 <p><code>DataTable</code> derives from <code>Object</code>, so can be assigned to any <code>Object</code> variable.</p> <p>From MSDN (<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.datagridview.datasource.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DataSource</a>):</p> <blockquote> <p>The DataGridView class supports the standard Windows Forms data-binding model. This means the data source can be of any type that implements one of the following interfaces:</p> <ul> <li>The IList interface, including one-dimensional arrays.</li> <li>The IListSource interface, such as the DataTable and DataSet classes.</li> <li>The IBindingList interface, such as the BindingList class.</li> <li>The IBindingListView interface, such as the BindingSource class.</li> </ul> </blockquote>