Combining Two Controls, best way?

[Andrew Backer]

I have a working date picker, and I want to combine it at the control
level with a textbox and validator, so we can use
<my:datepickertextboxthingy/>

What is the best way to go about this? I am most concerned with access
to the textbox's properties, since this will function mostly as a
textbox with a mostly-inert object attached to it.

Right now I have subclassed TextBox, and am attempting to somehow
attach the other control to it so they both get rendered. In the end I
think I would like to be able to wrap them in more html (tables, span,
div, etc), so I think I will need a little more control. In the end I
need to be here :

<my:textbox CssClass="Fun" Columns="10" ..more textbox props.../>

Where should I instantiate the addtional controls? How should I handle
prerender (the date picker needs it)? What should I do in Render() to
make this happen...

I guess I am really trying to avoid writing properties that wrap *all*
of the textbox properties. Any good way to do this?

TIA,
- Andrew Backer

[Steve C. Orr [MVP, MCSD]]

I suggest you create a composite control.
Here are the details:
[url]http://SteveOrr.net/articles/ComboBox.aspx[/url]

--
I hope this helps,
Steve C. Orr, MCSD, MVP
[url]http://SteveOrr.net[/url]


"Andrew Backer" <awbacker@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121300837.840407.160400@z14g2000cwz.googlegr oups.com...

>I have a working date picker, and I want to combine it at the control
> level with a textbox and validator, so we can use
> <my:datepickertextboxthingy/>
>
> What is the best way to go about this? I am most concerned with access
> to the textbox's properties, since this will function mostly as a
> textbox with a mostly-inert object attached to it.
>
> Right now I have subclassed TextBox, and am attempting to somehow
> attach the other control to it so they both get rendered. In the end I
> think I would like to be able to wrap them in more html (tables, span,
> div, etc), so I think I will need a little more control. In the end I
> need to be here :
>
> <my:textbox CssClass="Fun" Columns="10" ..more textbox props.../>
>
> Where should I instantiate the addtional controls? How should I handle
> prerender (the date picker needs it)? What should I do in Render() to
> make this happen...
>
> I guess I am really trying to avoid writing properties that wrap *all*
> of the textbox properties. Any good way to do this?
>
> TIA,
> - Andrew Backer
>

[Andrew Backer]

So I have to go the composite way, eh? Oh well...

Are we sure that there is no way to inherit TextBox, thereby gaining
all it's fancy properties and methods, and *then* tacking on the
datepicker/checkbox/etc that I need?

Im going to go the composite way for now, but the other way would be
sooooooo nifty :)

Thanks for the article,
- Andrew Backer