What Is a Web Server Control? | ASP.NET for Web Designers

First let me tell you where they are, and then we'll address what they are. Web server controls are located in the System.Web.UI.WebControls namespace. There are other very cool objects in there that are covered in the next two chapters. They are created from a clean slate and don't need to conform to any legacy thinking or models. The creators of ASP.NET created these controls from the ground up, and this gave them the ability to shape and form these controls without rule or guide outside of those they generated themselves.

This gave them the opportunity to build a single base class that serves as the foundation for all Web server controls, giving them a base uniform set of properties and methods. All Web server controls also are addressed the same way, which makes them easier to locate within your code for example:

 <asp:Image runat="server"/>  <asp:CheckBox runat="server"/>  <asp:Label runat="server"/>

As you can see, all Web server controls are identified with an opening asp:, which is followed by the control's type or name. This makes them very easy to spot within your code blocks.

Top