What Is ASPNET, and Why Is It So Great in Visual Studio .NET

Encoder GTIN - 12 in Visual Studio .NET What Is ASPNET, and Why Is It So Great

ASPNET is inherently object-oriented If you re new to programming, that probably doesn t mean much But if you re familiar with programming and have worked with object-oriented programming languages such as C++ or Java, you ll appreciate the benefits immediately ASPNET applications are made up from self-contained programming elements called objects Simply put (don t you love it when you read that in a computer book ), an object is a programming entity that represents either some real-world object or an abstract concept In ASPNET, the most common type of object is a Page, which represents (you guessed it) an HTML page that can be displayed in a Web browser Each ASPNET page is derived from a class called SystemWebPage (The term class refers to the code you write to define an object such as a page For more information about what this means, refer to 3 of this mini-book) A major attraction of ASPNET s object orientation is that it allows you to take advantage of a vast library of predefined classes known as the NET Framework (The part with the extra period is pronounced DOT-net ) Many NET Framework classes are designed specifically for working with ASPNET for example, those that represent controls such as text boxes, radio buttons, and drop-down lists You ll also find classes that simplify the task of accessing data in a database Plus, you ll find a host of useful, general-purpose classes that aren t specifically related to Web applications (For more information about such classes, refer to Book 7)

Most Web-development platforms tie you to a specific language For example, Java-based tools such as Java Server Pages tie you to the Java language; other tools, such as ColdFusion, use their own proprietary languages But ASPNET gives you the choice of two languages to use for your Web pages: Visual Basic NET: Visual Basic NET (VBNET) is a modern version of the venerable Basic programming language Basic was originally intended as a limited language designed for beginners, but the current version of Visual Basic is as powerful a language as you ll find C#: C# (pronounced C-Sharp) is a relatively new language designed by Microsoft specifically for NET Its syntax is similar to Java, so if you re an experienced Java programmer, you won t have much trouble learning C# J#: Microsoft s version of Java This language isn t covered in this book, as it isn t used much for ASPNET development

One of the best features of ASPNET is Visual Studio, the integrated development environment that combines a Web-page editor, a code editor, a debugger, and several other development tools into one easy-to-use program The more you work with Visual Studio, the more you come to appreciate the many ways it simplifies the job of creating ASPNET Web applications Figure 1-1 shows an ASPNET Web application being developed in Visual Studio, using a what-you-see-is-what-you-get Web-page editor This approach is especially useful for designing Web pages by dragging and dropping controls such as labels, text boxes, and buttons onto the page If you prefer to work directly with code, you can switch to Source view, call up the HTML that defines the application s pages, and edit it directly

For more about how Visual Studio works, dig into 3 of this minibook; no need to obsess over it just now

One crucial point to understand about Web applications is that they work by using both client and server software:

The client is a Web browser that runs on the end-user s computer In most cases, the Web browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer, but other programs such as Mozilla Firefox can be used as the client The server is software that runs on the server computer that hosts the Web application For ASPNET applications, the server software is always Microsoft Internet Information Services (also known as IIS) The server computer must also have Microsoft NET Framework software installed, as ASPNET is a part of the NET Framework The server computer also typically has database server software (such as Microsoft SQL Server) installed In some cases, the database server may run on a separate computer to improve the main server machine s performance You ll run into these two other alphabet-soup buzzwords constantly as you develop ASPNET applications: HTML (short for Hypertext Markup Language) is a standardized set of markup tags used to format the Web pages displayed by a Web browser HTTP (short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the standardized protocol that Web browsers and Web servers use to communicate with each other You ll learn more about how HTTP works in the next section