I'm developing an application using the WAF (WPF Application Framework) which is based on MVVM, MEF, etc.
I currently have a couple of Domain objects with similar structures as below (shortened for brevity):
public class MyBaseClass : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private DateTime? _firstDateTime;
protected DateTime? firstDateTime
{
get { return _firstDateTime; }
set
{
_firstDateTime = value;
OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("FirstDateTime"));
}
private DateTime? _secondDateTime;
protected DateTime? secondDateTime
{
get { return _secondDateTime; }
set
{
_secondDateTime = value;
OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("SecondDateTime"));
}
public DateTime? FirstDateTime
{
get { return firstDateTime; }
set { firstDateTime = value; }
}
public DateTime? SecondDateTime
{
get { return secondDateTime; }
set { secondDateTime = value; }
}
}
public class MyBaseCollectionClass : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private ObservableCollection<MyBaseClass> _baseClassObjectCollection;
protected ObservableCollection<MyBaseClass> baseClassObjectCollection
{
get { return _baseClassObjectCollection; }
set
{
_baseClassObjectCollection = value;
OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs("BaseClassObjectCollection"));
}
}
public ObservableCollection<MyBaseClass> BaseClassObjectCollection
{
get { return baseClassObjectCollection; }
set { baseClassObjectCollection = value; }
}
}
Then, in my ApplicationController I have a method that loads up an ObservableCollection in a view-model like such:
for (int i = 0; i <= 9; i++)
{
detailsViewModel.MyBaseClassObjects.Add( new MyBaseClass()
{
FirstDateTime = Convert.ToDateTime("05/2" + i + "/2012 09:00:00 AM"),
SecondDateTime = Convert.ToDateTime("05/2" + i + "/2012 04:30:00 PM")
});
}
And another method that groups the big collection into smaller grouped collections by date:
detailsViewModel.MyBaseClassObjects
.GroupBy(baseObject => ((DateTime)baseObject.FirstDateTime).Date)
.Select(group => group.ToList())
.ToList()
.ForEach(list => detailsViewModel.BaseObjectCollections
.Add(
new MyBaseCollectionClass()
{ BaseClassObjectCollection = new ObservableCollection<MyBaseClass>(list)}
)
);
Then, in my view's XAML, I have an ItemsControl bound like such:
<ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding BaseObjectCollections}" ItemTemplate="{StaticResource ItemsTemplate}">
<ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
<ItemsPanelTemplate>
<StackPanel/>
</ItemsPanelTemplate>
</ItemsControl.ItemsPanel>
</ItemsControl>
An in a ResourceDictionary for the view, I have a DataTemplate declared like such (some items omitted for clarity):
<DataTemplate x:Key="ItemsTemplate">
<Grid DataContext="{Binding MyBaseClassObjects}">
<Grid.RowDefinitions>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
<RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
</Grid.RowDefinitions>
<DataGrid Grid.Row="1"
Background="Transparent"
Style="{DynamicResource DataGridStyle}"
AlternatingRowBackground="Gainsboro"
AlternationCount="2"
AutoGenerateColumns="False"
HeadersVisibility="None"
ItemsSource="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor, AncestorType={x:Type Grid}}, Path=DataContext}">
<DataGrid.Columns>
<DataGridTextColumn Width=".25*">
<DataGridTextColumn.Binding>
<MultiBinding Converter="{x:Static myConvNS:MultiValueTESTCONVERTER.Retrieve}">
<Binding Path="FirstDateTime"/>
<Binding Path="SecondDateTime"/>
</MultiBinding>
</DataGridTextColumn.Binding>
</DataGridTextColumn>
</DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
</Grid>
</DataTemplate>
NOTE: In the above DataTemplate I have a multibinding currently so I can see what values are being passed into the converter. I realize I will not be able to achieve the desired effect (described below), but I wanted to be able to step through the binding and look at what the converter was receiving - nothing more at this point. Ultimately what I'm trying to accomplish (if possible) is that I'd like to be able to bind my Datagrid in such a way that the FirstDateTime and SecondDateTime values can be displayed in the same column, alternating. See the image below for a visual aid:
My initial thoughts were to have some other generic object that exposes a single DateTime property and break down my base objects (which have two DateTime properties) into instances of this generic object, then bind to a collection of those generic objects. However, I don't like this idea. When a change occurs to either DateTime properties on my base object I need to know about it and I'm afraid that by splitting this object into two generic objects that I will lose the ability to send/receive the notifications correctly.
Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts?
