System.Web.UI Namespace


.NET Framework Class Library
ControlBuilder Class

Supports the page parser in building a control and the child controls it contains.

Namespace:  System.Web.UI
Assembly:  System.Web (in System.Web.dll)
Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, Level := AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
<AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level := AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
Public Class ControlBuilder
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As ControlBuilder
C#
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
public class ControlBuilder
Visual C++
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::InheritanceDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel::Minimal)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel::Minimal)]
public ref class ControlBuilder
JScript
public class ControlBuilder
Remarks

By default, every control on a page is associated with a default ControlBuilder class. During parsing, the ASP.NET page framework builds a tree of ControlBuilder objects corresponding to the tree of controls for the page. The ControlBuilder tree is then used to generate page code to create the control tree. In addition to child controls, the ControlBuilder defines the behavior of how the content within control tags is parsed. You can override this default behavior by defining your own custom control builder class. This is done by applying a ControlBuilderAttribute attribute to your control builder class as follows:

[ControlBuilderAttribute(typeof(ControlBuilderType))]

Examples

The following code example creates a Table control whose attributes and content are defined at the time the table is built. The following is the command line to use to build the executable.

[Visual Basic]

vbc /r:System.dll /r:System.Web.dll /r:System.Drawing.dll /t:library /out:myWebAppPath/Bin/vb_mycontrolbuilder.dll myControlBuilder.vb

[C#]

csc /t:library /out:myWebAppPath/Bin/cs_mycontrolbuilder.dll myControlBuilder.cs
Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.Web
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Security.Permissions


Namespace CustomControls

    <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
    Public Class MyTableCell
        Inherits TableCell
        Implements INamingContainer
    End Class


    <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
    Public Class MyCell
        Inherits Control
        Implements INamingContainer
        ' Class Name: MyCell.
        ' Declares the class for the child controls to be included in the control collection.

        Private _id As String
        Private _value As String
        Private _backColor As Color

        Public Property CellID() As String
            Get
                Return _id
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                _id = value
            End Set
        End Property

        Public Property Text() As String
            Get
                Return _value
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                _value = value
            End Set
        End Property


        Public Property BackColor() As Color
            Get
                Return _backColor
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As Color)
                _backColor = value
            End Set
        End Property
    End Class

    <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
    Public Class MyControlBuilderVB
        Inherits ControlBuilder

        Public Overrides Function GetChildControlType(ByVal tagName As String, ByVal attribs As IDictionary) As Type

            ' Allows TableRow without "runat=server" attribute to be added to the collection.
            If (String.Compare(tagName, "mycell", True) = 0) Then
                Return GetType(MyCell)
            End If
            Return Nothing
        End Function

        ' Ignores literals between rows.
        Public Overrides Sub AppendLiteralString(ByVal s As String)
            ' Ignores literals between rows.
        End Sub

    End Class

    <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal), ControlBuilderAttribute(GetType(MyControlBuilderVB))> _
        Public Class MyVB_CustomControl
        Inherits Control
        Implements INamingContainer

        ' Class name: MyVB_CustomControl.
        ' Processes the element declarations within a control 
        ' declaration. This builds the actual control.

        ' Custom control to build programmatically.
        Private _table As Table

        Private _cellObjects As New Hashtable()

        ' Variables that must contain the control attributes as defined in the Web page.
        Private _rows As Integer
        Private _columns As Integer
        Private _title As String

        ' Rows property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page.     
        Public Property Rows() As Integer
            Get
                Return _rows
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As Integer)
                _rows = value
            End Set
        End Property

        ' Columns property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page.

        Public Property Columns() As Integer
            Get
                Return _columns
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As Integer)
                _columns = value
            End Set
        End Property

        ' Title property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page   
        Public Property Title() As String
            Get
                Return _title
            End Get
            Set(ByVal value As String)
                _title = value
            End Set
        End Property


        Protected Sub createNewRow(ByVal rowNumber As Integer)

            ' Creates a row and adds it to the table.
            Dim row As TableRow

            row = New TableRow()
            _table.Rows.Add(row)

            ' Creates a cell that contains text.
            Dim y As Integer
            For y = 0 To Columns - 1
                appendCell(row, rowNumber, y)
            Next y
        End Sub 'createNewRow


        Protected Sub appendCell(ByVal row As TableRow, ByVal rowNumber As Integer, ByVal cellNumber As Integer)
            Dim cell As TableCell
            Dim textbox As TextBox

            cell = New TableCell()

            textbox = New TextBox()

            cell.Controls.Add(textbox)

            textbox.ID = "r" + rowNumber.ToString() + "c" + cellNumber.ToString()

