Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The ASP.NET architecture uses the .NET Framework as infrastructure. The
.NET Framework is a managed runtime environment (like Java), providing a
virtual machine with JIT and a class library. Using the numerous .NET classes,
can cut down on development time.
There are several software packages available for developing ASP.NET
applications:
•
Visual Studio .NET
•
Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
•
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004
•
ASP.NET Web Matrix
CGI
CGI is the technology that allows a Web page to run scripts or programs on a
server. It is not a language in itself, rather it is a specification for allowing the
Web page to communicate with a Web server to write CGI applications in just
about any language. In simple terms, it is an attempt to allow a Web page to
interface with a Web server. HTML is very static and unchanging while the CGI
interface is dynamic and changing. Lets take a closer look and define exactly
what CGI is, what dynamic content is, and exactly how this all interacts with
both a Web server and a Web browser. CGI stands for “Common Gateway
Interface” and its major function is to define how Web servers and Web
browsers handle information from HTML forms on Web pages. Web servers
certainly have the capability of loading HTML pages that the user requests and
sending it to them. This is typically a static request. However, if the user is
requesting something more dynamic such as displaying information that may
change many times a day or asking the user for information and saving that
information to a database. These are prime examples of when we need the Web
server to run a program, perform a task, and then send a results page back to
the user's browser. A sample results page might be a feedback form that is used
by a viewer at a Web portfolio to comment on work or request more
information on the author.
After the form is completed and submitted by the user within the HTML page,
it is sent to the Web portfolio author. The results page may be different each
