Chapter 8. Using ASP.NET Validation Controls

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One of the coolest sets of tools included in the ASP.NET toolbox has to be the validation controls. In Classic ASP, writing good validation logic that worked on the client (if the browser supported it) and on the server every time was difficult. It's not that they were rocket science to put together, but building the validation logic for a single user form could take hours and was a tedious and typically thankless job. That translates to "It didn't happen very often." Most of the time, some ASP error handling and checking for required fields was the extent of all but the most critical of data gathering forms. With ASP.NET's validation controls, there will no longer be an excuse not to provide strong client and server-side validation on every form, because it is just so easy and powerful.

In this chapter, you will

• Learn how web form validation works.

• Learn how to add validation to your ASP.NET pages.

• Learn how to use regular expressions to create powerful string validators.

• Learn how to combine form elements and validation controls.

I l @ ve RuBoard