            ' Checks for the MyCell child object.
            If Not (_cellObjects(textbox.ID) Is Nothing) Then
                Dim cellLookup As MyCell
                cellLookup = CType(_cellObjects(textbox.ID), MyCell)

                textbox.Text = cellLookup.Text
                textbox.BackColor = cellLookup.BackColor

            Else
                textbox.Text = "Row: " + rowNumber.ToString() + " Cell: " + cellNumber.ToString()
            End If

            row.Cells.Add(cell)
        End Sub 'appendCell

        ' Called at runtime when a child object is added to the collection.
        Protected Overrides Sub AddParsedSubObject(ByVal obj As Object)

            Dim cell As MyCell = CType(obj, MyCell)
            If Not (cell Is Nothing) Then
                _cellObjects.Add(cell.CellID, cell)
            End If
        End Sub 'AddParsedSubObject


        Protected Overrides Sub OnPreRender(ByVal e As EventArgs)
            ' Sub name: OnPreRender.
            ' Carries out changes affecting the control state and renders the resulting UI.

            ' Increases the number of rows if needed.
            While _table.Rows.Count < Rows
                createNewRow(_table.Rows.Count)
            End While

            ' Checks that each row has the correct number of columns.
            Dim i As Integer
            For i = 0 To _table.Rows.Count - 1
                While _table.Rows(i).Cells.Count < Columns
                    appendCell(_table.Rows(i), i, _table.Rows(i).Cells.Count)
                End While

                While _table.Rows(i).Cells.Count > Columns
                    _table.Rows(i).Cells.RemoveAt((_table.Rows(i).Cells.Count - 1))
                End While
            Next i
        End Sub 'OnPreRender


        <System.Security.Permissions.PermissionSetAttribute(System.Security.Permissions.SecurityAction.Demand, Name:="FullTrust")> _
        Protected Overrides Sub CreateChildControls()
            ' Sub name: CreateChildControls.
            ' Adds the Table and the text controls to the control collection. 


            Dim [text] As LiteralControl

            ' Initializes the text control using the Title property.
            [text] = New LiteralControl("<h5>" + Title + "</h5>")
            Controls.Add([text])


            _table = New Table()

            Controls.Add(_table)
        End Sub
    End Class

End Namespace

C#
using System;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Collections;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Security.Permissions;

namespace CustomControls
{
    [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
        Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
    public class MyTableCell : TableCell, INamingContainer { };

    [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
        Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
    public class MyCell
    /*
     * Class name: MyCell.
     * Declares the class for the child controls to include in the control collection.
     */
    {
        string _id;
        string _value;
        Color _backColor;

        public string CellID
        {
            get
            { return _id; }
            set
            { _id = value; }
        }

        public string Text
        {
            get
            { return _value; }
            set
            { _value = value; }
        }

        public Color BackColor
        {
            get
            { return _backColor; }
            set
            { _backColor = value; }
        }
    };

    [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
    public class MyControlBuilder : ControlBuilder
    {

        public override Type GetChildControlType(string tagName, IDictionary attribs)
        {
            // Allows TableRow without "runat=server" attribute to be added to the collection.
            if (String.Compare(tagName, "mycell", true) == 0)
                return typeof(MyCell);
            return null;
        }

        public override void AppendLiteralString(string s)
        {
            // Ignores literals between rows.
        }

    }
    [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
        Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
    [ControlBuilderAttribute(typeof(MyControlBuilder))]
    public class MyCS_CustomControl : Control, INamingContainer
    /*
     * Class name: MyCS_CustomControl.
     * Processes the element declarations within a control declaration. 
     * This builds the actual control.
     */
    {
        // Declares the custom control that must be built programmatically.
        Table _table;

        private String _title;
        private int _rows;
        private int _columns;

        Hashtable _cellObjects = new Hashtable();

        // Rows property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page.  
        public int Rows
        {
            get
            { return _rows; }
            set
            { _rows = value; }
        }

        // Columns property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page.
        public int Columns
        {
            get
            { return _columns; }
            set
            { _columns = value; }
        }

        // Title property to be used as the attribute name in the Web page.
        public string Title
        {
            get
            { return _title; }
            set
            { _title = value; }
        }

        protected void createNewRow(int rowNumber)
        {

            // Creates a row and adds it to the table.
            TableRow row;

            row = new TableRow();
            _table.Rows.Add(row);

            // Creates a cell that contains text.

            for (int y = 0; y < Columns; y++)
                appendCell(row, rowNumber, y);

