ConnectionPoint Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts

Assembly:

System.Web.dll

Serves as the base class for defining connection point objects that enable the consumer control and the provider control in a Web Parts connection to share data.

public ref class ConnectionPoint abstract

public abstract class ConnectionPoint

type ConnectionPoint = class

Public MustInherit Class ConnectionPoint

Inheritance

Object

ConnectionPoint

Derived

System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.ConsumerConnectionPoint

System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.ProviderConnectionPoint

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the creation of a Web Parts connection that includes the required ConnectionPoint objects. Because the ConnectionPoint class is an abstract base class, instances of its child classes--ProviderConnectionPoint and ConsumerConnectionPoint--are the actual objects used to form a connection.

The example has four parts:

• A user control that enables you to change the Web Parts display mode on a page.

• Source code for an interface and two WebPart controls acting as the provider and the consumer for a connection.

• A Web page to host all the controls and run the code example.

• An explanation of how to run the example page.

The first part of this code example is the user control that enables users to change display modes on a Web page. Save the following source code to an .ascx file, giving it the file name that is assigned to the Src attribute of the Register directive for this user control, which is near the top of the hosting Web page. For details about display modes and a description of the source code in this control, see Walkthrough: Changing Display Modes on a Web Parts Page.

<%@ control language="C#" classname="DisplayModeMenuCS"%>
<script runat="server">
  
 // Use a field to reference the current WebPartManager.
  WebPartManager _manager;

  void Page_Init(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    Page.InitComplete += new EventHandler(InitComplete);
  }  

  void InitComplete(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
  {
    _manager = WebPartManager.GetCurrentWebPartManager(Page);

    String browseModeName = WebPartManager.BrowseDisplayMode.Name;

    // Fill the dropdown with the names of supported display modes.
    foreach (WebPartDisplayMode mode in _manager.SupportedDisplayModes)
    {
      String modeName = mode.Name;
      // Make sure a mode is enabled before adding it.
      if (mode.IsEnabled(_manager))
      {
        ListItem item = new ListItem(modeName, modeName);
        DisplayModeDropdown.Items.Add(item);
      }
    }

    // If shared scope is allowed for this user, display the scope-switching
    // UI and select the appropriate radio button for the current user scope.
    if (_manager.Personalization.CanEnterSharedScope)
    {
      Panel2.Visible = true;
      if (_manager.Personalization.Scope == PersonalizationScope.User)
        RadioButton1.Checked = true;
      else
        RadioButton2.Checked = true;
    }
    
  }
 
  // Change the page to the selected display mode.
  void DisplayModeDropdown_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    String selectedMode = DisplayModeDropdown.SelectedValue;

    WebPartDisplayMode mode = _manager.SupportedDisplayModes[selectedMode];
    if (mode != null)
      _manager.DisplayMode = mode;
  }

  // Set the selected item equal to the current display mode.
  void Page_PreRender(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    ListItemCollection items = DisplayModeDropdown.Items;
    int selectedIndex = 
      items.IndexOf(items.FindByText(_manager.DisplayMode.Name));
    DisplayModeDropdown.SelectedIndex = selectedIndex;
  }

  // Reset all of a user's personalization data for the page.
  protected void LinkButton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    _manager.Personalization.ResetPersonalizationState();
  }

  // If not in User personalization scope, toggle into it.
  protected void RadioButton1_CheckedChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    if (_manager.Personalization.Scope == PersonalizationScope.Shared)
      _manager.Personalization.ToggleScope();
  }

