Sure, the syntax got easier. Instead of the cumbersome:

<%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "url") %>

We get to save some strokes and remove the entire confusion around “what the heck is Container.DataItem?“:

<%# Eval("url") %>

But, this isn't all its cracked up to be. Eval() STILL uses reflection to evaluate expressions, therefore for every bound column/row displayed in your ASP.NET pages, you are adding overhead, unnecessarily. Of course, what this really means is, just like with 1.1, you should be using explicit casts to cast Container.DataItem to its actual type:

<%# ((System.Data.DataRowView)Container.DataItem)["url"]) %>

Of course the trick is to know...you guessed it...what the heck is Container.DataItem??? A quick way to find this out for various objects you may choose to employ in binding, is to bind just to Container.DataItem as a test. In the attached example I bound the GridView control to the Web configuration sections:

Configuration webConfig = System.Web.Configuration.WebConfigurationManager.OpenWebConfiguration(Request.ApplicationPath);

ConfigurationSectionCollection webConfigSections = webConfig.Sections;

GridView1.DataSource = webConfigSections;