Client Callback with Validation Implementation Example
In a client callback, a client script function sends a request to the ASP.NET Web page, which then runs an abbreviated version of its normal life cycle to process the callback. To ensure that callback events originate from the expected user interface (UI), you can validate callbacks. Callback validation involves registering an event for validation during the Web page rendering and then validating the event during the callback.
Note
Event validation helps secure your Web application against forged postbacks but does not protect against replay attacks. A more comprehensive event validation scheme should take into account the specifics of your Web application and the permissions of the user accessing its resources. For more information, see ASP.NET Web Application Security.
The example discussed here extends the Client-Callback Implementation (C#) Example and the Client-Callback Implementation (Visual Basic) Example. In those examples, a ListBox control named ListBox1 is a server-side control that displays a list of products. An HTML <button> element (not a Button server control) performs a callback to get product inventory information. The example is extended to introduce additional information about whether a product is on sale and to allow this information to be viewed by authenticated users only. A LoginView control is used with the LoggedInTemplate property set to display additional content. Anonymous users of the Web page are allowed to execute a callback to get inventory information, whereas logged-in users are also allowed to execute a callback to get sale information. The callback for the sale information is registered for event validation only if the user is authenticated. This prevents execution of the callback by users who are not authenticated.
Example
Description
In the following example, a Web page emulates a database lookup to determine the number of items that are available and whether an item is on sale. To simplify the example, the data store is represented by two dictionary lists. In a production application, a database would be used instead. The example demonstrates a scenario where validating client callbacks prevents an anonymous user from executing a callback that is intended for authenticated users only.
Code
<%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false"
CodeFile="ClientCallback.aspx.vb" Inherits="ClientCallback" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
<title>ASP.NET Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
function ReceiveServerData(rValue)
{
Results.innerText = rValue;
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:ListBox id="ListBox1" runat="server"></asp:ListBox>
<br />
<br />
<button id="LookUpStockButton" type="button" onclick="LookUpStock()">Look Up Stock</button>
<asp:LoginView id="LoginView1" runat="server">
<LoggedInTemplate>
<button id="LookUpSaleButton" type="button" onclick="LookUpSale()">Look Up Back Order</button>
</LoggedInTemplate>
</asp:LoginView>
<br />
Item status: <span id="Results"></span>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true"
CodeFile="ClientCallback.aspx.cs" Inherits="ClientCallback" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML
1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
<title>ASP.NET Example</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
function ReceiveServerData(rValue)
{
Results.innerText = rValue;
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:ListBox id="ListBox1" runat="server"></asp:ListBox>
<br />
<br />
<button id="LookUpStockButton" type="button" onclick="LookUpStock()">Look Up Stock</button>
<asp:LoginView id="LoginView1" runat="server">
<LoggedInTemplate>
<button id="LookUpSaleButton" type="button" onclick="LookUpSale()">Look Up Back Order</button>
</LoggedInTemplate>
</asp:LoginView>
<br />
Item status: <span id="Results"></span>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Partial Class ClientCallback
Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
Implements System.Web.UI.ICallbackEventHandler
Protected catalog As ListDictionary
Protected saleitem As ListDictionary
Protected returnValue As String
Protected validationLookUpStock As String = "LookUpStock"
Protected validationLookUpSale As String = "LookUpSale"
Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As _
System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(Me.GetType(), _
validationLookUpStock, "function LookUpStock() { " & _