  // If not in Shared scope, and if user is allowed, toggle the scope.
  protected void RadioButton2_CheckedChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    if (_manager.Personalization.CanEnterSharedScope && 
        _manager.Personalization.Scope == PersonalizationScope.User)
      _manager.Personalization.ToggleScope();
  }
</script>
<div>
  <asp:Panel ID="Panel1" runat="server" 
    Borderwidth="1" 
    Width="230" 
    BackColor="lightgray"
    Font-Names="Verdana, Arial, Sans Serif" >
    <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" 
      Text=" Display Mode" 
      Font-Bold="true"
      Font-Size="8"
      Width="120" 
      AssociatedControlID="DisplayModeDropdown"/>
    <asp:DropDownList ID="DisplayModeDropdown" runat="server"  
      AutoPostBack="true" 
      Width="120"
      OnSelectedIndexChanged="DisplayModeDropdown_SelectedIndexChanged" />
    <asp:LinkButton ID="LinkButton1" runat="server"
      Text="Reset User State" 
      ToolTip="Reset the current user's personalization data for the page."
      Font-Size="8" 
      OnClick="LinkButton1_Click" />
    <asp:Panel ID="Panel2" runat="server" 
      GroupingText="Personalization Scope"
      Font-Bold="true"
      Font-Size="8" 
      Visible="false" >
      <asp:RadioButton ID="RadioButton1" runat="server" 
        Text="User" 
        AutoPostBack="true"
        GroupName="Scope" OnCheckedChanged="RadioButton1_CheckedChanged" />
      <asp:RadioButton ID="RadioButton2" runat="server" 
        Text="Shared" 
        AutoPostBack="true"
        GroupName="Scope" 
        OnCheckedChanged="RadioButton2_CheckedChanged" />
    </asp:Panel>
  </asp:Panel>
</div>

<%@ control language="vb" classname="DisplayModeMenuVB"%>
<script runat="server">
  ' Use a field to reference the current WebPartManager.
  Dim _manager As WebPartManager

  Sub Page_Init(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    AddHandler Page.InitComplete, AddressOf InitComplete
  End Sub

  Sub InitComplete(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    _manager = WebPartManager.GetCurrentWebPartManager(Page)
      
    Dim browseModeName As String = WebPartManager.BrowseDisplayMode.Name
      
    ' Fill the dropdown with the names of supported display modes.
    Dim mode As WebPartDisplayMode
    For Each mode In _manager.SupportedDisplayModes
      Dim modeName As String = mode.Name
      ' Make sure a mode is enabled before adding it.
      If mode.IsEnabled(_manager) Then
        Dim item As New ListItem(modeName, modeName)
        DisplayModeDropdown.Items.Add(item)
      End If
    Next mode
      
    ' If shared scope is allowed for this user, display the scope-switching
    ' UI and select the appropriate radio button for the current user scope.
    If _manager.Personalization.CanEnterSharedScope Then
      Panel2.Visible = True
      If _manager.Personalization.Scope = PersonalizationScope.User Then
        RadioButton1.Checked = True
      Else
        RadioButton2.Checked = True
      End If
    End If
   
  End Sub

  ' Change the page to the selected display mode.
  Sub DisplayModeDropdown_SelectedIndexChanged(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As EventArgs)
    
    Dim selectedMode As String = DisplayModeDropdown.SelectedValue   
    Dim mode As WebPartDisplayMode = _
      _manager.SupportedDisplayModes(selectedMode)
    If Not (mode Is Nothing) Then
      _manager.DisplayMode = mode
    End If

  End Sub
   
  ' Set the selected item equal to the current display mode.
  Sub Page_PreRender(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    Dim items As ListItemCollection = DisplayModeDropdown.Items
    Dim selectedIndex As Integer = _
      items.IndexOf(items.FindByText(_manager.DisplayMode.Name))
    DisplayModeDropdown.SelectedIndex = selectedIndex

  End Sub

  ' Reset all of a user's personalization data for the page.
  Protected Sub LinkButton1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As EventArgs)
    
    _manager.Personalization.ResetPersonalizationState()
    
  End Sub

  ' If not in User personalization scope, toggle into it.
  Protected Sub RadioButton1_CheckedChanged(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As EventArgs)
    
    If _manager.Personalization.Scope = PersonalizationScope.Shared Then
      _manager.Personalization.ToggleScope()
    End If

