What does EnsureChildControls really Ensure?

[Sally]

EnsureChildControls makes sure CreateChildControls() is called

So then the children are "created"

What does "created" actually mean? Is only Constructor() call?
OnInit()? OnLoad()? ...?

Guessing EnsureChildControls() is recursive. Are the grandchildren
"created" to?

 

[John Saunders]

Created means at least created and added to the parent's Controls
collection.

EnsureChildControls isn't recursive at all. Its little more than this:

if (!ChildControlsCreated)
{
CreateChildControls();
ChildControlsCreated = true;
}

Whether or when grandchild controls are created depends on the child
controls. If the child happens to call EnsureChildControls, then the
children of that child will be created.