ASP FAQ
What browsers does ASP work with?
Active Server Pages can work with any Web browser, as the output of an ASP file is plain HTML.
Can ASP maintain state?
Yes. ASP enables you to define application and session variables that can be carried across multiple pages in a Web site. This functionality is particularly important for E-commerce sites, as it enables you to track product selections.
Is ASP secure?
Yes. Because ASP is a component of IIS, it uses Windows Security. You can also restrict ASP to selected users using Windows authentication, basic Web authentication or client-side certificates. For additional security, you can use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to secure all client-to-server communications.
What data sources can my Web application integrate with?
An ASP application can integrate with any ODBC-compliant databases including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix and DB2 databases. Any OLE 2 application, such as Lotus Notes or Microsoft Excel, can also be scripted to access or process information.
How does Active Server Pages compare to CGI?
ASP provides all of the functionality of CGI applications in an easier-to-use and more robust environment. ASP is an easier way for your server to access information in a form not readable by the client (such as an SQL database) and then produce data that the client can view and use.
With CGI, the server creates as many processes as the number of client requests received. The more concurrent requests there are, the more concurrent processes created by the server. However, creating a process for every request is time-consuming and requires large amounts of server RAM. In addition, this can restrict the resources available for sharing from the server application itself, slowing down performance and increasing wait times on the Web.
How does ASP compare to ISAPI applications?
ISAPI applications require all of the programming and layout to be contained in a .dll file written in C++. With ASP files, an HTML writer can script an external component and format the output.
Can ASP files use Java?
Yes. Active Server Pages supports ActiveX server components written in any language, including Java. In addition, ASP includes the Microsoft Windows reference standard Java Virtual Machine.