Overview
Web Forms—the Page and Control Framework at the heart of ASP.NET—makes it easier to develop dynamic Web applications. But you can go beyond the controls that ship with ASP.NET—and power up your Web sites and applications—by creating your own server controls. You can also develop and distribute your own controls for commercial use. This comprehensive guide, direct from key insiders who really know the technology, combines conceptual and architectural details with practical, how-to information and real-world code samples to show exactly how to create custom, reusable, professional-quality server controls with rich design-time functionality. It also provides essential information about configuration and the HTTP runtime, packaging, deployment, debugging, and developing controls that incorporate XML Web services, plus other vital topics. And it introduces the ASP.NET Web Matrix tool for creating Web applications and for using server controls. Topics covered include:
OVERVIEW
- ASP.NET page programming
- Component programming
SERVER CONTROLS
- User controls
- Implementing properties
- View state management
- Rendering
- Control life cycle
- Events and Postback
- Styles
- Composite, validator, and data-bound controls
- Client-side behavior
- Design-time functionality
- Localization, licensing, and deployment
SERVER COMPONENTS
- XML Web services
- HTTP handlers
SERVER CONTROL CASE STUDIES
- Templated data-bound controls
- DHTML-based server controls
“[This book] is a must-have for all serious ASP.NET component developers.”
–Scott Guthrie, Product Unit Manager, Microsoft ASP.NET Product Team
Synopsis
Combining conceptual details with practical how-to information, this guide provides the solid understanding developers need to get controls up and running. Topics include Web services, HTTP runtime programming, packaging, deployment, debugging, and more. (Computer Books - Internet)
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewWay back when, Microsoft’s COM technology unleashed a huge marketplace for components -- and a torrent of developer creativity. Now Microsoft hopes that ASP.NET server controls and components will have the same impact on web development -- and, judging from the early marketplace reaction, it just might happen. Whether you’re interested in ASP.NET controls purely for your own projects or as a way to market your server-side code to the world, this book is your definitive resource.
The authors bring together expert guidance for every facet of development: architectural guidelines, extensive task-based information, and, of course, plenty of (downloadable) code samples. Their code samples use standards created by ASP.NET’s own development team -- not surprising, given that one of the book’s coauthors served on that team. Follow this book’s approach, and your controls will fit neatly with the built-in controls that ship with ASP.NET.
Early on, the authors introduce both models for implementing ASP.NET server controls, showing how to use (and choose between) declaratively authored user controls and programmatically authored custom controls. Next, they introduce composite and templated controls; controls with client-side behavior; validator and data-bound controls; and practical techniques for localization and licensing.
There’s a full section on integrating web service functionality into an associated server control, including optimization via caching. The authors conclude with a series of detailed case studies, including a data-bound templated control that generates customizable, interactive, columnar data representations, and a DHTML date picker control that encapsulates logic for targeting multiple browsers. Bill Camarda
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.