What Is Classic ASP
What Is Classic ASP
Microsoft's previous server side scripting technology ASP (Active Server Pages) is now often
called classic ASP.
To learn more about classic ASP, you can study our ASP tutorial.
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.
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.
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 .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.
Programming languages:
C# (Pronounced C sharp)
Visual Basic (VB .NET)
J# (Pronounced J sharp)
Development environments:
ASP.NET 2.0
ASP.NET 2.0 improves upon ASP.NET by adding support for several new features.
You can read more about the differences between ASP.NET 2.0 and ASP.NET in the next
chapter of this tutorial.
ASP.NET 3.0
ASP.NET 3.0 is not a new version of ASP.NET. It's just the name for a new ASP.NET 2.0
framework library with support for Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows
Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation; and Windows CardSpace.
ASP.NET has better language support, a large set of new controls, XML-based components, and
better user authentication.
New in ASP.NET
Better language support
Programmable controls
Event-driven programming
XML-based components
User authentication, with accounts and roles
Higher scalability
Increased performance - Compiled code
Easier configuration and deployment
Not fully ASP compatible
Language Support
ASP.NET uses ADO.NET.
ASP.NET Controls
ASP.NET contains a large set of HTML controls. Almost all HTML elements on a page can be
defined as ASP.NET control objects that can be controlled by scripts.
ASP.NET also contains a new set of object-oriented input controls, like programmable list-boxes
and validation controls.
A new data grid control supports sorting, data paging, and everything you can expect from a
dataset control.
Load, Click and Change events handled by code makes coding much simpler and much better
organized.
ASP.NET Components
ASP.NET components are heavily based on XML. Like the new AD Rotator, that uses XML to
store advertisement information and configuration.
User Authentication
ASP.NET supports form-based user authentication, cookie management, and automatic
redirecting of unauthorized logins.
High Scalability
Much has been done with ASP.NET to provide greater scalability.
Compiled Code
The first request for an ASP.NET page on the server will compile the ASP.NET code and keep a
cached copy in memory. The result of this is greatly increased performance.
Easy Configuration
Configuration of ASP.NET is done with plain text files.
Configuration files can be uploaded or changed while the application is running. No need to
restart the server. No more metabase or registry puzzle.
Easy Deployment
No more server-restart to deploy or replace compiled code. ASP.NET simply redirects all new
requests to the new code.
Compatibility
ASP.NET is not fully compatible with earlier versions of ASP, so most of the old ASP code will
need some changes to run under ASP.NET.
To overcome this problem, ASP.NET uses a new file extension ".aspx". This will make
ASP.NET applications able to run side by side with standard ASP applications on the same
server.