Chapter 9. Customization with User Controls
A lightweight technique for customizing the CSK with new functionality and content is through user control files. The CSK Framework allows you to add custom modules and Web Boxes by simply placing a user control file (.ascx) in the appropriate directory for a community.
In contrast to the last chapter—where we added components, utility classes, and skin files—user controls are relatively self-contained. All of the logic (except perhaps a stored procedure) and markup resides in the ASCX file itself. Since ASP.NET compiles ASCX files on the fly, you do not need to rebuild the solution to have them up and running.
In this chapter, we will take a look at implementing a custom module section and various Web Boxes for a community.
The Custom Module Section
Before implementing a custom module as a user control, let’s discuss some of disadvantages when compared to the approach taken in the last chapter. A custom-module user control does not integrate as closely...
