Active Server Pages
Encyclopedia
Active Server Pages also known as Classic ASP or ASP Classic, was Microsoft
's first server-side
script engine
for dynamically-generated Web pages
. Initially released as an add-on to Internet Information Services
(IIS) via the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack (ca. 1998), it was subsequently included as a free component of Windows Server (since the initial release of Windows 2000 Server). ASP.NET
has superseded ASP.
ASP 2.0 provided six built-in objects
: Application, ASPError, Request, Response, Server, and Session.
session
that maintains the state of variables
from page to page. The Active Scripting
engine's support of the Component Object Model
(COM) enables ASP Website
s to access functionality in compiled libraries such as DLLs
.
Pages with the .aspx extension use compiled ASP.NET
(based on Microsoft's .NET Framework
), which makes them faster and more robust than server-side scripting
in ASP, which is interpreted at run-time; however, ASP.NET pages may still include some ASP scripting. The introduction of ASP.NET led to use of the term Classic ASP for the original technology.
Programmers write most ASP pages using VBScript
, but any other Active Scripting engine can be selected instead with the @Language directive or the
(Microsoft's implementation of ECMAScript
) is the other language that is usually available. PerlScript
(a derivative of Perl
) and others are available as third-party installable Active Scripting engines.
Example of these include:
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's first server-side
Server-side scripting
Server-side scripting is a web server technology in which a user's request is verified by running a script directly on the web server to generate dynamic web pages. It is usually used to provide interactive web sites that interface to databases or other data stores. This is different from...
script engine
Active Scripting
Active Scripting is the technology used in Windows to implement component-based scripting support. It is based on COM and allows installation of additional scripting engines in the form of COM modules.-Uses and history:The Active Scripting technologies were first released in 1996, with the...
for dynamically-generated Web pages
Dynamic web page
A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh information , for each individual viewing. It is not static because it changes with the time , the user , the user interaction , the context A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh...
. Initially released as an add-on to Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
(IIS) via the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack (ca. 1998), it was subsequently included as a free component of Windows Server (since the initial release of Windows 2000 Server). ASP.NET
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is a Web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic Web sites, Web applications and Web services. It was first released in January 2002 with version 1.0 of the .NET Framework, and is the successor to Microsoft's Active Server Pages ...
has superseded ASP.
ASP 2.0 provided six built-in objects
Object (computer science)
In computer science, an object is any entity that can be manipulated by the commands of a programming language, such as a value, variable, function, or data structure...
: Application, ASPError, Request, Response, Server, and Session.
Session, for example, represents a cookie-basedHTTP cookie
A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site...
session
Session (computer science)
In computer science, in particular networking, a session is a semi-permanent interactive information interchange, also known as a dialogue, a conversation or a meeting, between two or more communicating devices, or between a computer and user . A session is set up or established at a certain point...
that maintains the state of variables
Variable (programming)
In computer programming, a variable is a symbolic name given to some known or unknown quantity or information, for the purpose of allowing the name to be used independently of the information it represents...
from page to page. The Active Scripting
Active Scripting
Active Scripting is the technology used in Windows to implement component-based scripting support. It is based on COM and allows installation of additional scripting engines in the form of COM modules.-Uses and history:The Active Scripting technologies were first released in 1996, with the...
engine's support of the Component Object Model
Component Object Model
Component Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
(COM) enables ASP Website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s to access functionality in compiled libraries such as DLLs
Dynamic-link library
Dynamic-link library , or DLL, is Microsoft's implementation of the shared library concept in the Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems...
.
Summary
Web pages with the .asp file extension use ASP, although some Web sites disguise their choice of scripting language for security purposes (e.g. still using the more common .htm or .html extension).Pages with the .aspx extension use compiled ASP.NET
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is a Web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic Web sites, Web applications and Web services. It was first released in January 2002 with version 1.0 of the .NET Framework, and is the successor to Microsoft's Active Server Pages ...
(based on Microsoft's .NET Framework
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
), which makes them faster and more robust than server-side scripting
Server-side scripting
Server-side scripting is a web server technology in which a user's request is verified by running a script directly on the web server to generate dynamic web pages. It is usually used to provide interactive web sites that interface to databases or other data stores. This is different from...
in ASP, which is interpreted at run-time; however, ASP.NET pages may still include some ASP scripting. The introduction of ASP.NET led to use of the term Classic ASP for the original technology.
Programmers write most ASP pages using VBScript
VBScript
VBScript is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It is designed as a “lightweight” language with a fast interpreter for use in a wide variety of Microsoft environments...
, but any other Active Scripting engine can be selected instead with the @Language directive or the
<script language="language" runat="server"> syntax. JScriptJScript
JScript is a scripting language based on the ECMAScript standard that is used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer.JScript is implemented as a Windows Script engine. This means that it can be "plugged in" to any application that supports Windows Script, such as Internet Explorer, Active Server Pages,...
(Microsoft's implementation of ECMAScript
ECMAScript
ECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
) is the other language that is usually available. PerlScript
PerlScript
PerlScript was initially solely an ActiveX Scripting Engine produced by the company ActiveState for use with Microsoft's Internet Information Services that allows for programmers to use Perl-based code in addition to, or in place of, VBScript or JScript in the context of web servers running the...
(a derivative of Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
) and others are available as third-party installable Active Scripting engines.
Alternative implementations
There are only a few alternative implementations, and most of them are implemented in Java. Unlike the Mono ASP.NET implementation, these versions tend to be quite different compared to the Microsoft interpreter, so not all scripts written for the Microsoft platform may be supported.Example of these include:
- Sun ONESun ONESun ONE was a brand under which Sun Microsystems used to market server software products. Sun ONE stands for Sun Open Net Environment.The Sun ONE brand was primarily used for products that resulted from Sun's alliance with Netscape Communications Corporation...
Active Server Pages
This implementation was discontinued and is no longer available. Some older versions still exist on the World Wide Web. - Arrowhead ASP
This is a Java Servlet which supports the ASP syntax and VBScript. The latest release is 0.2.3, released on June 14, 2004. - Cloudfoundry ASP
This is a forkFork (software development)In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
of the Arrowhead ASP implementation with updated libraries and optimizations for the Cloud FoundryCloud FoundryCloud Foundry is free, open source cloud computing platform as a service software developed by VMware released as free software under the terms of the Apache License 2.0. Written in Ruby....
platform. It seems to be quite recent, but the differences with Arrowhead are few.