Setting DataContext in XAML in WPF

Question

This code will always fail.

As written, it says: "Look for a property named "Employee" on my DataContext property, and set it to the DataContext property". Clearly that isn't right.

To get your code to work, as is, change your window declaration to:

<Window x:Class="SampleApplication.MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SampleApplication"
    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<Window.DataContext>
   <local:Employee/>
</Window.DataContext>

This declares a new XAML namespace (local) and sets the DataContext to an instance of the Employee class. This will cause your bindings to display the default data (from your constructor).

However, it is highly unlikely this is actually what you want. Instead, you should have a new class (call it MainViewModel) with an Employee property that you then bind to, like this:

public class MainViewModel
{
   public Employee MyEmployee { get; set; } //In reality this should utilize INotifyPropertyChanged!
}

Now your XAML becomes:

<Window x:Class="SampleApplication.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SampleApplication"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
    <Window.DataContext>
       <local:MainViewModel/>
    </Window.DataContext>
    ...
    <TextBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" Margin="3" Text="{Binding MyEmployee.EmpID}" />
    <TextBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="1" Margin="3" Text="{Binding MyEmployee.EmpName}" />

Now you can add other properties (of other types, names), etc. For more information, see Implementing the Model-View-ViewModel Pattern

First of all you should create property with employee details in the Employee class:

public class Employee
{
    public Employee()
    {
        EmployeeDetails = new EmployeeDetails();
        EmployeeDetails.EmpID = 123;
        EmployeeDetails.EmpName = "ABC";
    }

    public EmployeeDetails EmployeeDetails { get; set; }
}

If you don't do that, you will create instance of object in Employee constructor and you lose reference to it.

In the XAML you should create instance of Employee class, and after that you can assign it to DataContext.

Your XAML should look like this:

<Window x:Class="SampleApplication.MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SampleApplication"
   >
    <Window.Resources>
        <local:Employee x:Key="Employee" />
    </Window.Resources>
    <Grid DataContext="{StaticResource Employee}">
        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
            <ColumnDefinition Width="200" />
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

        <Label Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" Content="ID:"/>
        <Label Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Content="Name:"/>
        <TextBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" Margin="3" Text="{Binding EmployeeDetails.EmpID}" />
        <TextBox Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="1" Margin="3" Text="{Binding EmployeeDetails.EmpName}" />
    </Grid>
</Window>

Now, after you created property with employee details you should binding by using this property:

Text="{Binding EmployeeDetails.EmpID}"

There are several issues here.

1. You can't assign DataContext as DataContext="{Binding Employee}" because it's a complex object which can't be assigned as string. So you have to use <Window.DataContext></Window.DataContext> syntax.
2. You assign the class that represents the data context object to the view, not an individual property so {Binding Employee} is invalid here, you just have to specify an object.
3. Now when you assign data context using valid syntax like below

   <Window.DataContext>
      <local:Employee/>
   </Window.DataContext>

know that you are creating a new instance of the Employee class and assigning it as the data context object. You may well have nothing in default constructor so nothing will show up. But then how do you manage it in code behind file? You have typecast the DataContext.

    private void my_button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        Employee e = (Employee) DataContext;
    }

4. A second way is to assign the data context in the code behind file itself. The advantage then is your code behind file already knows it and can work with it.

   public partial class MainWindow : Window
   {
      Employee employee = new Employee();
   
      public MainWindow()
      {
          InitializeComponent();
   
          DataContext = employee;
      }
   }