ASP.NET Core DataSource Overview
The Data Source is part of Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core, a
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The Telerik UI DataSource TagHelper and HtmlHelper for ASP.NET Core are server-side wrappers for the Kendo UI DataSource widget.
The DataSource is an abstraction for using local data or remote data. In most cases, the DataSource definition is declared as part of the configurations for the Telerik UI helpers. The standalone DataSource component is suitable for scenarios that require a shared data source.
- If your data is
IQueryable<T>returned by a LINQ-enabled provider—Entity Framework, LINQ to SQL, Telerik OpenAccess, NHibernate or other—the LINQ expressions, created by theToDataSourceResultmethod, are converted to SQL and executed by the database server.- Use the
ToDataSourceResult()method to page, sort, filter, and group the collection that is passed to it. If this collection is already paged, the method returns an empty result.- As of the R1 2017 SP1 release, you can use the
ToDataSourceResultAsyncextension method to provide the asynchronous functionality ofToDataSourceResultby leveraging theasyncandawaitfeatures of the .NET Framework.- If impersonation is enabled, use the
ToDataSourceResultAsyncextension method with only one thread in your ASP.NET application. If you create a new thread, the impersonation in the newly created child thread decreases because, by default, all newly created child threads in ASP.NET run under the ASP.NET identity of the worker process. To change this behavior, explicitly impersonate the current identity within the code of the child thread.
To use DataSourceRequest and ToDataSourceResult() with the DataSource HtmlHelper, add the following namespaces with using directives in the controller:
using Kendo.Mvc.Extensions;
using Kendo.Mvc.UI;
To use DataSourceRequest and ToDataSourceResult() with the DataSource TagHelper, in addition to the Kendo namespaces above, also add the following directive to the view:
@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
Initialize the DataSource
The following example demonstrates how to define the DataSource. You can use Name() to access the DataSource instance on the client and utilize the API methods and events of the Kendo UI for jQuery DataSource widget.
@(Html.Kendo().DataSource<OrderViewModel>()
.Name("myDataSource")
.Ajax(d=>d.Read(r => r.Action("ReadOrders", "Home")))
)
<script>
myDataSource.read(); // A POST request will be sent to the HomeController ReadOrders action.
</script>
<kendo-datasource name="myDataSource" type="DataSourceTagHelperType.Ajax">
<transport>
<read url="@Url.Action("ReadOrders", "Home")" />
</transport>
</kendo-datasource>
<script>
myDataSource.read(); // A POST request will be sent to the HomeController ReadOrders action.
</script>
public IActionResult ReadOrders([DataSourceRequest]DataSourceRequest request)
{
// Orders can be IQueriable or IEnumerable.
return Json(orders.ToDataSourceResult(request));
}
Basic Configuration
You can declare the DataSource component configuration options by using the available methods—for example, you can define the page size, page, sort order, filter, group, aggregates, and the model.
- To sort the data based on an object, set the data field, by which the data items are sorted, to a property of that object.
- To group the data by an object, set the group by data item field to a property of that object.
- To filter the data based on an object, set the data item field, to which the filter operator is applied, to a property of that object.
The configuration accepts the definition for all CRUD operations and facilitates the data sorting, filtering, and grouping.
@(Html.Kendo().DataSource<Kendo.Mvc.Examples.Models.ProductViewModel>()
.Name("dataSource1")
.Ajax(dataSource => dataSource
.Read(read => read.Action("Products_Read", "DataSource"))
.ServerOperation(false)
.PageSize(5)
.Sort(sort => sort.Add("FieldName").Ascending())
.Filter(filter => filter.Add(field => field.FieldName).StartsWith("A"))
.Group(group => group.Add(field => field.FieldName))
)
)
@{
var filterValue = "A";
}
<kendo-datasource name="dataSource1" type="DataSourceTagHelperType.Ajax" server-operation="false" page-size="5">
<transport>
<read url="@Url.Action("Products_Read", "DataSource")" />
</transport>
<sorts>
<sort field="FieldName" direction="asc" />
</sorts>
<filters>
<datasource-filter field="FieldName" operator="startswith" value="@filterValue"></datasource-filter>
</filters>
<groups>
<group field="FieldName" />
</groups>
</kendo-datasource>
Pass Additional Data to Action Methods
To pass additional parameters to the action, use the Data method. Provide the name of a JavaScript function which will return a JavaScript object with the additional data.