  End Sub
   
  ' If not in Shared scope, and if user is allowed, toggle the scope.
  Protected Sub RadioButton2_CheckedChanged(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As EventArgs)
    
    If _manager.Personalization.CanEnterSharedScope AndAlso _
      _manager.Personalization.Scope = PersonalizationScope.User Then
      _manager.Personalization.ToggleScope()
    End If

  End Sub

</script>
<div>
  <asp:Panel ID="Panel1" runat="server" 
    Borderwidth="1" 
    Width="230" 
    BackColor="lightgray"
    Font-Names="Verdana, Arial, Sans Serif" >
    <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" 
      Text=" Display Mode" 
      Font-Bold="true"
      Font-Size="8"
      Width="120" 
      AssociatedControlID="DisplayModeDropdown"/>
    <asp:DropDownList ID="DisplayModeDropdown" runat="server"  
      AutoPostBack="true" 
      Width="120"
      OnSelectedIndexChanged="DisplayModeDropdown_SelectedIndexChanged" />
    <asp:LinkButton ID="LinkButton1" runat="server"
      Text="Reset User State" 
      ToolTip="Reset the current user's personalization data for the page."
      Font-Size="8" 
      OnClick="LinkButton1_Click" />
    <asp:Panel ID="Panel2" runat="server" 
      GroupingText="Personalization Scope"
      Font-Bold="true"
      Font-Size="8" 
      Visible="false" >
      <asp:RadioButton ID="RadioButton1" runat="server" 
        Text="User" 
        AutoPostBack="true"
        GroupName="Scope" OnCheckedChanged="RadioButton1_CheckedChanged" />
      <asp:RadioButton ID="RadioButton2" runat="server" 
        Text="Shared" 
        AutoPostBack="true"
        GroupName="Scope" 
        OnCheckedChanged="RadioButton2_CheckedChanged" />
    </asp:Panel>
  </asp:Panel>
</div>

The second part of the code example is the source code for the interface and controls. The source file contains a simple interface named IZipCode. There is also a WebPart class named ZipCodeWebPart that implements the interface and acts as the provider control. Its ProvideIZipCode method is the callback method that implements the interface's only member. The method simply returns an instance of the interface. Note that the method is marked with a ConnectionProvider attribute in its metadata. This is the mechanism for identifying the method as the callback method for the provider's connection point. The other WebPart class is named WeatherWebPart, and it acts as the consumer for the connection. This class has a method named GetZipCode that gets an instance of the IZipCode interface from the provider control. Note that this method is marked as the consumer's connection point method with a ConnectionConsumer attribute in its metadata. This is the mechanism for identifying the connection point method in the consumer control.

For the code example to run, you must compile this source code. You can compile it explicitly and put the resulting assembly in your Web site's Bin folder or the global assembly cache. Alternatively, you can put the source code in your site's App_Code folder, where it will be dynamically compiled at run time. This code example uses dynamic compilation. For a walkthrough that demonstrates how to compile, see Walkthrough: Developing and Using a Custom Web Server Control.

namespace Samples.AspNet.CS.Controls
{
  using System;
  using System.Web;
  using System.Web.Security;
  using System.Security.Permissions;
  using System.Web.UI;
  using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
  using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;

  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  public interface IZipCode
  {
    string ZipCode { get; set;}
  }

  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  public class ZipCodeWebPart : WebPart, IZipCode
  {
    string zipCodeText = String.Empty;
    TextBox input;
    Button send;

    public ZipCodeWebPart()
    {
    }

    // Make the implemented property personalizable to save 
    // the Zip Code between browser sessions.
    [Personalizable()]
    public virtual string ZipCode
    {
      get { return zipCodeText; }
      set { zipCodeText = value; }
    }

