is it wrong to use a repeater within a repeater?

Question

I have a list of parents, that have children. I am trying to output this on my website doing the following. It works, but is it right? What is the best alternative?

 <ul id="example">
        <asp:Repeater ID="monkey" runat="server" >

        <ItemTemplate>
            <li>
                <span class="folder">
                  <%# GetPlantName((string)Container.DataItem) %>
                </span>

                <ul>
                  <asp:Repeater id="moo" runat="server" DataSource="<%# GetTagList((string)Container.DataItem) %>">
                        <ItemTemplate>
                            <li>
                                <asp:LinkButton ID="d" runat="server" Text='<%# Eval("ReportNo")%>'></asp:LinkButton>                  
                            </li>
                        </ItemTemplate>    
                  </asp:Repeater>
                </ul>      
            </li>        
        </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:Repeater>
    </ul>

Do your requirements dictate the need for one? I'd assume yes... — Grant Thomas, Mar 23 '11 at 17:01
It's fine. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2923137/repeater-in-repeater/2923162 — Anton, Mar 23 '11 at 17:01

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

6

Nested repeaters are acceptable. Just be careful with things like RowDataBound events. It's not always obvious, especially to junior developers, that these methods are essentially nested loops. I've seen mistakes like a trip to the database in the nested repeater, which results in a lot of overhead.

Just keep in mind that what you're doing is essentially a nested loop and design code accordingly and it's perfectly fine.

answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

David

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yeah, I'm aware it's a nested loop and I could just use a for each, within a for each, but that would look a little messy. I've found using a repeater within a repeater makes cleaner code. – Funky Mar 24 '11 at 08:32

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

2

I hope no

I have a repeater in a repeater in a repeater in a repeater in something :-p

answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

Fredou

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

0

No, it is not wrong! On the contrary, it is what we have to do more often than not.

Sometimes there are better solutions but that always depends on the requirements.

hth,

\ ^ / i l l

answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

Will Tartak

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

0

I see nothing wrong here at all. You have a list (repeater 1) with a nested list (repeater 2).

answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

Jamiec

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

0

Is it wrong? No. It's only 'wrong' (and that's basically a pseudonym for inefficient) if you plan on doing something with a repeater that could be done easier with something else.

answered Mar 23 '11 at 17:02

Tejs

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is it wrong to use a repeater within a repeater?

5 Answers5