Creating a Blazor.NET Component for Beginners

Blazor.NET is a powerful framework for building interactive web applications using C#. One of its most valuable features is the ability to create reusable components. In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of creating a simple Blazor component from scratch.

---

What is a Blazor Component?

A Blazor component is a self-contained piece of UI with its own logic and rendering. Components in Blazor are defined in .razor files and can include HTML markup, C# code, and CSS styling. These components can be reused and shared across your application, making development more modular and maintainable.

---

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

1. .NET SDK installed. You can download it from Microsoft’s .NET website.
2. A code editor like Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code.
3. Basic knowledge of C# and HTML.

---

Step 1: Set Up a Blazor Project

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
2. Create a new Blazor Server App by running the following command:

   dotnet new blazorserver -n BlazorComponentApp
   

   This creates a new Blazor Server project named BlazorComponentApp.
3. Navigate to the project folder:

   cd BlazorComponentApp
   

4. Run the application to ensure everything is set up correctly:

   dotnet run
   

   Open the provided URL in your browser to see the default Blazor app.

---

Step 2: Create a New Component

1. In your project’s Pages folder, add a new file named HelloWorld.razor.

2. Open the file and define the component:

   @code {
       private string message = "Hello, Blazor!";
   }
   
   <h1>@message</h1>
   <button @onclick="ChangeMessage">Click Me</button>
   
   @code {
       private void ChangeMessage()
       {
           message = "You clicked the button!";
       }
   }
   

3. Save the file. You’ve now created a simple Blazor component that displays a message and updates it when a button is clicked.

---

Step 3: Use the Component in Your Application

1. Open the Pages/Index.razor file.
2. Add the following line to include your new component:

   <HelloWorld />
   

3. Save the file and run the application again:

   dotnet run
   

4. Navigate to the home page, and you’ll see your HelloWorld component in action.

---

Step 4: Customize the Component

You can enhance your component by:

1. Adding Parameters:

   @code {
       [Parameter]
       public string InitialMessage { get; set; } = "Hello, Blazor!";
   }
   
   <h1>@InitialMessage</h1>
   

   This allows you to pass a custom message to the component when using it:

   <HelloWorld InitialMessage="Welcome to Blazor!" />
   

2. Styling with CSS: Create a HelloWorld.razor.css file and add styles:

   h1 {
       color: blue;
   }
   
   button {
       background-color: lightgray;
       border: none;
       padding: 10px;
       cursor: pointer;
   }
   

---

Conclusion

You’ve just created your first Blazor component! This foundational knowledge can be expanded upon to build complex, reusable components for your web applications. Keep exploring Blazor’s features, such as event handling, dependency injection, and more, to harness its full potential.

Happy coding!

How do I copy paste to blogger google post