In this chapter, we looked at both the ASP.NET validations and several of the new controls available in ASP.NET 2.0. ASP.NET has always strived to lessen the drudgery of Web development by solving the most common use cases encountered during the development of Web sites.

Whenever you sign onto a commercial Web site, you almost invariably hit a form that asks you for information. When creating such forms, you will want to ensure that the data coming from the user is as accurate as possible. It's a good idea to check certain things, such as making sure all the required fields are filled, the fields have data in the correct format, and that certain data matches specific values or falls within a stated range. ASP.NET validators perform this function.

The ASP.NET TreeView helps users browse hierarchical data structures (such as directories). The TreeView renders expandable and collapsible nodes that let users drill down into the data structures. The MultiView and the View work very much like panels that can be swapped in and out.

Next up: Web Parts (server-side controls on steroids).