Introduction of asp.net

ASP.NET is more than the next version of Active Server Pages (ASP). it provides a unified Web development model that includes the services necessary for developers to build enterprise-class Web applications. While ASP.NET is largely syntax compatible with ASP, it also provides a new programming model and infrastructure for more scalable and stable applications that help provide greater protection. You can feel free to augment your existing ASP applications by incrementally adding ASP.NET functionality to them.

ASP.NET is a compiled, .NET-based environment; you can author applications in any .NET compatible language, including Visual Basic .NET, C#, and Java Script .NET. Additionally, the entire .NET Framework is available to any ASP.NET application. Developers can easily access the benefits of these technologies, which include the managed common language runtime environment, type safety, inheritance, and so on.

ASP.NET has been designed to work seamlessly with WYSIWYG HTML editors and other programming tools, including Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Not only does this make Web development easier, but it also provides all the benefits that these tools have to offer, including a GUI that developers can use to drop server controls onto a Web page and fully integrated debugging support.

Developers can use Web Forms or XML Web services when creating an ASP.NET application, or combine these in any way they see fit. Each is supported by the same infrastructure that allows you to use authentication schemes, cache frequently used data, or customize your application's configuration, to name only a few possibilities. 

 Advantages of ASP.NET :

•     Separation of Code from HTML

    To make a clean sweep, with ASP.NET you have the ability to completely separate layout and business logic. This makes it much easier for teams of programmers and designers to collaborate efficiently. This makes it much easier for teams of programmers and designers to collaborate efficiently. 

•     Support for compiled languages

    developer can use VB.NET and access features such as strong typing and object-oriented programming. Using compiled languages also means that ASP.NET pages do not suffer the performance penalties associated with interpreted code. ASP.NET pages are precompiled to byte-code and Just In Time (JIT) compiled when first requested. Subsequent requests are directed to the fully compiled code, which is cached until the source changes.

•     Use services provided by the .NET Framework

    The .NET Framework provides class libraries that can be used by your application. Some of the key classes help you with input/output, access to operating system services, data access, or even debugging. We will go into more detail on some of them in this module.

•     Graphical Development Environment

    Visual Studio .NET provides a very rich development environment for Web
    developers. You can drag and drop controls and set properties the way you do in Visual Basic 6. And you have full IntelliSense support, not only for your code, but also for HTML and XML.

•     State management

    To refer to the problems mentioned before, ASP.NET provides solutions for session and application state management. State information can, for example, be kept in memory or stored in a database. It can be shared across Web farms, and state information can be recovered, even if the server fails or the connection breaks down.

•     Update files while the server is running!

    Components of your application can be updated while the server is online and clients are connected. The Framework will use the new files as soon as they are copied to the application. Removed or old files that are still in use are kept in memory until the clients have finished.

•     XML-Based Configuration Files

    Configuration settings in ASP.NET are stored in XML files that you can easily read and edit. You can also easily copy these to another server, along with the other files that comprise your application.