Professional DotNetNuke® Module Programming

Chapter 14. Third-Party Components and Controls

Because all DotNetNuke modules, skins, and skin objects are created with .NET code and languages, it is very common for individuals to incorporate third-party components and control suites into their DotNetNuke components. Third-party controls enable you to quickly take your existing module and add functional bits that dress it up, or start a new module and use third-party components to quickly create a highly robust module.

However, there are special considerations that must be investigated when incorporating those third-party controls into custom DotNetNuke modules. This chapter focuses on these DotNetNuke-specific considerations that must be handled to ensure appropriate third-party integration. In addition, it is very important to remember to consider standard third-party component restrictions such as licensing and source code ownership.

The chapter starts out with a look at compatibility concerns, and when DotNetNuke as a platform might become an issue for controls. The discussion then examines deployment issues and conflict resolution, focusing on cascading failure potentials when deploying third-party applications. The chapter concludes with a review of developer responsibility and end-user expectations when it comes to custom module development.

Compatibility

On the surface, you would think that a .NET component is a .NET component, and that it can work in any .NET application. However, this is not 100 percent true. Compatibility ...