ASP or ASP.NET?

Kappo · Jun 2, 2003

I am looking to expand my web programming capabilities a bit and I was curious as to an opinion on some things. My first natural progression for what I want to do is with ASP (creating data-driven sites). PHP is not an option. Cost is not a concern as my job will buy just about anything I fill out the form for. Having a strong grasp of SQL, HTML, CSS, SSI and things similar would it be a good idea to go with VBScript/ASP or VB/ASP.NET? I am not opposed to progressing to .NET but I am curious as to if I should even bother.
I know some people will say JavaScript/ASP but thats not an option either. As far as I can tell it comes down to VBScript/ASP, which is easier to learn, but ONLY works on MS products (unless you use netscape, then you can download a plugin) or VB.NET/ASP which will do everything on the server and is more cross browser compatable, but looks much more difficult to learn.
I already have a good sybex book on both, but keep in mind I am not a programmer. Yet

I could honestly care less about any standalone applications built as an executable. My only real intrest is in web programming. Any opinions or comments would be greatly appreciated!

MrChad · Jun 2, 2003

I think you have some misconceptions about ASP and .NET.

As far as I can tell it comes down to VBScript/ASP, which is easier to learn, but ONLY works on MS products (unless you use netscape, then you can download a plugin) or VB.NET/ASP which will do everything on the server and is more cross browser compatable, but looks much more difficult to learn.

ASP is 100% cross-browser compatible as a server-side language. All ASP code is processed on the server, and the resulting HTML is transmitted to the browser. As long as the HTML that is outputted (which you the programmer control) is cross-browser compatible, your ASP site should work with any browser you throw at it.

ASP allows you to write code using VBScript syntax or JavaScript syntax. Both types have the same capabilities; it really comes down to which syntax you're more comfortable with. VBScript is used more often, and that's what you'll find most ASP sample code written in. This is NOT to be confused with client-side scripting languages.

<html>
....<head>
........<script language="VBScript"></script>
........<script language="JavaScript"></script>
....</head>
</html>

You can write client-side scripts (executed by the browser) in both VBScript and JavaScript. In this case, VBScript is Microsoft-exclusive, and is not recommended.

ASP.NET has some great capabilities that extend beyond the limitations of VBScript/ASP. Like ASP, ASP.NET allows you to choose VB syntax or C# syntax. C# is becoming the preferred syntax type, but both types have the same capabilities. I would recommend learning ASP.NET and C#, which will be a great stepping stone for building more advanced web applications (such as .NET web services) and which will give you some highly marketable skills.

DaveSimmons · Jun 2, 2003

MrChad explained it perfectly. It might make sense to start with old ASP instead of ASP though if you are doing consulting, since ASP is currently offered by many more hosting companies and company servers than ASP.NET is.

Gnurb · Jun 2, 2003

Start with ASP even if you plan to move to ASP.NET eventually. It'll make .NET easier if you have a bit of an ASP background.

Descartes · Jun 2, 2003

Just for some clarification...

ASP and ASP.NET don't have syntaxes, they have languages. ASP can use any ActiveX scripting engine as a language (VBScript, JScript, Perl, and many others). ASP.NET in itself is just a collection of classes in the .NET Framework that are collectively referred to as ASP.NET (ok, there is a lot of plumbing involved as well, but that's outside the context of language discussion). You can use *any* .NET language in ASP.NET, and that includes: managed C++, VB.NET, C#, Perl, JScript, Eiffel, Ada, X#, F#, COBOL.NET, ad nauseum.

MrChad · Jun 2, 2003

Originally posted by: Descartes
Just for some clarification...

ASP and ASP.NET don't have syntaxes, they have languages. ASP can use any ActiveX scripting engine as a language (VBScript, JScript, Perl, and many others). ASP.NET in itself is just a collection of classes in the .NET Framework that are collectively referred to as ASP.NET (ok, there is a lot of plumbing involved as well, but that's outside the context of language discussion). You can use *any* .NET language in ASP.NET, and that includes: managed C++, VB.NET, C#, Perl, JScript, Eiffel, Ada, X#, F#, COBOL.NET, ad nauseum.

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ASP or ASP.NET?

Kappo

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MrChad

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DaveSimmons

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Gnurb

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Descartes

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MrChad

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