ASP.net WebParts Vs SharePoint WebParts - Which one to choose?

And we are back! Well, it has been a very busy time for me over the last 8 months, anyhow moving on.

Well, this might be a question which should have popped-up in the head of any beginner in SharePoint probably with some .net background.

Well, an interesting point is that SharePoint 2007 is based on top on ASP.net 2.0 framework. Hence, for folks who are well versed with ASP.Net 2.0 and plan to move on to MOSS/SPS should definitely start with "HelloWorld" kind of webparts using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart as a reference.

This enables:

• Usage on websites developed on ASP.net 2.0 and also on SharePoint based portals
• Getting familiarized with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 classes as a starting point

However, the hard truth remains that sooner or later, developers working on MOSS or SPS would need to move on to Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart in their code.

It obviously has it's own advantages:

• Enables cross-page connections
• Enables connections between webparts placed in different webpart zones on the same SharePoint page
• Helps in migrating webpart code to WSS 3.0 based webparts
• Utilize the SharePoint offerred data caching mechanism

Signing off here..enjoy coding!