    // This is the callback method that returns the provider.
    [ConnectionProvider("Zip Code Provider", "ZipCodeProvider")]
    public IZipCode ProvideIZipCode()
    {
      return this;
    }

    protected override void CreateChildControls()
    {
      Controls.Clear();
      input = new TextBox();
      this.Controls.Add(input);
      send = new Button();
      send.Text = "Enter 5-digit Zip Code";
      send.Click += new EventHandler(this.submit_Click);
      this.Controls.Add(send);
    }

    private void submit_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
      if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(input.Text))
      {
        zipCodeText = Page.Server.HtmlEncode(input.Text);
        input.Text = String.Empty;
      }
    }
  }

  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  [AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand,
    Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
  public class WeatherWebPart : WebPart
  {
    private IZipCode _provider;
    string _zipSearch;
    Label DisplayContent;

    // This method is identified by the ConnectionConsumer 
    // attribute, and is the mechanism for connecting with 
    // the provider. 
    [ConnectionConsumer("Zip Code Consumer", "ZipCodeConsumer")]
    public void GetIZipCode(IZipCode Provider)
    {
      _provider = Provider;
    }
    
    protected override void OnPreRender(EventArgs e)
    {
      EnsureChildControls();

      if (this._provider != null)
      {
        _zipSearch = _provider.ZipCode.Trim();
        DisplayContent.Text = "My Zip Code is:  " + _zipSearch;
      }
    }

    protected override void CreateChildControls()
    {
      Controls.Clear();
      DisplayContent = new Label();
      this.Controls.Add(DisplayContent);
    }
  }
}

Imports System.Web
Imports System.Web.Security
Imports System.Security.Permissions
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts

Namespace Samples.AspNet.VB.Controls

  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  Public Interface IZipCode

    Property ZipCode() As String

  End Interface

  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  Public Class ZipCodeWebPart
    Inherits WebPart
    Implements IZipCode
    Private zipCodeText As String = String.Empty
    Private input As TextBox
    Private send As Button

    Public Sub New()
    End Sub

    ' Make the implemented property personalizable to save 
    ' the Zip Code between browser sessions.
    <Personalizable()> _
    Public Property ZipCode() As String _
      Implements IZipCode.ZipCode

      Get
        Return zipCodeText
      End Get
      Set(ByVal value As String)
        zipCodeText = value
      End Set
    End Property

    ' This is the callback method that returns the provider.
    <ConnectionProvider("Zip Code Provider", "ZipCodeProvider")> _
    Public Function ProvideIZipCode() As IZipCode
      Return Me
    End Function


    Protected Overrides Sub CreateChildControls()
      Controls.Clear()
      input = New TextBox()
      Me.Controls.Add(input)
      send = New Button()
      send.Text = "Enter 5-digit Zip Code"
      AddHandler send.Click, AddressOf Me.submit_Click
      Me.Controls.Add(send)

    End Sub


    Private Sub submit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
      ByVal e As EventArgs)

      If input.Text <> String.Empty Then
        zipCodeText = Page.Server.HtmlEncode(input.Text)
        input.Text = String.Empty
      End If

    End Sub

  End Class

  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.Demand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  <AspNetHostingPermission(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, _
    Level:=AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
  Public Class WeatherWebPart
    Inherits WebPart
    Private _provider As IZipCode
    Private _zipSearch As String
    Private DisplayContent As Label

    ' This method is identified by the ConnectionConsumer 
    ' attribute, and is the mechanism for connecting with 
    ' the provider. 
    <ConnectionConsumer("Zip Code Consumer", "ZipCodeConsumer")> _
    Public Sub GetIZipCode(ByVal Provider As IZipCode)
      _provider = Provider
    End Sub


    Protected Overrides Sub OnPreRender(ByVal e As EventArgs)
      EnsureChildControls()

      If Not (Me._provider Is Nothing) Then
        _zipSearch = _provider.ZipCode.Trim()
                DisplayContent.Text = "My Zip Code is:  " + _zipSearch
      End If

    End Sub

    Protected Overrides Sub CreateChildControls()
      Controls.Clear()
      DisplayContent = New Label()
      Me.Controls.Add(DisplayContent)

    End Sub

  End Class

End Namespace

The third part of the code example is the Web page. Near the top are Register directives to register the custom controls that form the connection, and the user control that enables users to change display modes on the page. The connection itself is created declaratively within the <staticconnections> element on the page. You can also create the connection programmatically; the code for doing that is contained in the Button1_Click method. Whether the connection is created declaratively or programmatically, connection points must always be specified for both the provider and the consumer. The Button2_Click method accesses the ConnectionPoint objects for both the provider and the consumer, and writes some of their property values to a label in the page.