        }

        protected void appendCell(TableRow row, int rowNumber, int cellNumber)
        {
            TableCell cell;
            TextBox textbox;

            cell = new TableCell();
            textbox = new TextBox();
            cell.Controls.Add(textbox);
            textbox.ID = "r" + rowNumber.ToString() + "c" + cellNumber.ToString();

            // Checks for the MyCell child object.
            if (_cellObjects[textbox.ID] != null)
            {
                MyCell cellLookup;
                cellLookup = (MyCell)_cellObjects[textbox.ID];

                textbox.Text = cellLookup.Text;
                textbox.BackColor = cellLookup.BackColor;
            }
            else
                textbox.Text = "Row: " + rowNumber.ToString() + " Cell: " +
                cellNumber.ToString();

            row.Cells.Add(cell);

        }

        // Called at runtime when a child object is added to the collection.  
        protected override void AddParsedSubObject(object obj)
        {
            MyCell cell = obj as MyCell;
            if (cell != null)
            {
                _cellObjects.Add(cell.CellID, cell);
            }

        }

        protected override void OnPreRender(EventArgs e)
        /*
         * Function name: OnPreRender.
         * Carries out changes affecting the control state and renders the resulting UI.
        */
        {

            // Increases the number of rows if needed.
            while (_table.Rows.Count < Rows)
            {
                createNewRow(_table.Rows.Count);
            }

            // Checks that each row has the correct number of columns.
            for (int i = 0; i < _table.Rows.Count; i++)
            {
                while (_table.Rows[i].Cells.Count < Columns)
                {
                    appendCell(_table.Rows[i], i, _table.Rows[i].Cells.Count);
                }

                while (_table.Rows[i].Cells.Count > Columns)
                {
                    _table.Rows[i].Cells.RemoveAt(_table.Rows[i].Cells.Count - 1);
                }
            }
        }

        protected override void CreateChildControls()
        /*
         * Function name: CreateChildControls.
         * Adds the Table and the text control to the control collection.
         */
        {
            LiteralControl text;

            // Initializes the text control using the Title property.
            text = new LiteralControl("<h5>" + Title + "</h5>");
            Controls.Add(text);

            _table = new Table();
            _table.BorderWidth = 2;
            Controls.Add(_table);
        }
    }
}

The following code example uses the previous custom control. In particular, it builds a table whose attributes and content are defined at run time. Notice that the values shown in the @ Register directive reflect the previous command line.

Visual Basic
<%@ Page Language="VB" %>
<%@ Register TagPrefix="AspNetSamples" Assembly="vb_mycontrolbuilder" Namespace="CustomControls" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">
</script>

<html  >
<head runat="server">
    <title>ControlBuilder Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
       <AspNetSamples:MyVB_CustomControl id="Custom1" 
                                         title="Auto-Generated Table"
                                         columns="3"
                                         rows="3"  
                                         runat="server">
         <mycell cellid="r0c0" BackColor="red" text="red cell"></mycell>
         <mycell cellid="r2c2" BackColor="green" text="green cell"></mycell>
       </AspNetSamples:MyVB_CustomControl>
    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>
C#
<%@ Page Language="C#" %>
<%@ Register TagPrefix="AspNetSamples" Assembly="cs_mycontrolbuilder" Namespace="CustomControls" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">
</script>

<html  >
<head runat="server">
    <title>ControlBuilder Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
       <AspNetSamples:MyCS_CustomControl id="Custom1" 
                                         title="Auto-Generated Table"
                                         columns="3"
                                         rows="3"  
                                         runat="server">
         <mycell cellid="r0c0" BackColor="red" text="red cell"></mycell>
         <mycell cellid="r2c2" BackColor="green" text="green cell"></mycell>
       </AspNetSamples:MyCS_CustomControl>
    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>
.NET Framework Security

Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
  System.Web.UI..::.ControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI..::.DataSourceControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.HtmlControls..::.HtmlEmptyTagControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.HtmlControls..::.HtmlHeadBuilder
    System.Web.UI.HtmlControls..::.HtmlSelectBuilder
    System.Web.UI.MobileControls..::.DeviceSpecificChoiceControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.MobileControls..::.DeviceSpecificControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.MobileControls..::.MobileControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI..::.ObjectTagBuilder
    System.Web.UI..::.SkinBuilder
    System.Web.UI..::.TemplateBuilder
    System.Web.UI..::.UserControlControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.HyperLinkControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.LabelControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.LinkButtonControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.ListItemControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.LiteralControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.MultiViewControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.PlaceHolderControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.TableCellControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.TextBoxControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.WizardStepControlBuilder
    System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.XmlBuilder
Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
See Also

Reference

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