Paging tabular data retrieved through a database query has been a long time need in transactional line of business applications. With time the ways of achieving this in ASP .NET have evolved into very easy solutions. On the previous version of the framework, .NET framework 3.5 (currently to the date they are now on 4.0) two server-side user controls where introduced, the ListView and the DataPager.
They idea behind the ListView control is to provide the developer with more control over the markup output while providing the data-bound experience of previous controls. The ListView control displays data based on user defined templates, which is extremely convenient for styling purposes. It also reduces to zero the garbage markup automatically generated by older controls like the GridView.
The DataPager in the other hand, is product of the decoupling of the paging feature from the data-bound controls that implement the IPageableItemContainer interface. Providing more freedom when it comes to paging customization on regards of functionality and appearance.