Designing Active Server Pages

Active Server Pages (ASP) is one of the most popular and accessible methods for developing dynamic web pages. As the number of web pages grows and expands into entire web applications, performing such routine tasks as maintaining the pages, upgrading the scripts, and diagnosing and correcting bugs becomes a nightmare. Designing Active Server Pages shows ASP developers how to reuse code by looking for common functionality and by separating the presentation element of web pages from script. With a focus on techniques and features available in ASP 3.0 and VBScript 5.0+, topics include: • Including scripting blocks or code libraries using the #include server-side directive or the Server.Transfer method • Developing and using classes by using the ClassEnd Class construct added to VBScript 5.0 • Maximizing ASP's language independence by using another scripting language (like JScript, Perl, or Python) • Creating simple COM components to encapsulate common functionality by using the Microsoft Script Component Wizard • Taking advantage of existing third-party components to perform specialized operations Along with discussing the techniques for maximizing code reuse, Designing Active Server Pages provides concrete code examples that put these techniques into practice. Chapters indicate how to reuse code for HTML forms and for database access and maintenance, which are the two areas in which ASP programmers typically find themselves reinventing the wheel. Designing Active Server Pages is an indispensable resource for the ASP programmer who wants to make the transition from writing scripts one page at a time to developing powerful, modular, maintainable ASP pages.