What is ASP?

Issue: I've been hearing about ASP. What is it? Can I develop one with Visual Basic?

ASP stands for Active Server Pages. ASP are text files that can contain both server-side scripting and client-side scripting. The server-side runs under Internet Information Server (IIS) and there are also versions that run under UNIX. Frequently, the purpose of the server-side code is to build hypertext markup language (HTML) tags that will be sent to browser. Any client-side scripting in the ASP are then executed by the browser. Frequently, this client-side scripting is done with JavaScript, but it can also be done with VBScript.

How do I use the ASP object model?

Issue: I would like to use ASP. How do I work with its object model?

The object model for ASP is relatively straightforward. <This text is under construction.>

A few tips on the object model:

• Response.Buffer: The Buffer property of the Response object is a Boolean value that defines whether or not you want to buffer the entire response until the page processing is complete. Normally, you set this value to False so the page begins to display immediately, giving the impression that the application has good response time. This is normally set to True if you absolutely need the full page processed before you begin to display results. This is true if you plan to redirect, write cookies, or alter the HTTP headers.
• Server.MapPath: The MapPath method of the Server object converts a virtual file name to a physical file name. This method is rather slow and the result should be buffered if possible to minimize the need to reexecute the method.