Chapter 1. Conceptual Framework

ASP.NET IS THE NEXT STAGE IN THE Active Server Page evolutionary process. It extends the existing ASP framework into a whole new realm of power. Now you can use ASP in a true three-tier architecture. With ASP.NET, you will be able to harness the power of a true programming language, such as Visual Basic .NET or C#, instead of VBScript. Is ASP.NET easy to use? Yes. Is it the same as ASP? Not even close. But do not fret. In this chapter, we discuss some of the new features of the ASP.NET framework and show how it differs from the ASP framework that you currently know and love—or at least know and use. First we focus on server-side events, and then we discuss new language options for use with the .NET version of ASP.