Sitecore.Data.DataProviders.DataProvider

DataProvider is the class that must be inherited when building a custom data provider.

The list of methods available on this class is pretty expansive. A small number of the methods must be implemented in order to get a working data provider. The functionality you need will determine the methods you must implement.

For read-only data providers you must implement:

For read/write data providers you must implement:

  • CopyItem
  • CreateItem
  • DeleteItem
  • MoveItem
  • SaveItem

For read/write data providers that support versioning you must implement:

  • AddVersion
  • RemoveVersion
  • RemoveVersions

GetChildIDs

Returns a collection of IDs that represents the Sitecore items that are children of a specific Sitecore item.

Parameters
  • ItemDefinition - the Sitecore item whose children are being retrieved
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the specified Sitecore item has children: IDList containing the IDs of the children
  • If the specified Sitecore item has no children: null or empty IDList object
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified Sitecore item: null
Example
public override IDList GetChildIDs(ItemDefinition itemDefinition, CallContext context)
{
    if (itemDefinition.ID == MyItemIDs.MyProviderRoot)
    {
        var ids = new IDList();
        ids.Add(MyItemIDs.Child1);
        ids.Add(MyItemIDs.Child2);
        ids.Add(MyItemIDs.Child3);
        return ids;
    }
    return null;
}

GetItemDefinition

Returns an object that describes the Sitecore item that corresponds to a specific Sitecore item ID.

Parameters
  • ID - the ID of the Sitecore item whose definition is being retrieved
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the data provider handles the specified ID: ItemDefinition object
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified ID: null
Example
public override ItemDefinition GetItemDefinition(ID itemId, CallContext context)
{
    ItemDefinition itemDef = null;
    if (itemId == MyItemIDs.MyProviderRoot)
    {
        itemDef = new ItemDefinition(itemId, "My Provider Root", TemplateIDs.Folder, ID.Null);
    }
    else if (itemId == MyItemIDs.Child1)
    {
        itemDef = new ItemDefinition(itemId, "Child1", TemplateIDs.File, ID.Null);
    }
    else if (itemId == MyItemIDs.Child2)
    {
        itemDef = new ItemDefinition(itemId, "Child2", TemplateIDs.File, ID.Null);
    }
    else if (itemId == MyItemIDs.Child3)
    {
        itemDef = new ItemDefinition(itemId, "Child3", TemplateIDs.File, ID.Null);
    }
    return itemDef;
}

GetItemFields

Returns a collection of information that identifies the fields that populate the a specific version of a specific Sitecore item.

Parameters
  • ItemDefinition - the Sitecore item whose fields are being retrieved
  • VersionUri - the version of the Sitecore item whose fields are being retrieved
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the specified Sitecore item has fields: FieldList containing the IDs of the children
  • If the specified Sitecore item has no fields: null or empty IDList object
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified Sitecore item: null
Example

The following example demonstrates a data provider that does not support versioning. The same field values are returned regardless of the VersionUri parameter:

public override FieldList GetItemFields(ItemDefinition itemDefinition, VersionUri versionUri, CallContext context)
{
    if (itemId == MyItemIDs.MyProviderRoot || 
	    itemId == MyItemIDs.Child1 || 
		itemId == MyItemIDs.Child2 || 
	    itemId == MyItemIDs.Child3)
    {
        var now = Sitecore.DateUtil.ToIsoDate(DateTime.Now);
	    var fields = new FieldList();
        fields.Add(FieldIDs.Created, now);
        fields.Add(FieldIDs.Updated, now);
        fields.Add(FieldIDs.Owner, this.Owner);
        fields.Add(FieldIDs.CreatedBy, "custom data provider");
        fields.Add(FieldIDs.UpdatedBy, "custom data provider");
		return fields;
    }
    return null;
}

GetItemVersions

Returns a collection of VersionUri objects that represent the versions available for a specific Sitecore item.

Parameters
  • ItemDefinition - the Sitecore item whose versions are being retrieved
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the specified Sitecore item has versions: VersionUriList containing the VersionUri objects that represent the available versions
  • If the specified Sitecore item has no versions: null or empty VersionUriList object
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified Sitecore item: null
Example

The following example demonstrates a data provider that does not support versioning. It always returns one version for each language defined in the Sitecore database:

public override VersionUriList GetItemVersions(ItemDefinition itemDefinition, CallContext context)
{
    if (itemId == MyItemIDs.MyProviderRoot || 
	    itemId == MyItemIDs.Child1 || 
		itemId == MyItemIDs.Child2 || 
	    itemId == MyItemIDs.Child3)
    {
	    var versions = new VersionUriList();
        foreach (var language in context.DataManager.Database.Languages)
        {
            versions.Add(language, Sitecore.Data.Version.First);
        }
		return versions;
    }
    return null;
}

GetLanguages

Returns the languages that are supported by the data provider.

In most cases this method should be overridden to return null. The default data provider will return the appropriate languages. Failing to implement the method properly will result in duplicate languages appearing:

improperly implemented GetLanguages method

Parameters
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the specified Sitecore item adds support for specific languages: LanguageCollection containing the Language objects
  • If the specified Sitecore item does not add support for specific language: null or empty LanguageCollection object
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified Sitecore item: null
Example

The following example demonstrates a data provider that does not add support for any additional languages:

public override LanguageCollection GetLanguages(CallContext context)
{
    return null;
}

GetParentID

Returns the ID that represents the Sitecore item that is the parent of a specific Sitecore item.

Parameters
  • ItemDefinition - the Sitecore item whose parent is being retrieved
  • CallContext
Returns
  • If the data provider is able to determine the parent Sitecore item ID for the specified Sitecore item: ID for the parent Sitecore item
  • If the data provider does not handle the specified Sitecore item: Sitecore.Data.ID.Null
Example
public override ID GetParentID(ItemDefinition itemDefinition, CallContext context)
{
    if (itemId == MyItemIDs.Child1 || 
		itemId == MyItemIDs.Child2 || 
	    itemId == MyItemIDs.Child3)
    {
		return MyItemIDs.MyProviderRoot;
    }
    return ID.Null;
}