Summary C# and the .NET Platform, Second Edition

by Andrew Troelsen ISBN:1590590554

GDI+ is the name given to a number of related .NET namespaces, each of which is used to render graphic

Apress © 2003 (1200 pages)

images to a Control-derived type. The chapter began by examining the core types defined within the

This comprehensive text starts with a brief overview of the

System.Drawing C#namespacelanguage (includinga d then quicklya numbermovesof usefulto key utilitytechnicaltypes),and and examined various manners to intercept paint eventsarchitectural. issues for .NET developers.

The bulk of this chapter was spent examining how to work with core GDI+ object types such as colors,

Tablefonts,ofgraphicsContentsimages, pens, and brushes in conjunction with the almighty Graphics type. Along the way, C#youandexaminedthe .NETsomePlatform,GDI+Se-centricond Editiondetails such as hit-testing, and how to drag and drop images.

Introduction

This chapter wrapped up by examining the new .NET resource format. As you have seen, an application does not need to bundle its external resources into the containing assembly, however, if your application

does so, your binary image is far more portable. The *.resx file is used to describe a set of name/value

Chapter 2 - Building C# Applications

pairs (a la XML). This file is fed into the resgen.exe utility, resulting in a binary format (*.resources) that can

then be embedded into the owning assembly. The System.Resouces.ResourceManager type is your key

Chapter 3 - C# Language Fundamentals

to programmatically obtaining this information at runtime.

Chapter 4 - Object-Oriented Programming with C# Chapter 5 - Exceptions and Object Lifetime Chapter 6 - Interfaces and Collections

Chapter 7 - Callback Interfaces, Delegates, and Events

Chapter 8 - Advanced C# Type Construction Techniques

Part Three - Programming with .NET Assemblies

Chapter 9 - Understanding .NET Assemblies

Chapter 10 - Processes, AppDomains, Contexts, and Threads

Chapter 11 - Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming

Part Four - Leveraging the .NET Libraries

Chapter 12 - Object Serialization and the .NET Remoting Layer

Chapter 13 - Building a Better Window (Introducing Windows Forms)

Chapter 14 - A Better Painting Framework (GDI+)

Chapter 15 - Programming with Windows Forms Controls

Chapter 16 - The System.IO Namespace

Chapter 17 - Data Access with ADO.NET

Part Five - Web Applications and XML Web Services

Chapter 18 - ASP.NET Web Pages and Web Controls

Chapter 19 - ASP.NET Web Applications

Chapter 20 - XML Web Services

Index

List of Figures

List of Tables

Chapter C#15:andProgrammingthe .NET Platfor , SecondwithEd ion Windows Forms

This comprehensive text starts with a brief overview of the

C# language and then quickly moves to key technical and

Overview architectural issues for .NET developers.

This chapter is concerned with providing a roadmap of the suite of GUI widgets defined in the

TableSystemof Contents.Windows.Forms namespace. You have already had a chance to work with some Form-level C#controland thetypes.NETsuchPlatform,as MainMenu,Second EditionMenuItem, StatusBar, and ToolBar (see Chapter 13); however, in this

chapter, you will be examining various types that tend to exist within the boundaries of a Form's client area

Introduction

(e.g., Buttons, TextBoxes, Panels, and the like).

Part One - Introducing C# and the .NET Platform

Chapter 1 - The Philosophy of .NET

In addition to giving you a formal grounding in the Windows Forms Control set, this chapter also details a number of related topics, such as establishing the tab order for your widgets, as well as configuring the

docking and anchoring behaviors for your family of GUI types. The chapter then investigates the process

Chapter 3 - C# Language Fundamentals

of building custom dialog boxes, including techniques for responding to (and validating) user input.

Chapter 4 - Object-Oriented Programming with C#

ChapterNext, you'll5 - examineE ceptionsa newand ObjectfacilityLiofetimefered by the .NET Windows Forms architecture: Form inheritance. As

Chapteryou will6see,- Interfacesit is now possibleand Collectionsto establish "is-a" relationships between related Forms (which should make Chapterthe MFC7 developers- Callback Interfaces,of the worldDelegates,insanelyandhappy)Events. Finally, we wrap things up with an examination of the

process of building custom Windows Forms controls (which should make the ATL developers of the world

Chapter 8 - Advanced C# Type Construction Techniques

insanely happy).

