WSS 3.0 & MOSS 2007 - WebParts

Web Parts in Windows SharePoint Services provide developers with a way to create user interface elements that support both customization and personalization. A site owner or a site member with the appropriate permissions can customize Web Part Pages using a browser or Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 by adding, reconfiguring, and removing Web Parts.

The term customization implies that changes are seen by all site members. Individual users can further personalize Web Part Pages by adding, reconfiguring, and removing Web Parts. The term personalization implies that these changes will be seen only by the user that made them. Developing custom Web Parts provides an easy and powerful way to extend Windows SharePoint Services sites.

Because the Windows SharePoint Services Web Part infrastructure is now built on top of the ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts control set, you can reuse your knowledge of ASP.NET programming to create quick and robust custom Web Parts.

Following are some ways in which you can use custom Web Parts:

• Creating custom properties you can display and modify in the user interface.

• Improving performance and scalability. A compiled custom Web Part runs faster than a script.

• Implementing proprietary code without disclosing the source code.

• Securing and controlling access to content within the Web Part. Built-in Web Parts allow any users with appropriate permissions to change content and alter Web Part functionality. With a custom Web Part, you can determine the content or properties to display to users, regardless of their permissions.

• Making your Web Part connectable, allowing Web Parts to provide or access data from other connectable Web Parts.

• Interacting with the object models that are exposed in Windows SharePoint Services. For example, you can create a custom Web Part to save documents to a Windows SharePoint Services document library.

• Controlling the cache for the Web Part by using built-in cache tools. For example, you can use these tools to specify when to read, write, or invalidate the Web Part cache.

• Benefiting from a rich development environment with debugging features that are provided by tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.

• Creating a base class for other Web Parts to extend. For example, to create a collection of Web Parts with similar features and functionality, create a custom base class from which multiple Web Parts can inherit. This reduces the overall cost of developing and testing subsequent Web Parts.

• Controlling the implementation of the Web Part. For example, you can write a custom server-side Web Part that connects to a back-end database, or you can create a Web Part that is compatible with a broader range of Web browsers.