"var lb = document.forms[0].ListBox1; " & _
"if (lb.selectedIndex == -1) { alert ('Please make a selection.'); return; } " & _
"var product = lb.options[lb.selectedIndex].text; " & _
"CallServer(product, ""LookUpStock"");} ", True)
If (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated) Then
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(Me.GetType(), _
validationLookUpSale, "function LookUpSale() { " & _
"var lb = document.forms[0].ListBox1; " & _
"if (lb.selectedIndex == -1) { alert ('Please make a selection.'); return; } " & _
"var product = lb.options[lb.selectedIndex].text; " & _
"CallServer(product, ""LookUpSale"");} ", True)
End If
Dim cbReference As String
cbReference = "var param = arg + '|' + context;" & _
Page.ClientScript.GetCallbackEventReference(Me, _
"param", "ReceiveServerData", "context")
Dim callbackScript As String = ""
callbackScript &= "function CallServer(arg, context) { " & _
cbReference & "} ;"
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(Me.GetType(), _
"CallServer", callbackScript, True)
' Populate List Dictionary with invented database data
catalog = New ListDictionary()
saleitem = New ListDictionary()
catalog.Add("monitor", 12)
catalog.Add("laptop", 10)
catalog.Add("keyboard", 23)
catalog.Add("mouse", 17)
saleitem.Add("monitor", 1)
saleitem.Add("laptop", 0)
saleitem.Add("keyboard", 0)
saleitem.Add("mouse", 1)
ListBox1.DataSource = catalog
ListBox1.DataTextField = "key"
ListBox1.DataBind()
End Sub
Public Sub RaiseCallbackEvent(ByVal eventArgument As String) _
Implements System.Web.UI.ICallbackEventHandler.RaiseCallbackEvent
Dim argParts() As String = eventArgument.Split("|"c)
If ((argParts Is Nothing) OrElse (argParts.Length <> 2)) Then
returnValue = "A problem occurred trying to retrieve stock count."
Return
End If
Dim product As String = argParts(0)
Dim validationaction = argParts(1)
Select Case validationaction
Case "LookUpStock"
Try
Page.ClientScript.ValidateEvent("LookUpStockButton", validationaction)
If (catalog(product) Is Nothing) Then
returnValue = "Item not found."
Else
returnValue = catalog(product).ToString() & " in stock."
End If
Catch
returnValue = "Can not retrieve stock count."
End Try
Case "LookUpSale"
Try
Page.ClientScript.ValidateEvent("LookUpSaleButton", validationaction)
If (saleitem(product) Is Nothing) Then
returnValue = "Item not found."
Else
If (Convert.ToBoolean(saleitem(product))) Then
returnValue = "Item is on sale."
Else
returnValue = "Item is not on sale."
End If
End If
Catch
returnValue = "Can not retrieve sale status."
End Try
End Select
End Sub
Public Function GetCallbackResult() _
As String Implements _
System.Web.UI.ICallbackEventHandler.GetCallbackResult
Return returnValue
End Function
Protected Overrides Sub Render(ByVal writer As System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter)
Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation("LookUpStockButton", _
validationLookUpStock)
If (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated) Then
Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation("LookUpSaleButton", _
validationLookUpSale)
End If
MyBase.Render(writer)
End Sub
End Class
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Collections;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
public partial class ClientCallback : System.Web.UI.Page,
System.Web.UI.ICallbackEventHandler
{
protected System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary catalog;
protected System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary saleitem;
protected String returnValue;
protected String validationLookUpStock = "LookUpStock";
protected String validationLookUpSale = "LookUpSale";
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(this.GetType(),
validationLookUpStock, "function LookUpStock() { " +
"var lb = document.forms[0].ListBox1; " +
"if (lb.selectedIndex == -1) { alert ('Please make a selection.'); return; } " +
"var product = lb.options[lb.selectedIndex].text; " +
@"CallServer(product, ""LookUpStock"");} ", true);
if (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(this.GetType(),
validationLookUpSale, "function LookUpSale() { " +
"var lb = document.forms[0].ListBox1; " +
"if (lb.selectedIndex == -1) { alert ('Please make a selection.'); return; } " +
"var product = lb.options[lb.selectedIndex].text; " +
@"CallServer(product, ""LookUpSale"");} ", true);
}
String cbReference = "var param = arg + '|' + context;" +
Page.ClientScript.GetCallbackEventReference(this,
"param", "ReceiveServerData", "context");