Part Three - Programming with .NET Assemblies

Chapter 9 - Understanding .NET Assemblies

Chapter 10 - Processes, AppDomains, Contexts, and Threads

Chapter 11 - Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming

Part Four - Leveraging the .NET Libraries

Chapter 12 - Object Serialization and the .NET Remoting Layer

Chapter 13 - Building a Better Window (Introducing Windows Forms)

Chapter 14 - A Better Painting Framework (GDI+)

Chapter 15 - Programming with Windows Forms Controls

Chapter 16 - The System.IO Namespace

Chapter 17 - Data Access with ADO.NET

Part Five - Web Applications and XML Web Services

Chapter 18 - ASP.NET Web Pages and Web Controls

Chapter 19 - ASP.NET Web Applications

Chapter 20 - XML Web Services

Index

List of Figures

List of Tables

UnderstandingC# andthet .WindowsNET Platform,FormsSecond EditiControln Hierarchy

The System.Windows.Forms namespace contains a number of types that represent common GUI widgets

Apress © 2003 (1200 pages)

that allow you to respond to user input in a Windows Forms application. Because .NET is a system of

This comprehensive text starts with a brief overview of the

types built on standardC# languageOO principles,and thenthesequicklycontrolsmoves toarekeyarrangedtechnicalinanda hierarchy of related types. Figure 15-1 illustrates thearchitecturalbig pictureissues(note forthat.NETSystemdevelopers.Windows. .Forms.Control is the common base class for all Windows Forms widgets.)

Table of Contents

C# and

Part

Chapter

Chapter

Part

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Part

Figure 15-1: The Windows Forms control hierarchy

Chapter 9 - Understanding .NET Assemblies

Chapter 10 - Processes, AppDomains, Contexts, and Threads

Chapter 11 - Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming

As you learned in Chapter 13, the System.Windows.Forms.Control type is the base class that provides a PartminimalFour -andLeveragingcompletetheset.NETof behaviorsLibraries for all descending widgets. This includes the ability to process Chaptermouse12and- keyboardObject Serializaevents,ionestablishand the .theNETphysicalRemotingdimensionsLayer of the widget using various properties

Chapter(Height,13Width,- BuildingLeft,aRighBett,erLocation,Wind w (Iantroduciso on),g manipulateWindows Forms)background and foreground colors, establish

Chapterthe active14 -font,A Betterand soPaintingforth. Also,Frameworkthe Control(GDI+)base type also defines members that control a widget's Chapteranchoring15 -andProgrammingdocking behaviorswith Windows(as seenFormslaterControlsin this chapter).

Chapter 16 - The System.IO Namespace

As you read through this chapter, remember that the widgets examined in this chapter gain a good deal of

Chapter 17 - Data Access with ADO.NET

their functionality from the System.Windows.Forms.Control base class. In this chapter we'll focus (more or

Part Five - Web Applications and XML Web Services

less) on a given type's unique members.

Chapter 18 - ASP.NET Web Pages and Web Controls Chapter 19 - ASP.NET Web Applications

Chapter 20 - XML Web Services

Index

List of Figures

List of Tables

Chapter 4 - Object-Oriented Programming with C#

Chapter

Part Five - Web Applications and XML Web Services

Figure 15-2: The Form's UI

Chapter 18 - ASP.NET Web Pages and Web Controls

ChapterAlso assume19 - ASPyou.NEThaveWebwrittenApplicationsan event handler for the Button's Click event. In the implementation of this

Chaptermethod,20you- XMLloopWeboverSeachrvicesitem in the Controls collection and print out some relevant information

Indexregarding the contained members:

List of Figures

Listclassof TablesMyForm : Form

{

private TextBox firstNameBox = new TextBox(); private Button btnShowControls = new Button(); public MyForm()

{

// Configure new TextBox.

...

// Configure and add a new Button. btnShowControls.Text = "Examine Controls collection"; btnShowControls.Size = new Size(90, 90); btnShowControls.Location = new Point(10, 70); btnShowControls.Click +=

new EventHandler(btnShowControls_Clicked); this.Controls.Add(btnShowControls);

}

Adding ControlsC# and theto.NETFormsPlatform,(viaSecondVS .EditionNET)

Although you are always free to write Windows Forms code "in the raw," you will probably choose to use

Apress © 2003 (1200 pages)

the Visual Studio .NET IDE instead. When you drop a widget from the Toolbox onto the form designer, the

This comprehensive text starts with a brief overview of the

IDE responds byC#automaticallylanguage andaddingthen thequicklycorrectmovesmemberto k yvariabletechnicaltoandthe Form-derived class on your behalf. Of course,architecturalyou will typicallyissueswantfor .NETto changedevelopersthe.name of this new variable (via the Properties window) to represent its overall functionality (e.g., "btnSubmitQuery" rather than the default "button1"). As you design the look and feel of the widget using the IDE's Properties window (Figure 15-4), the underlying

Table of Contents

code changes are added to the InitializeComponent() member function.

