The component makeup
Components can be classified into four key areas; the manifest file, component implementation, and any additional resource files that might be needed by the component. This is shown in the following figure:
Figure 4.1 – Component makeup
Let's take a look at each one of these in the following subsections.
The manifest file
The manifest file is the metadata file that defines a component. It is an XML document that describes the following:
- The name of the component
- The kind of data that can be configured, either a field or a dataset
- Any of the properties that can be configured when the component is added
- A list of resource files that the component needs
- A list of features that are used by the component
When a user configures a code component, the application uses data in the manifest file to filter out the components so that only valid components are shown for configuration. The properties defined...