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>
<%@ register tagprefix="uc1" 
    tagname="DisplayModeMenuCS"
    src="~/displaymodemenucs.ascx" %>
<%@ Register TagPrefix="aspSample" 
    Namespace="Samples.AspNet.CS.Controls" %>
    
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" 
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">

  protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    ProviderConnectionPoint provPoint =
      mgr.GetProviderConnectionPoints(zip1)["ZipCodeProvider"];
    ConsumerConnectionPoint connPoint =
      mgr.GetConsumerConnectionPoints(weather1)["ZipCodeConsumer"];
      
    if(mgr.CanConnectWebParts(zip1, provPoint, weather1, connPoint))
      mgr.ConnectWebParts(zip1, provPoint, weather1, connPoint);
  
  }  
  protected void Button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    WebPartConnection conn = mgr.Connections[0];
    
    lblConn.Text = "<h2>Connection Point Details</h2>" + 
       "<h3>Provider Connection Point</h3>" + 
       "  Display name: " + conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.DisplayName + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  ID: " + conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.ID + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Interface type: " + 
        conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.InterfaceType.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Control type: " + conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.ControlType.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Allows multiple connections: " + 
          conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.AllowsMultipleConnections.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Enabled: " + conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.GetEnabled(zip1).ToString() + 
       "<hr />" + 
       "<h3>Consumer Connection Point</h3>" + 
       "  Display name: " + conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.DisplayName + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  ID: " + conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.ID + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Interface type: " + conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.InterfaceType.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Control type: " + conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.ControlType.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Allows multiple connections: " + 
          conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.AllowsMultipleConnections.ToString() + 
       "<br />" + 
       "  Enabled: " + conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.GetEnabled(zip1).ToString();
  }

  protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    lblConn.Text = String.Empty;
  }
</script>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head runat="server">
    <title>Untitled Page</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
      <asp:WebPartManager ID="mgr" runat="server" >
        <StaticConnections>
          <asp:WebPartConnection ID="conn1"
            ConsumerConnectionPointID="ZipCodeConsumer"
            ConsumerID="weather1" 
            ProviderConnectionPointID="ZipCodeProvider" 
            ProviderID="zip1" />
        </StaticConnections>      
      </asp:WebPartManager>
      <uc1:displaymodemenucs id="menu1" runat="server" />
      <asp:WebPartZone ID="WebPartZone1" runat="server">
        <ZoneTemplate>
          <aspSample:ZipCodeWebPart ID="zip1" runat="server"
            Title="Zip Code Provider"  />
          <aspSample:WeatherWebPart ID="weather1" runat="server" 
            Title="Zip Code Consumer" />
        </ZoneTemplate>
      </asp:WebPartZone>
      <asp:ConnectionsZone ID="ConnectionsZone1" runat="server">
      </asp:ConnectionsZone>
      <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" 
        Text="Dynamic Connection" 
        OnClick="Button1_Click" />      
      <br />
      <asp:Button ID="Button2" runat="server" 
        Text="Connection Point Details" 
        OnClick="Button2_Click" />
      <br />
      <asp:Label ID="lblConn" runat="server" />
    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

<%@ Page Language="VB" %>
<%@ register tagprefix="uc1" 
    tagname="DisplayModeMenuVB"
    src="~/displaymodemenuvb.ascx" %>
<%@ Register TagPrefix="aspSample" 
    Namespace="Samples.AspNet.VB.Controls" %>
    
