WPF: Correctly storing an object in a TreeViewItem

Question

To store an object (say, an instance of a class) in a TreeViewItem, I am currently storing the object in the TreeViewItem\'s Header and then overri

Answer 1

The "proper" way is to just add the object to the TreeView's (or TreeViewItem's) Items collection and use a HierarchicalDataTemplate to control how the item is rendered:

Person.cs:

public class Person
{
    private readonly ICollection _children = new ObservableCollection();

    public string Name { get; set; }

    public ICollection Children
    {
        get
        {
            return _children;
        }
    }
}

Window1.xaml.cs:

public Window1()
{
    InitializeComponent();

    var people = new List();
    var kent = new Person() { Name = "Kent" };
    kent.Children.Add(new Person() { Name = "Tempany" });
    people.Add(kent);
    _treeView.ItemsSource = people;
}

Window1.xaml: