What Is ASP Programming?
Active Server Pages (ASP) is Microsoft's server-side programming language. Its functionality is similar to other scripting languages, such as Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP). ASP coding takes place inside HTML pages and is executed when those pages are viewed through a browser.
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ASP Operation Flow
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ASP code is written inside of normal HTML pages. When a browser fetches the page, the ASP code is read by the server and executed. Because it is a server-side programming language, the code isn't visible in the browser's source code. ASP pages general end with .asp.
ASP Scripting
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When a server has the capability to execute ASP pages, ASP code can be entered into HTML pages between the starting and stopping "signals" that look like this: <% and %>. The HTML file must be saved with the proper extension (usually .asp) so the server recognizes and executes the code.
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ASP Server Requirements
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The ASP language requires Microsoft's IIS server to run optimally. Typical setups of Linux-based servers do not execute ASP code. To use ASP on a non-IIS server, Sun's Java System Web Server can be used.
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References
Resources
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