The custom parameter names must not match reserved words, which are used by the Kendo UI DataSource for jQuery for sorting, filtering, paging, and grouping.
The following example demonstrates how to add the additional parameters to the action method.
public ActionResult Products_Read([DataSourceRequest]DataSourceRequest request, string firstName, string lastName)
{
// The implementation is omitted.
}
The following example demonstrates how to specify the JavaScript function which returns additional data.
@(Html.Kendo().Grid<KendoGridAjaxBinding.Models.Product>()
.Name("grid")
.DataSource(dataSource => dataSource
.Ajax()
.PageSize(20)
.Read(read => read
.Action("Products_Read", "Home") // Set the action method which will return the data in JSON format.
.Data("productsReadData") // Specify the JavaScript function which will return the data.
)
)
.Columns(columns =>
{
columns.Bound(product => product.ProductID);
columns.Bound(product => product.ProductName);
columns.Bound(product => product.UnitsInStock);
})
.Pageable()
.Sortable()
)
<script>
function productsReadData() {
return {
firstName: "John",
lastName: "Doe"
};
}
</script>
<kendo-grid name="grid">
<datasource type="DataSourceTagHelperType.Ajax" page-size="20">
<transport>
<read url="@Url.Action("Products_Read","Home")" data="productsReadData"/> <!--Specify the JavaScript function which will return the data.-->
</transport>
</datasource>
<columns>
<column field="ProductID"></column>
<column field="ProductName"></column>
<column field="UnitsInStock"></column>
</columns>
<pageable enabled="true"/>
<sortable enabled="true" />
</kendo-grid>
<script>
function productsReadData() {
return {
firstName: "John",
lastName: "Doe"
};
}
</script>
Enable Client Data Processing
By default, the Telerik UI Grid for ASP.NET Core makes an Ajax request to the Action method every time the user sorts, filters, groups or changes the page. To change this behavior, disable ServerOperation option.
@(Html.Kendo().Grid<KendoGridAjaxBinding.Models.Product>()
.Name("grid")
.DataSource(dataSource => dataSource
.Ajax()
.PageSize(20)
.ServerOperation(false) // Paging, sorting, filtering, and grouping will be done client-side.
.Read(read => read.Action("Products_Read", "Home"))
)
.Columns(columns =>
{
columns.Bound(product => product.ProductID);
columns.Bound(product => product.ProductName);
columns.Bound(product => product.UnitsInStock);
})
.Pageable()
.Sortable()
)
<kendo-grid name="grid">
<datasource type="DataSourceTagHelperType.Ajax"
page-size="20"
server-operation="false"> <!--Paging, sorting, filtering, and grouping will be done client-side.-->
<transport>
<read url="@Url.Action("Products_Read","Home")"/>
</transport>
</datasource>
<columns>
<column field="ProductID"></column>
<column field="ProductName"></column>
<column field="UnitsInStock"></column>
</columns>
<pageable enabled="true"/>
<sortable enabled="true" />
</kendo-grid>
Prevent Ajax Response Caching
To prevent Ajax response caching, refer to this section from the Frequently Asked Questions article
Model Mapping
Sometimes it is convenient to use view model objects instead of entities returned by Entity Framework. For example, you may want to avoid serializing all Entity Framework properties as JSON or prevent serialization exceptions caused by circular references.
To map to a ViewModel on the fly pass a mapping lambda as a second parameter to the ToDataSourceResult() extension method.
The naming of the model properties of the view model objects and entities returned by Entity Framework should match. If usage of different naming is desired implement model mapping.
public ActionResult Products_Read([DataSourceRequest]DataSourceRequest request)
{
using (var northwind = new NorthwindEntities())
{
IQueryable<Product> products = northwind.Products;
// Convert the Product entities to ProductViewModel instances.
DataSourceResult result = products.ToDataSourceResult(request, product => new ProductViewModel
{
ProductID = product.ProductID,
ProductName = product.ProductName,
UnitsInStock = product.UnitsInStock
});
return Json(result);
}
}