Following-on from my earlier experiments in ASP.NET custom control writing, I’ve now stirred some XML into the mix. And learned a bit more about ADO.NET in the process.
Storing the contents of the navigation bar in a database table turned-out to be a pain in the butt. Adding and moving entries by directly editing the table and primary key values was just too difficult. I contemplated writing some kind of client app to make it easier, but I just don’t have the time. What I wanted was a storage format that was easy to edit using existing tools. The answer was obvious: So I modified the navigation bar control to pull the menu options from an XML file that I can edit with XML Spy and upload to the site. Nice and easy. I like it when things work.