Go Beyond the limitations of ASP.NET Form
In HTML and ASP programming, the form element (i.e., ) features the Action property that programmers use to redirect to another URL after clicking. In ASP.NET, server-side forms are rendered using a class named HtmlForm under System.Web.UI.HtmlControls Namespace. This class doesn't provide the familiar Action property, nor does it supply an alternative property to perform the similar functionality. As a result, the single form interface model is so deep-rooted in ASP.NET that there's no way around it.. This article is concentrating on the aspects of providing the Action property to Server-side form object based on very own HtmlForm class itself which further can be extended to adopt multiple-form interface
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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
style='font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>Go Beyond </span><span
style='font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>the limits of ASP.NET Form</span><span
style='font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'> </span></p>
<p class=MsoSubtitle> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none'><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'> </span></p>
<span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'><br
clear=all style='mso-special-character:line-break;page-break-before:always'>
</span>
<h1 style='mso-list:l46 level1 lfo21'><span
style='mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>1<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>Introduction</h1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'>One of the most common
hitches that ASP developers encounter when they first approach ASP.NET is that
managed Web applications must be written according to a single-form interface
model.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>In the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>single form interface </i>model each page always posts to itself by
default using the POST HTTP method. The HTTP method and the target frame of the
post can be programmatically adjusted using ad hoc form properties—<i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Method</span></i> and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Courier New"'>Target</span></i>. The final destination of the postback can't
be changed in any way.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'>You can correlate the
terminologies a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-family:
"Courier New"'>single-form interface</span></i> to the single-document
interface (SDI) and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Courier New"'>multiple-form interface</span></i> to the
multiple-document interface (MDI) in client server.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>In HTML and ASP programming, the form element
(i.e., < FORM >) features the Action property that programmers use to
redirect to another URL after clicking. In ASP.NET, server-side forms are
rendered using a class named <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>HtmlForm</span></i>
under <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>S</i><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>ystem.Web.UI.HtmlControls</span></i><span
style='font-family:"Courier New"'> </span><span style='mso-bidi-font-family:
"Courier New"'>Namespace</span>. This class doesn't provide the familiar Action
property, nor does it supply an alternative property to perform the similar
functionality. As a result, the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>single
form interface</i> model is so deep-rooted in ASP.NET that there's no way
around it.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Following is the description found on MSDN regarding the
limitation.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>“<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='font-family:Arial'>The <b>action</b> attribute is always set to the URL
of the page itself. The <b>action</b> attribute cannot be changed; therefore,
you can only post back to the page itself.” (ref: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpgenref/html/cpconhtmlformcontrol.asp
)</span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> In general, renouncing multiple forms is not a big
sacrifice. Multiple forms are sometimes useful, but probably not as frequently
as you may think. A scenario in which you would find it helpful to use multiple
forms is when you implement form-based functionality in a large number of
pages—in search, login dialogs, getting current stock quote for example.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'> </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>This white paper
is an attempt to illustrate the limitation of the ASP.NET Form control, which
doesn’t provide the facility of submitting data to other pages or sites. </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>Let’s consider a
situation where </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l51 level1 lfo125;
tab-stops:list .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:
Verdana'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>a)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>we want perform a search on google.com with search
criteria from a asp.net Web Page<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l51 level1 lfo125;
tab-stops:list .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:
Verdana'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>b)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>Or we want to look at current stock quote of a
Company listed on NASDAQ or NYSE by submitting information from an ASP.NET web
page.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'> </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>We cannot fulfill
above requisites in currently available UI related controls in asp.NET.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>My paper is
concentrating on the aspects of providing the Action property to Server-side
form object based on very own HtmlForm class itself which further can be
extended to adopt multiple-form interface. </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none'><span style='mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'>You can look
at the demo of the new implementation at
http://enjoy.europe.webmatrixhosting.net/derivedform.aspx </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<h1 style='mso-list:l46 level1 lfo21'><span
style='mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>2<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>HtmlForm class: reviewed</h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Before going into
further detail, lets look a little review on HtmlForm.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The HtmlForm class derived from HtmlContainer class and
implements the IAttributeAccessor interface. So, the base class (HtmlContainer)
provides HtmlForm the ability to govern and contain the child controls; IAttributeAccessor
interface provide the ability the read and write the attributes of opening tag
(i.e., < FORM …..) itself. The HtmlForm class is not sealed and thus it is
permissible for further inheritance as well as customization.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<h1 style='mso-list:l46 level1 lfo21'><span
style='mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>3<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>CHtmlForm: a more powerful shape of HtmlForm for
ASP.NET</h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>While we reviewed
HtmlForm class, we found a starting point to think for providing Action
property to it, because <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>the HtmlForm
class is not sealed and thus can be further inherited</i>. As like other .NET
control, it also features a bunch of protected, overridable methods that you
could exploit to customize the overall behavior. You can achieve this with the
help of reflection. As we know that</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='font-family:"Courier New"'>Reflection allows you to access any property
on an object, even though the property is marked protected, internal, or
private.</span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Let us start the process of customization of HtmlForm;
CHtmlForm is an inherited class from HtmlForm class under
System.Web.UI.HtmlControls<span style='font-family:"Courier New"'> </span><span
style='mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>Namespace. HtmlForm class provides 4
protected as well as public methods; one of them is </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>RenderAttributes</span></i><span
