What is ASP.NET?

If you have worked with classic Microsoft ASP (Active Server Pages), you may have noticed that Microsoft now includes a new web development platform called ASP.NET as part of the .NET Framework.

Unlike classic ASP, ASP.NET applications are compiled and execute under the Common Language Runtime (CLR).

A simple ASP.NET page looks like this:

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>

<script runat="server">
    void Page_Load()
    {
        Response.Write("Hello from ASP.NET");
    }
</script>

ASP.NET supports multiple programming languages, including C# and Visual Basic .NET.

Configuration is stored in XML format in a file called web.config.

Applications are deployed by copying files to the web server. Assemblies are typically stored in the application's bin directory.

C:\InetPub\wwwroot\MyApplication\bin

ASP.NET also introduces server controls, compiled code, and improved state management compared to classic ASP.

ASP.NET looks very good platform for building larger web applications that would be difficult to maintain using script-only solutions.