This section provides an overview of ASP.NET and introduces ASP.NET's server technology, development tools, and file extensions.
ASP, the full name of Active Server Pages (dynamic server pages), also known as classic ASP, was launched in 1998 as Microsoft's first server-side scripting engine.
ASP is a technology that allows scripts in web pages to be executed on an Internet server.
ASP pages have a file extension of .asp and are usually written in VBScript.
If you want to learn classic ASP, please visit our classic ASP tutorial.
ASP.NET is a new generation of ASP. It is incompatible with classic ASP, but ASP.NET may include classic ASP.
ASP.NET pages are compiled, which makes them run faster than classic ASP.
ASP.NET has better language support, a large set of user controls and XML-based components, and integrated user authentication.
The extension of ASP.NET pages is .aspx and is usually written in VB (Visual Basic) or C# (C sharp).
Controls in ASP.NET can be written in different languages, including C++ and Java.
When a browser requests an ASP.NET file, the ASP.NET engine reads the file, compiles and executes the script file, and returns the results to the browser as a normal HTML page.
Razor is a new, simple markup syntax for embedding server code into ASP.NET web pages, much like classic ASP.
Razor has the functionality of traditional ASP.NET, but is easier to use and easier to learn.
This tutorial introduces the following programming languages:
Visual Basic (VB.NET)
C# (pronounced: C sharp)
This tutorial covers the following server technologies
Web Pages (Razor Syntax)
MVC (Model-View-Controller)
Web Forms (traditional ASP.NET)
ASP.NET supports the following development tools:
WebMatrix
Visual Web Developer
Visual Studio
In this tutorial, the Web Pages tutorial uses WebMatrix, and the MVC tutorial and Web Forms tutorial use Visual Web Developer.
Classic ASP files have the file extension .asp
ASP.NET files have the file extension .aspx
ASP.NET files for Razor C# syntax have the file extension .cshtml
Razor VB syntax ASP.NET files have the file extension .vbhtml