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" 
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<script runat="server">

  Protected Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs)

    Dim provPoint As ProviderConnectionPoint = _
      mgr.GetProviderConnectionPoints(zip1)("ZipCodeProvider")
    Dim connPoint As ConsumerConnectionPoint = _
      mgr.GetConsumerConnectionPoints(weather1)("ZipCodeConsumer")

    If mgr.CanConnectWebParts(zip1, provPoint, weather1, connPoint) Then
      mgr.ConnectWebParts(zip1, provPoint, weather1, connPoint)
    End If
    
  End Sub
  
  Protected Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    
    Dim conn As WebPartConnection = mgr.Connections(0)

    lblConn.Text = "<h2>Connection Point Details</h2>" & _
      "<h3>Provider Connection Point</h3>" & _
      "  Display name: " & conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.DisplayName & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  ID: " & conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.ID & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Interface type: " & conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.InterfaceType.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Control type: " & conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.ControlType.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Allows multiple connections: " & _
        conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.AllowsMultipleConnections.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Enabled: " & conn.ProviderConnectionPoint.GetEnabled(zip1).ToString() & _
      "<hr />" & _
      "<h3>Consumer Connection Point</h3>" & _
      "  Display name: " & conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.DisplayName & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  ID: " & conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.ID & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Interface type: " & conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.InterfaceType.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Control type: " & conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.ControlType.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Allows multiple connections: " & _
        conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.AllowsMultipleConnections.ToString() & _
      "<br />" & _
      "  Enabled: " & conn.ConsumerConnectionPoint.GetEnabled(zip1).ToString()
          
  End Sub

  Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
    lblConn.Text = String.Empty
  End Sub
  
</script>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
    <title>Untitled Page</title>
</head>
<body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
      <asp:WebPartManager ID="mgr" runat="server" >
        <StaticConnections>
          <asp:WebPartConnection ID="conn1"
            ConsumerConnectionPointID="ZipCodeConsumer"
            ConsumerID="weather1" 
            ProviderConnectionPointID="ZipCodeProvider" 
            ProviderID="zip1" />
        </StaticConnections>      
      </asp:WebPartManager>
      <uc1:displaymodemenuvb id="menu1" runat="server" />
      <asp:WebPartZone ID="WebPartZone1" runat="server">
        <ZoneTemplate>
          <aspSample:ZipCodeWebPart ID="zip1" runat="server"
            Title="Zip Code Provider"  />
          <aspSample:WeatherWebPart ID="weather1" runat="server" 
            Title="Zip Code Consumer" />
        </ZoneTemplate>
      </asp:WebPartZone>
      <asp:ConnectionsZone ID="ConnectionsZone1" runat="server">
      </asp:ConnectionsZone>
      <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" 
        Text="Dynamic Connection" 
        OnClick="Button1_Click" />      
      <br />
      <asp:Button ID="Button2" runat="server" 
        Text="Connection Point Details" 
        OnClick="Button2_Click" />
      <br />
      <asp:Label ID="lblConn" runat="server" />
    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

After you load the page in a browser, click the Connection Point Details button. Information about the provider and consumer connection points established in the declarative connection appears. Next, use the Display Mode drop-down control to switch the page into connect mode. On the verbs menu of one of the WebPart controls (represented by a downward arrow in the title bar), click the connect verb. The connection UI appears, created automatically by the <asp:connectionszone> control declared in the page. Click the Disconnect button to terminate the existing connection. Use the Display Mode control to return the page to browse mode. Next, click the Dynamic Connection button to create a connection programmatically. Click the Connection Point Details button again, to indicate details about the two connection point objects.

