Are user controls the best way to provide controls for WebParts?

[jm]

Some of the articles I have read are old, and I just don't know if
user controls .ascx are still used widely. I know they can be
created, but if very few use them today it makes me think I shouldn't
either or that there is some better way. I have used them in
tutorials with web parts, but the articles were several years old.

What I have in reality is a gridview. Would it be bad practice to put
that gridview in a user control and drop that usercontrol .ascx in a
webpart? If so I would end up with having many datacontrol items in
one page, all their separate user control. It is a cms, but again, is
this the "right way" to do it? I don't know another way I would do
it, but that is besides the point.

Thank you.