Web Matrix for Component Developers

Web Matrix does not currently support the creation of components and controls by itself. Furthermore, this development environment does not allow the creation or compilation of class library projects that are a feature of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. However, Web Matrix still offers useful functionality if you are a component developer authoring ASP.NET server controls ” especially if you are developing these components by using the .NET Framework SDK alone.

Web Matrix is built upon the common .NET designer framework described in Chapter 15, "Design-Time Functionality." Web Matrix contains an implementation of various design surface interfaces and services that are used by control designers and other design-time classes. It enables the same property browser functionality, UI type editors, type converters, and other design-time features that are characteristic of the designer experience associated with your control in Visual Studio .NET. Web Matrix contains a design surface that interacts with server controls and their associated designers in the same way as Visual Studio .NET. As a result, Web Matrix can be used to quickly and easily test your server controls and their design-time features in a designer. Although it is possible to develop server controls by using any code editor along with the tools provided in the .NET Framework SDK, you cannot test the design-time features of your control without a development tool that provides a rich design surface. Web Matrix makes this kind of design surface available to control developers, in addition to the one provided by Visual Studio .NET.

Note

Web Matrix grew out of on an internal tool used by developers on the ASP.NET team at Microsoft. This internal tool was used to quickly and easily exercise and test the design-time functionality of the standard ASP.NET server controls without creating Web application projects inside Visual Studio .NET.

As a control developer, you should ensure that your controls work within Web Matrix so that they can be used in applications developed in both Web Matrix and Visual Studio .NET.

Web Matrix's integration with an online component gallery should be particularly interesting to component developers. As mentioned, this feature allows page developers to browse, search, and learn about server controls stored in an online repository of components. In addition, Web Matrix enables page developers to download selected components from this gallery and have them installed into their toolbox automatically. Figure C-6 contains the Web Matrix UI that interacts with the component gallery.

Figure C-6. The component gallery integration within Web Matrix

As a component developer, you will no doubt be interested in publishing your controls to the component gallery so that they can be downloaded by any Web Matrix user . The documentation associated with Web Matrix provides more details on packaging your component and describes how to publish to the gallery.