Remarks

Every Web Parts connection consists of two server controls sharing data: one control is the consumer, the other is the provider. For a discussion of the essential components of a Web Parts connection, and the connection object itself, see the WebPartConnection class overview. Every Web Parts connection requires connection points. The provider and the consumer control must each have at least one defined ConnectionPoint object (each of them can optionally have multiple connection points) that contains the details for how a control can connect to another control and the type of data it can share. In an actual connection, the provider has its own type of connection point object (derived from the base ConnectionPoint class), a ProviderConnectionPoint instance, and the consumer has its own object, a ConsumerConnectionPoint instance.

To create a provider connection point, developers must add a callback method to the provider that will return an implemented interface instance to a consumer. They must mark the callback method in the source code with a ConnectionProvider code attribute (see the ConnectionProviderAttribute class). Similarly, to create a consumer connection point, developers must add a method to the consumer that receives an interface instance, and they must mark that method with a ConnectionConsumer attribute (see the ConnectionConsumerAttribute class).

When developers create connections on a Web page, they can be created as static or dynamic connections. Static connections are declared in the markup of a Web page. When a static connection is declared, developers can designate which connection points are used for both the consumer and provider by assigning values to the ProviderConnectionPointID and ConsumerConnectionPointID attributes within the <asp:webpartconnection> element tag. This approach is especially useful if there are multiple connection points defined within the consumer and provider controls, because it enables the static connection to identify which connection points to use for the connection.

Dynamic connections are created programmatically, either by a developer's code or by users through the user interface (UI) provided by the ConnectionsZone control. To create a connection in code, developers must get an instance of a WebPartConnection object by calling the ConnectWebParts method on the WebPartManager control. Before they can call this method, developers must have references to the consumer and provider server controls and their respective connection point objects. To get references to the connection points for a provider and a consumer control, developers first call the GetProviderConnectionPoints and GetConsumerConnectionPoints methods on the WebPartManager control. These methods return the appropriate connection point objects, which in turn can be passed to the method for creating a connection.

When the provider's and the consumer's connection point objects both work with the same type of interface, they are compatible and can form a direct connection to share data. If they do not work with the same interface type, a WebPartTransformer object must be used to translate the interface instance from the provider into a type that the consumer can work with.

The abstract ConnectionPoint class provides the base details of connection points that are shared by both consumer and provider controls. Several properties contain these details. The AllowsMultipleConnections property indicates whether a connection point can participate in more than one connection at a time. By default, provider connection points can participate in multiple connections, and consumer connection points cannot. The ControlType property indicates the type of the server control associated with a connection point. Note that not only WebPart controls can form connections; any server control, whether an ASP.NET control, a custom control, or a user control, can be enabled to participate in connections if placed in a WebPartZoneBase zone. The DisplayName property provides a friendly name for the connection point that can be displayed in the UI to assist users who are creating connections. The ID property serves as a string identifier for the connection point object itself. The InterfaceType property indicates what type of interface instance the connection point understands. Whether a given connection point provides or consumes an instance of that interface is determined by whether it is a ProviderConnectionPoint or a ConsumerConnectionPoint object.

The ConnectionPoint class has one method. The GetEnabled method returns a Boolean value indicating whether a connection point is currently able to participate in connections.

The ConnectionPoint class also has one public field, DefaultID. This field contains a value used to identify the default connection point in a connection.

Note

The attributes for specifying connection point methods have only one required parameter, displayName, so it is possible to create the default connection point attribute without specifying an ID. In such cases, the DefaultID field supplies a base value to use.

Fields

DefaultID

Represents a string used to identify the default connection point within a collection of connection points associated with a server control.

Properties

AllowsMultipleConnections	Gets a value that indicates whether a connection point supports multiple simultaneous connections.
ControlType	Gets the Type of the server control with which a connection point is associated.
DisplayName	Gets a string that serves as a friendly display name to represent a connection point in the user interface (UI).
ID	Gets a string that contains the identifier for a connection point.
InterfaceType	Gets the type of the interface used by a connection point.

Methods

Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetEnabled(Control)	Returns a value that indicates whether a connection point can participate in connections.
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• WebPartConnection
• Web Parts Connections Overview
• ASP.NET Web Parts Controls