---
title: SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111 architecture
summary: Architectural responsibilities, boundaries, and interaction patterns.
status: draft
owner: SAIF Doc Gen
last_reviewed: 2026-08-17
library: SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111
reference_type: package
---

# SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111 architecture

`SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111` implements SAIF's declarative "object binder" — a two-way data binding and validation framework that connects SAIF BOF business objects to ASP.NET WebForms and Infragistics 11.1 controls, with automatic error-message aggregation and error-state control formatting. Unlike its sibling presentation libraries, it has no compile-time reference to the SAIF BOF framework; it detects business objects purely by walking the runtime base-class chain for the names `clsBusinessBase` / `clsBusinessCollectionBase`.

## Responsibilities
- Provide a page-level binding container (`clsObjectBindManager`) that registers, initializes, validates, and synchronizes ~24 control-specific binders against business-object properties.
- Define the binder contract (`clsObjectBinderBase`) — `Init`, `ObjectToControl`, `ControlToObject` — shared reflection get/set helpers, padding support, and `IDataErrorInfo`-driven error harvesting.
- Aggregate validation errors from bound business objects and application-supplied custom validators (`clsCustomValidator`) into a single formatted message surfaced to an error label or `SAIFMessage` control.
- Supply strongly-typed binding-argument data contracts (`clsObjectBindingArgs` hierarchy, `PadArgs`) so applications can configure a binding without long positional `Add` calls.

## Component boundaries
- **Manager layer** (`clsObjectBindManager`, a `System.Web.UI.Control`): owns the binder collection, the validation-object dictionary, the aggregated error list, and the page-lifecycle hooks (`OnLoad` → initialize binders, `OnPreRender` → optional auto-bind). It is the library's only public entry point.
- **Binder abstraction layer** (`clsObjectBinderBase`): the three-method binder contract plus shared reflection, padding, and error-formatting behavior common to every concrete binder.
- **Binder implementation layer** — 24 concrete binders split across ASP.NET controls, Infragistics classic (`WebUI`) controls, and Infragistics current (`Web.UI`) controls, each knowing how to read/write its specific control property and which control event to subscribe to.
- **Argument/data-contract layer** (`clsObjectBindingArgs` hierarchy, `PadArgs`): strongly-typed parameter objects for the `Add` overloads.
- **Validation layer** (`clsCustomValidator` plus `PropertyValidator`/`MethodValidator`/ `CustomValidator` delegates): application-supplied validation participating in the same error pipeline as property-level errors.

## Interaction model
- A consuming page registers bindings during setup (`Configure`/`Page_Load`) via one of `clsObjectBindManager`'s ~60 `Add` overloads; overload resolution on the control's compile-time type selects the matching concrete binder.
- On `OnLoad`, each binder's `Init` wires up control change-event handlers (when `UseEvents` is `True`).
- `DataBind()` (or `PreRender`-triggered auto-bind) pushes business-object property values into controls (`ObjectToControl`); `BindToObject()` pulls edited control values back onto business objects (`ControlToObject`), either on a control's change event or on demand.
- `Validate()` reads each bind source's `IsValid` property (triggering BOF rule evaluation as a side effect†), then harvests per-property errors through `IDataErrorInfo` and runs any registered `clsCustomValidator` checks, aggregating distinct messages into `FormattedErrorMessage`.
- The library never references `SAIF.BOF.Framework` at compile time: `IsSAIFFrameWorkObject` (duplicated in `clsObjectBinderBase` and `clsObjectBindManager`) walks the bound object's runtime base-class chain looking for the type names `clsBusinessBase` or `clsBusinessCollectionBase`; when matched, the binder reads that object's `MyGuid` property (a `SAIF.Framework.Core` member†) as the validation key.

## Architecture diagram
The following diagram shows one full page cycle through the binder.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
	A["Page Configure/Load<br>binder.Add(control, object, property, bindType)"] --> B["clsObjectBindManager<br>m_Bindings + m_ValidationObjects"]
	B --> C["OnLoad: Binder.Init()<br>subscribe to control change events"]
	C --> D{"BindType"}
	D -->|ObjectToControl or TwoWay| E["DataBind()<br>Binder.ObjectToControl()"]
	E --> F["Control shows object value"]
	F --> G["User edits control"]
	G --> H{"UseEvents?"}
	H -->|Yes| I["Change event handler<br>ControlToObject()"]
	H -->|No| J["BindToObject()<br>ControlToObject()"]
	I --> K["Business object property updated"]
	J --> K
	K --> L["Validate()"]
	L --> M["ValidateBindSources()<br>read IsValid on each bind source"]
	L --> N["Binder.GetErrors()<br>IDataErrorInfo.Item(property)"]
	L --> O["clsCustomValidator.PerformValidation()"]
	N --> P["Aggregate distinct messages<br>SetControlFormat(False)"]
	O --> P
	P --> Q["ErrorLabel.Text / SAIFMessage.Text<br>= FormattedErrorMessage"]
```

## Sequence diagram
The following diagram shows the primary validate/error-aggregation sequence.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
	participant Page
	participant Manager as clsObjectBindManager
	participant Binder as clsObjectBinderBase
	participant BizObj as Bound business object
	Page->>Manager: Validate()
	Manager->>BizObj: Read IsValid (per bind source)
	BizObj-->>Manager: rule evaluation side effect
	Manager->>Binder: GetErrors()
	Binder->>BizObj: IDataErrorInfo.Item(property)
	BizObj-->>Binder: Error message(s)
	Binder-->>Manager: Aggregated errors
	Manager->>Manager: SetControlFormat(False)
	Manager-->>Page: FormattedErrorMessage
```

## Design constraints
- No compile-time dependency on `SAIF.BOF.Framework` exists; business-object detection is purely behavioral (base-class name matching), so this library's correctness depends on the naming convention of `clsBusinessBase` / `clsBusinessCollectionBase` remaining stable in `SAIF.Framework.Core`†.
- The library performs no data access, configuration, or security logic of its own; it is a pure in-memory presentation/binding layer between controls and whatever business object the caller supplies.
- Error messages are concatenated into `FormattedErrorMessage` without HTML encoding — a potential XSS path if any bound business-rule message contains attacker-influenced text.*
- `Validate()` and `RefreshValidation()` share ~50 lines of duplicated logic; the only difference is that `RefreshValidation` omits the bind-source `IsValid` read.
- `clsObjectBinderBase.SetObjectValueAsString` computes a padded value but writes the object property from the **unpadded** value, so `PadTarget.Object` padding has no observable effect.

> **Note:** Statements marked with * were inferred from code structure, naming conventions, or contextual evidence where direct confirmation was not available in source artifacts. Statements marked with ** could not be confirmed; treat as unknown until verified. Statements marked with † were retrieved from a dependency library's own documentation via the Legends CLI RAG service.

## Related documentation
- [Index](index.md)
- [Overview](overview.md)
- [Dependencies](dependencies.md)
- [Operations and processes](operations-processes.md)
- [Business rules](business-rules.md)
- [API reference](api/index.md)

## Sources
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/clsObjectBindManager.vb`
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/clsObjectBinderbase.vb`
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/clsCustomValidator.vb`
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/clsObjectBindingArgs.vb`
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/Enums.vb`
- `SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111/SAIF.Presentation.Web.Binding.Infragistics111.vbproj`