Programming ASP.NET 3.5, 4th Edition

Chapter 4. Basic Controls

Chapter 3 introduced controls. Though it briefly mentioned both server and classic HTML controls, most of the coverage was on ASP.NET server controls, the body of ASP.NET, and on ASP.NET AJAX server controls, the clothes to make the body more presentable.

Tip

As noted previously, server controls are known variously as “ASP controls,” “ASP.NET controls,” “ASP.NET server controls,” “Web controls,” and “Web server controls.” In this book, we will use “ASP.NET server control” or “server control.” Likewise, we will use the term “AJAX server control” for clarity. When we refer to “server control,” it should be clear from the context whether this means only ASP.NET server controls or whether it includes HTML and AJAX server controls as well.

Chapter 3 covered topics common to all ASP.NET and AJAX server controls, such as events, syntax, programmatic access to controls at runtime (using the ID property), and the use of Visual Studio 2008 (VS2008) to build your website using controls. However, it did not go into significant detail about any specific controls save the AJAX ScriptManager control.

This chapter provides a wealth of detail about many of the basic ASP.NET and AJAX controls, including the TextBox, Button, CheckBox, and RadioButton controls, lists, and images. It discusses the features and properties common to many controls, and the AJAX extender controls which enhance their functionality.

The next chapter will look at the more advanced server controls included as part of ASP.NET in VS2008 and the AJAX Control Toolkit, such as the UpdatePanel, MultiView, Wizard, FileUpload, AdRotator, ModalPopup, and Calendar controls. Other chapters will focus on data controls, validation controls, login and security controls, and so on.

Warning

If you haven’t already downloaded and installed the AJAX Control Toolkit, now would be a good time to do so. Turn to Appendix A and follow the instructions on how to install and integrate it into VS2008.