Programming ASP.NET 3.5, 4th Edition

Chapter 3. Controls: Fundamental Concepts

Controls are the building blocks of a graphical user interface (GUI). Some controls you’re probably familiar with include buttons, checkboxes, and listboxes. Controls provide a means for a user to indicate a preference, enter data, or make selections. They can also provide infrastructure support in areas, such as validation, data manipulation, master pages, and security.

There are five types of web controls. We will cover in detail each of the following, except for HTML controls, in this and subsequent chapters:

HTML controls

These are the original controls available to any HTML page. They work in ASP.NET in the same way they work in other web pages. We will use HTML controls where appropriate in this book, but we will not discuss them in detail. For a good resource on HTML controls, see HTML and XHTML: The Definitive Guide, Sixth Edition, by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy (O’Reilly).

HTML server controls

These are based on the original HTML controls but are enhanced to enable server-side processing.

ASP.NET server controls

These rich and flexible server-side controls are integrated into the ASP.NET programming model. They are rendered to the client as HTML and provide the same functionality as HTML server controls, and more.

ASP.NET AJAX server controls

These additional controls use the AJAX set of technologies to enhance pages using ASP.NET server controls. They are rendered to the client as HTML and JavaScript.

User controls and custom controls ...