What's the difference between login controls and Forms authentication?

Login controls are an easy way to implement Forms authentication without having to write any code. For example, the Login control performs the same functions you would normally perform when using the FormsAuthentication class—prompt for user credentials, validate them, and issue the authentication ticket—but with all the functionality wrapped in a control that you can just drag from the Toolbox in Visual Studio. Under the covers, the login control uses the FormsAuthentication class (for example, to issue the authentication ticket) and ASP.NET membership (to validate the user credentials). Naturally, you can still use Forms authentication yourself, and applications you have that currently use it will continue to run.