Optimal Alternative To DataBinder.Eval

It is common practice among programmers to use DataBinder.Eval method in data binding controls. This should be acceptable for a small amount of data. But if the data become large, it is not an optimal method as it has the overhead of using reflection.

According to Microsoft:
"Because this method performs late-bound evaluation, using reflection at run time, it can cause performance to be noticeably slow."

Example:

<asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="False"
    DataKeyNames="PersonId" DataSourceID="SqlDataSource1">
    <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem,"Name") %>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
       <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem,"Age") %>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>

Optimal alternative:

<asp:GridView ID="GridView2" 
runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="False"
    DataKeyNames="PersonId" DataSourceID="SqlDataSource1">
    <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# ((DataRowView)Container.DataItem)["Name"]%>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
       <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# ((DataRowView)Container.DataItem)["Age"]%>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>

If Data Reader is used to bind the control, then the optimal alternative is:

<asp:GridView ID="GridView3" runat="server">
    <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# ((DbDataRecord)Container.DataItem).GetString(0)%>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
       <asp:TemplateField>
            <ItemTemplate>
                <%# ((DbDataRecord)Container.DataItem).GetInt32(1)%>
            </ItemTemplate>
        </asp:TemplateField>
    </Columns>
</asp:GridView>

For using these castings, you need to import a few namespaces to the page such as:

<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Data.Common" %>