page_load is before the viewstate is reinstated, and prerender after
the viewstate is restored before the page is drawn to the reposnse
stream.
Actually, this is not correct. Page_Load happens *after* ViewState and PostData
is set into all of your server side controls by ASP.NET (modulo any dynamic
controls being created on the page). Page_Init is the event fired prior to
ViewState and PostData being reinstated. Page_Load is where you typically
do any page wide initilization. Page_PreRedner is the last even you have
a chance to handle prior to the page's state being rendered into HTML. Page_Load
is the more typical event to work with. I can't think of a single time I've
needed to handle Page_PreRender in the 4+ years I've been doing ASP.NET (not
to say there aren't situations, but they're more rare than using Page_Load).