Bind an ASP.NET DropDownList to a Dictionary

I have seen a lot of folks keeping data in a Dictionary<,>. However when it comes to binding this Dictionary with a control, they feel lost!

Here's a simple way that demonstrates how to bind a Dictionary to an ASP.NET DropDownList control

        <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlRelatives" runat="server">

        </asp:DropDownList>

C#

    Dictionary<int, string> dicRel = new Dictionary<int, string>();

    dicRel.Add(1, "Father");

    dicRel.Add(2, "Mother");

    dicRel.Add(3, "Brother");

    dicRel.Add(4, "Sister");

    dicRel.Add(5, "Others");

    ddlRelatives.DataSource = dicRel;

    ddlRelatives.DataTextField = "Value";

    ddlRelatives.DataValueField = "Key";

    ddlRelatives.DataBind();

VB.NET

    Dim dicRel As New Dictionary(Of Integer, String)()

    dicRel.Add(1, "Father")

    dicRel.Add(2, "Mother")

    dicRel.Add(3, "Brother")

    dicRel.Add(4, "Sister")

    dicRel.Add(5, "Others")

    ddlRelatives.DataSource = dicRel

    ddlRelatives.DataTextField = "Value"

    ddlRelatives.DataValueField = "Key"

    ddlRelatives.DataBind()

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About The Author

Suprotim Agarwal, ASP.NET Architecture MVP works as an Architect Consultant and provides consultancy on how to design and develop Web applications.

Suprotim is also the founder and primary contributor to DevCurry, DotNetCurry and SQLServerCurry. He has also written an EBook 51 Recipes using jQuery with ASP.NET Controls.

Follow him on twitter @suprotimagarwal