What Is ASP.NET?

The original definition of ASP.NET, right at the start of the chapter, portrayed ASP.NET as a powerful and flexible technology for creating dynamic Web pages, and this still holds true. However, as you now know, it isn't the only way to deliver dynamic Web pages, so let's refine our definition a little so it reads as follows:

ASP.NET is a powerful and flexible server-side technology for creating dynamic Web pages.

Secondly, ASP.NET is only one of a set of technologies that comprise the .NET Framework. For now, you can think of this as a giant toolkit for creating all sorts of applications, and in particular, for creating applications on the Web. When you install ASP.NET, you will also install the .NET Framework at the same time. You will use bits and pieces of the .NET Framework throughout this book. In fact, you can also use the old versions of ASP with the .NET Framework, so why are we not using that instead?

How Does ASP.NET Differ from ASP?

ASP is restricted to using scripting languages, mainly JavaScript or VBScript (although it can be any scripting language supported by the Windows system). Scripting languages are like cut-down or junior versions of full programming languages in that they aren't as powerful and don't support all the features of full programming languages. In addition, when you add ASP code to your pages, you do it in the same way as you would do client-side script, and this leads to problems such as messy coding and restricted functionality.

ASP.NET has no such problems. It allows you to use a far greater selection of full programming
languages and fully utilize the rich potential of the .NET Framework. It helps you create faster, more reliable, dynamic Web pages with any of the programming languages supported by the .NET Framework. Typical languages supported natively are C#, VB .NET and JScript.NET (a new version of Jscript). On top of this, it is expected that third party developers will create versions of Perl, Python, and many others to work in ASP.NET.

Secondly, ASP.NET comes with a far greater set of controls that you can place on a page without any extra ASP.NET coding. With classic ASP, programmers tended to rely on six objects, such as Request and Response to do everything and a couple of extra components that came with ASP. With ASP.NET, things are more jargon free. If you want to put a button on your page, you put an ASP.NET Button control on your page, and if you want a text box, you place an ASP.NET TextBox control. ASP.NET comes with a rich set of controls that can be applied to many common development scenarios.

A third and final reason is the separation of your ASP.NET code from your HTML. It's a commonly cited reason, if not always a well-explained one. Designers and developers play two very different roles in Web development. For instance, a developer could program a lottery number generator, but probably couldn't design a logo for a company. It makes sense to keep these two disciplines separate.

However, in ASP they aren't separate. The ASP code is sprinkled liberally between the HTML lines, like nuts over an ice cream sundae. That might be fine, unless you happen to be allergic to nuts. Now stretching this allegory a bit, it's quite common for designers to need to tinker with the actual HTML code on a Web site, but how can they alter it with confidence, if it's totally interspersed with the ASP code? In ASP.NET, you can keep the ASP code and HTML in separate files, making both the developer and the designer's life much simpler.


Using C# with ASP.NET

ASP.NET has been described as a technology and not a language, and this is an important distinction! ASP.NET pages can be made from one of many languages. However, you are not expected to know many different languages, nor are we going to teach them to you. This book uses just one language, C#, to demonstrate ASP.NET. We've chosen C# as it's arguably the most concise, and it can do just about anything that the other .NET languages can. Lastly and most importantly, C# comes free with ASP.NET – so when you install ASP.NET you get C# as well!

At this stage you may be thinking, "Hang on, I've got to figure out C#, then I've got to get a handle on ASP.NET – that sounds like an awful lot to learn." Don't worry; you won't be learning two languages. ASP.NET, as we said right from the beginning, is not a language – it is a technology. This technology is accessible via a programming language. What we're going to be doing is teaching you ASP.NET features as we teach you C#. In other words, you will be creating your Web pages using C# and using ASP.NET to drive it. However, before you rush out and get a C# book instead, remember that this book will approach the language from the angle of creating dynamic Web pages only.

ASP.NET is a server-side technology that lets you use fully fledged programming
languages to create your Web pages.