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An article I really have to write - oh the woes of being lazy...just why the hell does everyone use DataGrids?

One thing that really puzzles me in the ASP.NET forums (apart from having to be moderated...which is a whole other story) is that practically everyone seems hell-bent on using the DataGrid. Why? What am I missing; I VERY rarely need to use a DataGrid, a Repeater is perfectly adequate for most of my needs - failing that a DataList is just fine.
So come on perople, what's so hot about the DataGrid?
Incidentally, I've been meaning to complete an article on this subject...I really have to get on with writing more articles - if only to give myself something to do!

Print | posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 4:31 PM | Filed Under [ ASP.NET ]

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# re: An article I really have to write - oh the woes of being lazy...just why the hell does everyone use DataGrids?

I can't say why *everyone* uses them... but I know why I do:

85% of the pages I write are small-audience (100-400 users) intranet apps. Processor power and bandwidth are not issues. However, being able to quickly add a feature often is. "Make this column sortable!" I'm told. A day before it goes live. Or "Add a page that displays x"... I know x will end up being a sortable table with edit functionality soon.

The DataGrid has lots of functionality. It isn't hard to inherit from to add features. It adds bloat to a page, and slows processing a bit, but since those aren't issues for me they can be overlooked.

In short- I use it because I'm lazy. I use a DataList fairly often. A Repeater sometimes - but my workhorse is the easy to use (for me) DataGrid.
1/13/2004 7:14 PM | Philip Rieck
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# re: An article I really have to write - oh the woes of being lazy...just why the hell does everyone use DataGrids?

Guess I'm just used to having control over the output HTML - it can be a real pain trying to get pixel-perfect layouts when you can't reallt be sure what HTML you're going to end up with.
My issue with stuff in the ASP.NET forums is that lots of users starting out with ASP.NET are having major problems using DataGrids when, for the functionality they actually need, a Repeater would be much more suitable and would also avoid many of the issues...
1/13/2004 10:05 PM | Scott Galloway
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