Introduction to ASP / PDF

What is ASP?

ASP stands for Active Server Pages
ASP is a Microsoft Technology
ASP is a program that runs inside IIS
IIS stands for Internet Information Services
IIS comes as a free component with Windows 2000
IIS is also a part of the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack
The Option Pack can be downloaded from Microsoft
PWS is a smaller - but fully functional - version of IIS
PWS can be found on your Windows 95/98 CD

ASP Compatibility

To run IIS you must have Windows NT 4.0 or later
To run PWS you must have Windows 95 or later
ChiliASP is a technology that runs ASP without Windows OS
InstantASP is another technology that runs ASP without Windows

What is an ASP File?

An ASP file is just the same as an HTML file
An ASP file can contain text, HTML, XML, and scripts
Scripts in an ASP file are executed on the server
An ASP file has the file extension ".asp"

How Does ASP Differ from HTML?

When a browser requests an HTML file, the server returns the file
When a browser requests an ASP file, IIS passes the request to the ASP engine. The ASP engine reads the ASP file, line by line, and executes the scripts in the file. Finally, the ASP file is returned to the browser as plain HTML

What can ASP do for you?

Dynamically edit, change, or add any content of a Web page
Respond to user queries or data submitted from HTML forms
Access any data or databases and return the results to a browser
Customize a Web page to make it more useful for individual users
The advantages of using ASP instead of CGI and Perl, are those of simplicity and speed
Provide security - since ASP code cannot be viewed from the browser
Clever ASP programming can minimize the network traffic

Note: Because ASP scripts are executed on the server, the browser that displays the ASP file does not need to support scripting at all!

Run ASP on Your Own PC

You can run ASP on your own PC.

Your Windows PC as a Web Server

Your own PC can act as a web server if you install IIS or PWS
IIS or PWS turns your computer into a web server
Microsoft IIS and PWS are free web server components

IIS - Internet Information Server

IIS is a set of Internet-based services for servers created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows.
IIS comes with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. It is also available for Windows NT.
IIS is easy to install and ideal for developing and testing web applications.

PWS - Personal Web Server

PWS is for older Windows system like Windows 95, 98, and NT.
PWS is easy to install and can be used for developing and testing web applications including ASP.
We don't recommend running PWS for anything else than training. It is outdated and has security issues.

Windows Web Server Versions

Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate come with IIS 7
Windows Vista Home Premium comes with IIS 7
Windows Vista Home Edition does not support PWS or IIS
Windows XP Professional comes with IIS 5.1
Windows XP Home Edition does not support IIS or PWS
Windows 2000 Professional comes with IIS 5.0
Windows NT Professional comes with IIS 3 and also supports IIS 4
Windows NT Workstation supports PWS and IIS 3
Windows ME does not support PWS or IIS
Windows 98 comes with PWS
Windows 95 supports PWS

How to Install IIS on Windows Vista

Follow these steps to install IIS on Windows Vista:

1. Open the Control Panel from the Start menu

2. Double-click Programs and Features

3. Click "Turn Windows features on or off" (a link to the left)

4. Select the check box for Internet Information Services (IIS), and click OK

After you have installed IIS, make sure you install all patches for bugs and security problems. (Run Windows Update).

How to Install IIS on Windows XP and Windows 2000

Follow these steps to install IIS on Windows XP and Windows 2000:

1. On the Start menu, click Settings and select Control Panel

2. Double-click Add or Remove Programs

3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components

4. Click Internet Information Services (IIS)

5. Click Details

6. Select the check box for World Wide Web Service, and click OK

7. In Windows Component selection, click Next to install IIS

After you have installed IIS, make sure you install all patches for bugs and security problems. (Run Windows Update).

Test Your Web

After you have installed IIS or PWS follow these steps:

1. Look for a new folder called Inetpub on your hard drive

2. Open the Inetpub folder, and find a folder named wwwroot

3. Create a new folder, like "MyWeb", under wwwroot

4. Write some ASP code and save the file as "test1.asp" in the new folder

5. Make sure your Web server is running (see below)

6. Open your browser and type "http://localhost/MyWeb/test1.asp", to view your first web page

Note: Look for the IIS (or PWS) symbol in your start menu or task bar. The program has functions for starting and stopping the web server, disable and enable ASP, and much more.

How to install PWS on Windows 95, 98, and Windows NT

For Windows 98: Open the Add-ons folder on your Windows CD, find the PWS folder and run setup.exe to install PWS.
For Windows 95 or Windows NT: Download "Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack" from Microsoft, and install PWS.
Test your web as described above.

How to install IIS on Windows Server 2003

1. When you start the Windows Server 2003, you should see the Manage Your Server wizard

2. If the wizard is not displayed, go to Administrative Tools, and select Manage Your Server

3. In the wizard, click Add or Remove a Role, click Next

4. Select Custom Configuration, click Next

5. Select Application Server role, click Next

6. Select Enable ASP.NET, click Next

7. Now, the wizard may ask for the Server 2003 CD. Insert the CD and let it run until it is finished, then click the Finish button

8. The wizard should now show the Application Server role installed

9. Click on Manage This Application Server to bring up the Application Server Management Console (MMC)

10. Expand the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, then expand your server, and then the Web Sites folder

11. You should see the Default Web Site, and it should not say (Stopped)

12. IIS is running!

13. In the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager click on the Web Service Extensions folder

14. Here you will see that Active Server Pages are Prohibited (this is the default configuration of IIS 6)

15. Highlight Active Server Pages and click the Allow button

16. ASP is now active!

ASP Basic Syntax Rules

In our ASP tutorial, every example shows the hidden ASP source code. This will make it easier for you to understand how it works.......