String callbackScript;
callbackScript = "function CallServer(arg, context)" +
"{ " + cbReference + "} ;";
Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptBlock(this.GetType(),
"CallServer", callbackScript, true);
catalog = new System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary();
saleitem = new System.Collections.Specialized.ListDictionary();
catalog.Add("monitor", 12);
catalog.Add("laptop", 10);
catalog.Add("keyboard", 23);
catalog.Add("mouse", 17);
saleitem.Add("monitor", 1);
saleitem.Add("laptop", 0);
saleitem.Add("keyboard", 0);
saleitem.Add("mouse", 1);
ListBox1.DataSource = catalog;
ListBox1.DataTextField = "key";
ListBox1.DataBind();
}
public void RaiseCallbackEvent(String eventArgument)
{
string[] argParts = eventArgument.Split('|');
if ((argParts == null) || (argParts.Length != 2))
{
returnValue = "A problem occurred trying to retrieve stock count.";
return;
}
string product = argParts[0];
string validationaction = argParts[1];
switch (validationaction)
{
case "LookUpStock":
try
{
Page.ClientScript.ValidateEvent("LookUpStockButton", validationaction);
if (catalog[product] == null)
{
returnValue = "Item not found.";
}
else
{
returnValue = catalog[product].ToString() + " in stock.";
}
}
catch
{
returnValue = "Can not retrieve stock count.";
}
break;
case "LookUpSale":
try
{
Page.ClientScript.ValidateEvent("LookUpSaleButton", validationaction);
if (saleitem[product] == null)
{
returnValue = "Item not found.";
}
else
{
if (Convert.ToBoolean(saleitem[product]))
returnValue = "Item is on sale.";
else
returnValue = "Item is not on sale.";
}
}
catch
{
returnValue = "Can not retrieve sale status.";
}
break;
}
}
public String GetCallbackResult()
{
return returnValue;
}
protected override void Render(HtmlTextWriter writer)
{
Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation("LookUpStockButton",
validationLookUpStock);
if (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
Page.ClientScript.RegisterForEventValidation("LookUpSaleButton",
validationLookUpSale);
}
base.Render(writer);
}
}
Comments
The Web page emulates a database lookup to determine the number of items that are available, or in stock, for a series of products (monitors, keyboards, and so on). To simplify this code example, the database is represented by a dictionary list that contains a small set of items. For each item in the table, the key is the item name (such as monitor) and the value is the number of items that are in stock. In a production application, a database would be used instead.
When the page runs, a ListBox control is bound to the hash table so that the ListBox control displays the list of products. For authenticated users, the page is rendered with two HTML <button> elements whose onclick events are bound to a client function named LookUpStock and a client function named LookUpSale, respectively. For anonymous users, the page is rendered with only one HTML <button> element, whose onclick event is bound to LookUpStock. A LoginView control is used to specify which buttons are shown. In an overridden Render event for the page, the buttons are registered for validation. If the user is not authenticated, the button that initiates the callback for LookUpSale is not registered and the callback will fail if it is attempted.
The code-behind page adds client-side script to the page through the RegisterClientScriptBlock method. The script that is added to the page includes a function named CallServer, which gets the name of the method that will post back to the server from the GetCallbackEventReference method.
The client callback invokes the RaiseCallbackEvent method, to determine the available stock for the product passed to it. The GetCallbackResult method returns the value. Note that the arguments sent between the client script and the server code can only be strings. To pass in or to receive multiple values, you can concatenate values in the input or return string, respectively.
.gif "Security note") Security Note: |
|---|
If your Web page and client callbacks deal with the display of sensitive data or operations that insert, update, or delete data, it is recommended that you validate callbacks to ensure that the intended user interface element is executing the callback. |
See Also
Tasks
How to: Implement Callbacks in ASP.NET Web Pages
Concepts
Implementing Client Callbacks Programmatically Without Postbacks in ASP.NET Web Pages
Client-Callback Implementation (C#) Example
Client-Callback Implementation (Visual Basic) Example