Developing .NET Custom Controls and Designers Using C# [Paperback]

James Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2002

Tools and services for enhancing design-time support for components. Irregularly-shaped, borderless Windows Forms. Advanced techniques on building simple and complex UITypeEditors. Details of how type converters work with guidelines on implementing new ones. Component licensing model and architecture with sample demonstrations. Complete and reusable Windows Forms Wizard custom control. Complete and reusable Web Forms tab control.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Chapter 1 introduced the reader to the book by describing what the book will cover, identifying the audience and what the reader should already know, and the recapping the history of control reusability. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to events and event handlers. It also discusses delegates and their comparison to function pointers. Chapter 3 talks about type conversion techniques. It starts with an introduction to the TypeConverterAttribute and then goes into a detailed explanation for implementing a custom TypeConverter derived class. Chapter 4 explains the role and usage of UITypeEditors. It also provides detailed explanations for implementing custom editors. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 dig into Windows Forms control development by describing control layout, data binding, and GDI+. Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 discuss Web Forms control development, with topics such as rendering and state management. Chapters 12 and 13 provide the necessary information to implement custom designers. The entire designer architecture is discussed. Chapter 14 discusses control licensing and gives examples of implementing new licensing schemes. Chapters 15 and 16 issue a recap of the entire book by walking through the implementation of a Wizard and Tab control. All aspects of control development, including designer support, are discussed.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: BlueVision LLC (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972317910
• ISBN-13: 978-0972317917
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,268,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book but definitely not for the beginner., October 10, 2003

By 

Lego Maniac - See all my reviews

This review is from: Developing .NET Custom Controls and Designers Using C# (Paperback)

I've been developing custom controls in C# for 3 months now after developing custom Java controls for years. I must say initially that this book was not much help. If you need a real beginner book that holds your hand step by step buy Petzold. However, after delving into the intricacies of Windows Forms you'll definitely find this book useful. The OutlookTab example in this book invaluable. It's a real world example and the author tackles some of the more advanced development topics. I agree with other reviewers that this book is not as clear as you would hope. Also you will definitely still need to read the MSDN docs and probably look at the some disassembly to get a good grasp of developing your own custom controls.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Experts Only -- But Worth It, April 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Developing .NET Custom Controls and Designers Using C# (Paperback)

Covers every aspect a serious control developer needs to know. I especially liked the detailed coverage of how to include designers and resources with web controls. Light on fluff, heavy on code. Author also helped me with complex problems via e-mail. Can't beat that!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some useful tips, poorly produced, July 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Developing .NET Custom Controls and Designers Using C# (Paperback)

I bought this book based on the comments from another reviewer that stated, "For Experts Only". I disagree with that. This book is accessible to beginners and has some beginner content. The print quality looks almost photo-copied and was clearly self published. However, I applaud developers bypassing publishers. At times it presents useful content, but sometimes it reads like MSDN. I recommend that you check out Matthew McDonald's book ( User Interfaces in C#: Windows Forms and Custom Controls ).