HTML server controls are outwardly identical to plain old HTML tags, but include a runat="server" attribute. This gives the ASP.NET runtime control over the HTML server controls, allowing us to access them programmatically. For example, if we have an <a> tag in a page and we want to be able to change the address to which it links dynamically, using VB or C# code, we use the runat="server" attribute.
A server-side HTML server control exists for each of HTML’s most common elements. Creating HTML server controls is easy: we simply stick a runat="server"attribute on the end of a normal HTML tag to create the HTML control version of that tag. The complete list of current HTML control classes and their associated tags is given in below Table.
Table
All the HTML server control classes are contained within the System.Web.UI.HtmlControls namespace. As they’re processed on the server side by the ASP.NET runtime, we can access their properties through code elsewhere in the page. If you’re familiar with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, you’ll know that manipulating text within HTML tags, or even manipulating inline styles within an HTML tag, can be cumbersome and error-prone. HTML server controls aim to solve these problems by allowing you to manipulate the page easily with your choice of .NET language for instance, using VB or C#.
A server-side HTML server control exists for each of HTML’s most common elements. Creating HTML server controls is easy: we simply stick a runat="server"attribute on the end of a normal HTML tag to create the HTML control version of that tag. The complete list of current HTML control classes and their associated tags is given in below Table.
Table
All the HTML server control classes are contained within the System.Web.UI.HtmlControls namespace. As they’re processed on the server side by the ASP.NET runtime, we can access their properties through code elsewhere in the page. If you’re familiar with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, you’ll know that manipulating text within HTML tags, or even manipulating inline styles within an HTML tag, can be cumbersome and error-prone. HTML server controls aim to solve these problems by allowing you to manipulate the page easily with your choice of .NET language for instance, using VB or C#.