Chapter 1. Building ASP.NET Pages

IN THIS CHAPTER

• ASP.NET and the .NET Framework

• Introducing ASP.NET Controls

• Adding Application Logic to an ASP.NET Page

• The Structure of an ASP.NET Page

In this chapter, you learn how to build basic ASP.NET Web Forms Pages. Don't let the Forms part of the name mislead you. Web Forms Pages can do much more than display standard HTML forms. Most, if not all, of the pages of your ASP.NET application will be Web Forms Pages, which enable you to create pages with interactive, dynamic, or database-driven content.

Web Forms Pages are pieced together out of two building blocks. First, you assemble the dynamic portion of the user interface by using ASP.NET controls. ASP.NET controls enable you to display "smart" HTML forms, for example, and present interactive grids of database data. The first part of this chapter provides an overview of all the ASP.NET controls.

The second building block of a Web Forms Page is the application logic, which includes the code that executes when you click a form button, or the code that retrieves the database data displayed within a control. In the second part of this chapter, you learn how to add application logic to your Web Forms Pages to handle both control and page events.

Finally, in the last part of this chapter, you are formally introduced to the structure of an ASP.NET Web Forms Page. You learn about the different sections of a Web Forms Page and the type of content appropriate to each section.

After reading this chapter, you can start creating dynamic Web sites by building interactive, dynamic pages using ASP.NET controls and handling control and page events with application logic.