Rebecca Smallwood
CS 80
Lab 25

ASP - Lab 25

ASP or Active Server Pages are a server side scripting language, created and supported by Microsoft. ASP pages are saved with an extension of .asp, and can include usual (X)HTML, with server side scripting code that is served dynamically. ASP can also be extended with the use of XML and COM (Component Object Model) to access and obtain secure information.

Files can easily be written in a normal text editor (but be certain that it is saved as .asp and not .txt), and should be uploaded to a webserver configured to run ASP files. Vbscript is often used for the dynamic scripting in the .asp page, and it has many useful already defined functions that can be used in the scripting. Variables need to have percentage symbols within the tags, like so: <%example%>. It is possible to use various logical commands, such as loops, and if/else. The language allows for inclusion of files that can contain functions or other needed data.

ASP is commonly used to process form information, tie in with an MS Access database, or manipulate data within an Excel spreadsheet. When using any outside data such as a database, especially if allowing users to change or add to the data, it's important to be certain that the server's security settings and permissions are set appropriately. Finally, ASP can also be especially useful for ecommerce solutions, such as banner rotations, and counting page hits.