility that you expect from True DBList. When using this mode, the index of the first dimension of the XArrayDB object serves as a bookmark to uniquely identify rows. This means that all of the list's bookmark-related properties, methods, and events (Bookmark, FirstRow, GetBookmark, FetchCellStyle, and others) work the same in storage mode as in any other DataMode, either bound or unbound.
Storage mode is only used for populating a control with data. If you are using True DBList to update another data source, you must set the DataSource property to the name of a bound data control at design time.
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Version 5.0 introduced the XArray object (without the DB), which supports up to ten dimensions but does not provide any methods for searching and sorting. For backward compatibility, version 6.0 and newer also supports the XArray object in storage mode. However, XArrayDB is preferred, since it is optimized for the two-dimensional case and supports sorting and searching. |