ASP: A Demonstration

The actual interpretation of the web page by the ASP.DLL ISAPI filter is best explained by example. Example 1.1 shows a simple active server page, Sample.ASP. In this example, three pieces of server-side code, indicated in boldface, when executed on the server, create HTML that is sent to the client. This is a quick introduction. Don't worry if you don't understand exactly what is going on in this example; the details will be explained in Chapter 2.

Example 1.1. Sample.ASP, an Example of Processing Server-Side Script

                  <%@ LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" %>

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Sample ASP</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>

Good afternoon.<BR> 
Welcome to the sample. It is now approximately 
<%=Time( )%> at the server. Here are a couple of
demonstrations:<BR><BR><BR>

Some simple text formatting done using HTML:<BR>
<FONT SIZE = 1>Hello Size 1</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 2>Hello Size 2</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 3>Hello Size 3</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 4>Hello Size 4</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 5>Hello Size 5</FONT><BR>
<BR>
The same text formatting using server-side code:<BR>
<%
For intCounter = 1 to 5
%>
<FONT SIZE = <%=intCounter%>>
Hello Size <%=intCounter%></FONT><BR>
<%
Next
%>
<BR>
</BODY>
</HTML>

When the client receives the HTML result from the ASP script's execution, it resembles Figure 1.3.

Client-side view of Sample.ASP

Figure 1.3. Client-side view of Sample.ASP

If you were to view the HTML source behind this HTML, you would see the output in Example 1.2.

Example 1.2. Sample.HTM, the Output of Sample.ASP

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Sample ASP</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>

Good afternoon.<BR> 
Welcome to the sample. It is now approximately 
9:28:47 at the server. Here are a couple of
demonstrations:<BR><BR><BR>

Some simple text formatting done using HTML:<BR>
<FONT SIZE = 1>Hello Size 1</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 2>Hello Size 2</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 3>Hello Size 3</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 4>Hello Size 4</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 5>Hello Size 5</FONT><BR>
<BR>

The same text formatting using server-side code:<BR>
<FONT SIZE = 1>Hello Size 1</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 2>Hello Size 2</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 3>Hello Size 3</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 4>Hello Size 4</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE = 5>Hello Size 5</FONT><BR>
<BR>

</BODY>
</HTML>

The server accepted the request, ASP.DLL interpreted and executed the server-side script and created HTML. The HTML is sent to the client, where it appears indistinguishable from straight HTML code.

As mentioned earlier, you will learn more about server-side scripting and how it works in Chapter 2.

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