Example
There are two ways you can bind a GridView. You can either manually do it by setting the DataSource property and calling DataBind(), or you can use a DataSourceControl such as a SqlDataSource.
Manual Binding
Create your GridView:
<asp:GridView ID="gvColors" runat="server"></asp:GridView>
First create or retrieve the source data for the GridView. Next, assign the data to the GridView's DataSource property. Finally, call DataBind().
List<string> colors = new List<string>();
colors.Add("Red");
colors.Add("Green");
colors.Add("Blue");
gvColors.DataSource = colors;
gvColors.DataBind();
DataSourceControl
Create your DataSourceControl:
<asp:SqlDataSource ID="sdsColors"
runat="server"
ConnectionString="<%$ MyConnectionString %>"
SelectCommand="SELECT Color_Name FROM Colors">
</asp:SqlDataSource>
Create your GridView and set the DataSourceID property:
<asp:GridView ID="gvColors"
runat="server"
DataSourceID="sdsColors">
</asp:GridView>
