>>I suppose (thinking out loud) that the key might be for me to create something like a custom SearchCriteria class with a method or two that allows the client code to easily add the search criteria, similar to the above. Then the "complexity" of working with the DataSet or Xml can be hidden in that class and can also be hidden from the "server" code. Sort of like a queue -- the client puts criteria in and the server takes them out to process. That object's "Add" method can even do the checking for an empty value and avoid adding that criterion, allowing the UI to just have one line per search control. Cool.<Yep. Interesting idea. I don't think I quite did it that way, but I do have a class that handles a lot of the complexities, but not all of them. My UI has some knowledge of the SearchCriteria DataSet.
>>Thanks very much for providing advice and a sounding board here. I'd still be interested to hear (read) what others may have done for something like this -- <You're welcome. I'd be interested in other ideas too ...
~~Bonnie