C# and the .NET Platform, Second Edition

Introduction

Part

Chapter

Chapter

Part

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Part

Chapter

Figure 15-4: Design time property configuration

Chapter 10 - Processes, AppDomains, Contexts, and Threads

Chapter 11 - Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming

Part Four - Leveraging the .NET Libraries

Be aware that this window allows you to configure not only the property set of a given GUI item, but the set

Chapter 12 - Object Serialization and the .NET Remoting Layer

of events as well (available by clicking the "lightning bolt" icon). Simply select the widget from the drop- Chapterdown list13and- Buildingtype inatheB tternameWindowof the(Introducingmethod to beWindowscalled forF rms)the events you are interested in responding

Chapterto (Figure14 -15A-5Better). Painting Framework (GDI+)

Chapter 15 - Programming with Windows Forms Controls

Chapter

Chapter

Part

Chapter

Chapter

Chapter

Index

List of

List of

Figure 15-5: Design time event handling

If you examine the code generated in the InitializeComponent() method, you will find that the type has been configured based on your selections and inserted into the Control$ControlCollection automatically. For example, assume you have configured a TextBox type as follows:

private void InitializeComponent()

{

this.firstNameBox = new System.Windows.Forms.TextBox();

this.firstNameBox.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(32, 40);

this.firstNameBox.TabIndex = 0;

this.firstNameBox.Text = "Chucky";

System.EventHandler(this.firstNameBox_TextChanged);

Apress © 2003 (1200 pages)

this.AutoScaleBaseSize = new System.Drawing.Size(5, 13);

This comprehensive textSystems arts with a brief overview of the this.ClientSize = new .Drawing.Size(292, 273);

C# language and then quickly moves to key technical and this.Controls.AddRange(new System.Windows.Forms.Control[]

architectural issues for .NET developers.

{ this.firstNameBox});

...

}

Table of Contents

C# and the .NET Platform, Second Edition

Introduction

Part One - Introducing C# and the .NET Platform

Note that here you use VS .NET to handle the TextChanged event for the TextBox, and are thus provided

Chapter 1 - The Philosophy of .NET

with an empty event handler as well as the correct event registration syntax (an obvious benefit of this

Chapter 2 - Building C# Applications

approach is that you are not the one in charge of determining the correct delegate used to handle a

PartparticularTwo - Theevent):C# Programming Language

Chapter 3 - C# Language Fundamentals

Chapter 4 - Object-Oriented Programming with C#

protected void firstNameBox_TextChanged (object sender, System.EventArgs e)

Chapter 5 - Exceptions and Object Lifetime

{

Chapter 6 - Interfaces and Collections

// Do whatever you need to do...

Chapter 7 - Callback Interfaces, Delegates, and Events

}

Chapter 8 - Advanced C# Type Construction Techniques

Part Three - Programming with .NET Assemblies

As you can see, the VS .NET IDE simply saves you some typing. The remainder of this chapter focuses on

Chapter 9 - Understanding .NET Assemblies

a number of behaviors offered by numerous GUI widgets by examining the "raw" code behind the scenes.

Chapter 10 - Processes, AppDomains, Contexts, and Threads

If you decide to use the VS .NET IDE, be sure to examine the code generated inside the

Chapter 11 - Type Reflection, Late Binding, and Attribute-Based Programming

InitializeComponent() method to gain a true understanding of Windows Forms programming. Now that you

Part Four - Leveraging the .NET Libraries

understand the process of configuring and inserting types into a Form's Control collection, we can turn our

Chapter 12 - Object Serialization and the .NET Remoting Layer

attention to the specifics of various Windows Forms widgets.

Chapter 13 - Building a Better Window (Introducing Windows Forms) Chapter 14 - A Better Painting Framework (GDI+)

Chapter 15 - Programming with Windows Forms Controls

Chapter 16 - The System.IO Namespace

Chapter 17 - Data Access with ADO.NET

Part Five - Web Applications and XML Web Services

Chapter 18 - ASP.NET Web Pages and Web Controls

Chapter 19 - ASP.NET Web Applications

Chapter 20 - XML Web Services

Index

List of Figures

List of Tables