style='mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'> method. The purpose of this method
is to provide user defined implementation of default rendering process. It has
a parameter of the type </span><span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>HtmlTextWriter,
</span><span style='mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>to render final values
of all attributes like <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Method, target,
name, id,<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> action</b></i> to the parent
object; for our case, it is the page object</span><span style='font-family:
"Courier New"'>.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>The HtmlTextwriter
object formulated the a new A<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>ction</i>
attribute by resolving the hidden <span style='font-family:"Courier New"'>GetActionAttribute</span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>of HtmlForm object.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<table class=MsoTableProfessional border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0
width=547 style='width:5.7in;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;mso-border-alt:
solid black .75pt;mso-yfti-tbllook:480;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-border-insideh:.75pt solid black;mso-border-insidev:.75pt solid black'>
<tr style='mso-yfti-irow:-1'>
<td width=187 valign=top style='width:1.95in;border:solid black 1.0pt;
mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;background:black;color:white;mso-shading:white;
mso-pattern:solid black;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left;mso-yfti-cnfc:1'><b>CHtmlForm
Methods & properties </b></p>
</td>
<td width=360 valign=top style='width:3.75in;border:solid black 1.0pt;
border-left:none;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;
background:black;color:white;mso-pattern:solid black;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-yfti-cnfc:1'><b><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Description</b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style='mso-yfti-irow:0'>
<td width=187 valign=top style='width:1.95in;border:solid black 1.0pt;
border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;
padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'>Action (property)</p>
</td>
<td width=360 valign=top style='width:3.75in;border-top:none;border-left:
none;border-bottom:solid black 1.0pt;border-right:solid black 1.0pt;
mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .75pt;
mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=tx1><span style='font-weight:normal;
mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>Gets or sets the target url of the form post.</span></span><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style='mso-yfti-irow:1'>
<td width=187 valign=top style='width:1.95in;border:solid black 1.0pt;
border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;
padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='mso-bidi-font-family:
Arial'>RenderAttributes <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>(protected
override)</span></p>
</td>
<td width=360 valign=top style='width:3.75in;border-top:none;border-left:
none;border-bottom:solid black 1.0pt;border-right:solid black 1.0pt;
mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .75pt;
mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=tx1><span style='font-weight:normal;
mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>Overridden to render custom Action attribute The
main purpose of the overriding is to grab the "action" attribute of
the original form</span></span><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style='mso-yfti-irow:2;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes'>
<td width=187 valign=top style='width:1.95in;border:solid black 1.0pt;
border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;
padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='mso-bidi-font-family:
"Courier New"'>GetBaseObjectActionAttribute (private)</span></p>
</td>
<td width=360 valign=top style='width:3.75in;border-top:none;border-left:
none;border-bottom:solid black 1.0pt;border-right:solid black 1.0pt;
mso-border-top-alt:solid black .75pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .75pt;
mso-border-alt:solid black .75pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New"'>Returns
the normal action attribute of a server form.</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class=MsoNormal><b> </b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Table 1 – CHtmlForm Class & its
attributes </b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'>Following code snippet
shows the how final structure of a page will look like:</p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'> </p>
<p class=AppendixHeading3 align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303206'><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><%@
Register TagPrefix="dtform"
Namespace="DerivedTool.WebControls" Assembly="DerivedTool.WebControls.HtmlForm"
%></span></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal'></span></p>
<p class=AppendixHeading3 align=left style='text-align:left'><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-tab-count:1'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303207'><dtform:CHtmlForm
Action="some_other_page.aspx" runat="server"></span></span></p>
<p class=AppendixHeading3 align=left style='text-align:left'><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-tab-count:2'> </span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303208'><asp:TextBox
id="symbols" runat="server" value=></asp:TextBox></span></span></p>
<p class=AppendixHeading3 align=left style='text-align:left'><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-tab-count:2'> </span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303209'><asp:Button
runat="server" Text="check Quote" /></span></span></p>
<p class=AppendixHeading3 align=left style='text-align:left'><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:windowtext;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-tab-count:1'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303210'></dtform:CHtmlForm></span> </span><span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67303210'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc67297608'></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<h1><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:
Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>Instruction to Deploy<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.3in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;
text-autospace:none'>Though deployment of this server–side control is very easy
and simple, I am providing following the steps to test the control with asp.net</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.55in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l53 level1 lfo126;
tab-stops:list .55in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>a)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>Extract all the files in the zip file to a
folder say c:\deriveForm</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.55in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l53 level1 lfo126;
tab-stops:list .55in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-fareast-font-family:Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>b)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span>Make “C:\deriveform” as a Virutal directory by
giving name as “derivedemo”, if you have IIS server installed on your machine,
other wise put the folder on a machine having IIS installed in it.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left><span>c)<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span>Make
a folder named “bin” under C:\deriveform and copy DerivedTool.WebControls.HtmlForm.dll
to this new folder</p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='margin-left:.55in;text-align:left;
text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l53 level1 lfo126;tab-stops:list .55in;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none'><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:
Verdana;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>d)<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span>Open
your browser and navigate to http://localhost/derivedemo/derivedForm.aspx </p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=left style='margin-left:.3in;text-align:left;
mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>Or navigate to http://<SERVER>/derivedemo/derivedForm.aspx
if you don’t have IIS on the current machine.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
</span></p>
</div>
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