Inheritng from .aspx page

[iguana84]

Hi,


I have a newbie question for
(ASP.Net 2.0 framework) which is based on Design Pattern / Coding Trick

--> I need to :-
- Inherit one aspx page and its code (super abstract class) that in turn inherits System.Web.UI.Page
such that this page servers a base model for other aspx pages

--> Constraints
-- Want only Aspx page and not Code Page (like Base Class) !!!
Reason :- since the above abstract page is having user controls and points to the master page.

-- No Interface !!!
I dont want to implement this page as an Interface since there are some methods that will have the same code when overridden by the classes / aspx pages that may be implementing it causing duplicate code
So, an Abstract class model with abstract methods looks favorable

-- .Net only permits for single-level inheritance model

--> Some of the ways that I looked into are
-> Defining a Master Page ... but not sure about master page inheritence and this approach is not I like to have
-> Having a User Control .... which will have embedded user controls and loss of page theming ...
-> Thinking of having a base class ... which will define the aspx and html controls in the code .. not sure about this approach

--> Is there any better way of preserving the theme as well as achive some sort of multiple or 2 level inheritance with a better approach in ASP.Net 2.0 ?
(please correct me if I am missing something / Wrong)

[podster]

This is actually incorrect:

"-- .Net only permits for single-level inheritance model "

Your inheritance hierarchy can be as deep as you want, i.e., base < derived1 < derived2 < derived3

I think what you are getting at is that .Net only supports single inheritance, which means that a class can only inherit directly from one other class. i.e, you can't do base1, base2 < derived1

I think you're better off going with master page and user controls, though -- that's the way most people do it.

[Frinavale]

VB.NET only allows you to inherit from one class; however, the class you inherit from can inherit from another class. C# allows you to inherit from more than one class.

You should really look into using a MasterPage.
A MasterPage is compiled with your ASPX Content Pages to provide a template that all pages use.

You can use UserControls as well if you'd like.....

You haven't really explained what you are trying to do.

Are you creating several pages in your site, and you'd like to have the same layout for all pages? Use a MasterPage to do this...also use a global external style sheet (CSS) to help you design your site's look and feel.

Are you creating one page that has several different components?
Use Web User Controls so that you can easily display more than one component on a page at a time.... If you are using a component in several different pages you should put it into a Web User Control so that it simplifies implementing and maintaining the component.

[iguana84]

thanks podster and frinavale ...
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@Frinavale
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-> actually, i m trying to achieve a combination of both !!!
I am trying to create a Template - kind of page that uses
a) Already has all the Css (via one Master Page) and
b) links to combination of various User Controls

So that ... if I want to create other pages with the same model, I have to just inherit this page and pass different parameters from the subclass to get different types of say results like Custom-made Reports!!!

On One thought, I was thinking of having a aspx page very parallel to Base Pages . cs / .vb with all the above embedded in it and then try to inherit this page in the subclasses (.aspx and Code behind files) ... but am not sure how to go about this at this point

[Frinavale]

Why do you need to inherit anything?

I do not see any reason why you want to inherit anything when you have MasterPages, UserControls and CSS at your disposal.

If you want to create any new pages using that mode, create a new Content Page that uses the MasterPage you've developed.....

You don't have to inherit anything.


Your pages should use instances of your UserControls where needed.
There's no reason why you want to have a UserControl in a base class if it isn't going to be used.

[iguana84]

Hi Frinavale,

I wanted to inherit since I have lots of pages that have some commonality which is the same master page and same sets of user controls ....

the only thing varies is the parameters ; Considering Refactoring of the Code ... I wanted to create a - sort - of - <GOD> ASPX page that has Master page and the user controls and the variables ....

and most of the other pages will then call this page with the paramter they want so the code is drastically reduced in these child custom ASPX pages ... they just need to supply the right list of parameters ...

[Frinavale]

I tend to use the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Small And Simple) approach when developing any application. Implementing a "God" Page is basically the opposite to that approach.

When you have such a massive class as the Base class you are going to have a hard time maintaining that class and the rest of them.

As soon as you need to add another parameter in the Base Class you're going to have to modify every other page just because one page requires it.

I would strongly recommend against this style, but to-each-their-own. If you're dead set on doing this, then the best of luck to you :)

If I were you, I'd put the common functionality that exists on every page in the master page and create User Controls for features that aren't required on every page but are used in more than one. I'd add user controls the pages that require them. Each page would remain it's own page and there would be no "God" page.


If there are functions that are required on more than one page that do the same thing, I tend to add them to a class (not a page) I call "Utils". This class is "NotInheritable"/"Sealed" and only contains Public Static/Shared functions so that I can easily call the functions throughout my code and pages.

-Frinny

[NitinSawant]

hmm..

you should use Master Pages..

Creating a GOD page and inheriting from it
is similar to creating Master page!!