ASP.NET is the latest version of Microsoft''''s Active Server Pages technology (ASP).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What You Should Already Know
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
WWW, HTML, XML and the basics of building Web pages
Scripting languages like JavaScript or VBScript
The basics of server side scripting like ASP or PHP
If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is Classic ASP?
Microsoft''''s previous server side scripting technology ASP (Active Server Pages) is now often called classic ASP.
ASP 3.0 was the last version of the classic ASP.
To learn more about classic ASP, you can study our ASP tutorial.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASP.NET is Not ASP
ASP.NET is the next generation ASP, but it''''s not an upgraded version of ASP.
ASP.NET is an entirely new technology for server-side scripting. It was written from the ground up and is not backward compatible with classic ASP.
You can read more about the differences between ASP and ASP.NET in the next chapter of this tutorial.
ASP.NET is the major part of the Microsoft''''s .NET Framework.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is ASP.NET?
ASP.NET is a server side scripting technology that enables scripts (embedded in web pages) to be executed by an Internet server.
ASP.NET is a Microsoft Technology
ASP stands for Active Server Pages
ASP.NET is a program that runs inside IIS
IIS (Internet Information Services) is Microsoft''''s Internet server
IIS comes as a free component with Windows servers
IIS is also a part of Windows 2000 and XP Professional
What is an ASP.NET File?
An ASP.NET file is just the same as an HTML file
An ASP.NET file can contain HTML, XML, and scripts
Scripts in an ASP.NET file are executed on the server
An ASP.NET file has the file extension ".aspx"
How Does ASP.NET Work?
When a browser requests an HTML file, the server returns the file
When a browser requests an ASP.NET file, IIS passes the request to the ASP.NET engine on the server
The ASP.NET engine reads the file, line by line, and executes the scripts in the file
Finally, the ASP.NET file is returned to the browser as plain HTML
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is ASP+?
ASP+ is the same as ASP.NET.
ASP+ is just an early name used by Microsoft when they developed ASP.NET.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Microsoft .NET Framework
The .NET Framework is the infrastructure for the Microsoft .NET platform.
The .NET Framework is an environment for building, deploying, and running Web applications and Web Services.
Microsoft''''s first server technology ASP (Active Server Pages), was a powerful and flexible "programming language". But it was too code oriented. It was not an application framework and not an enterprise development tool.
The Microsoft .NET Framework was developed to solve this problem.
.NET Frameworks keywords:
Easier and quicker programming
Reduced amount of code
Declarative programming model
Richer server control hierarchy with events
Larger class library
Better support for development tools
The .NET Framework consists of 3 main parts:
Programming languages:
C# (Pronounced C sharp)
Visual Basic (VB .NET)
J# (Pronounced J sharp)
Server technologies and client technologies:
ASP .NET (Active Server Pages)
Windows Forms (Windows desktop solutions)
Compact Framework (PDA / Mobile solutions)
Development environments:
Visual Studio .NET (VS .NET)
Visual Web Developer