This document provides an introduction to ASP.NET, including what it is, how it differs from ASP, and its key components. ASP.NET is a server-side technology that uses fully-fledged programming languages supported by .NET to create dynamic web pages, unlike ASP which used scripting languages. ASP.NET pages contain both a user interface defined in HTML/server controls and a code behind file that contains the programming logic. It leverages the .NET Framework and common language runtime.

1. Introduction to ASP.NET
• Some references:
• Beginning ASP.NET using VB.NET; Wrox; 2002 chpt 2.
• Kalata, K, Introduction to ASP.NET – 2002, chpt 1.
• Esposito, D. Programming Microsoft ASP.NET, chpt 1.
• Morrison, M. and Morrison, J. Database driven web sites (2nd
edn). Chpt 6.
• VS.NET on line documentation + Quickstart tutorials
• What is ASP.NET and how is different from ASP
– ASP: server side technology for creating dynamic web pages
using scripting languages eg vb script.
– ASP.NET: server side technology for creating dynamic web
pages using Fully Fledged programming languages supported
by .NET
– VB.NET: our chosen language for writing ASP.NET pages

2. What is .NET?
• A Microsoft strategy and new technology for delivering software
services to the desktop and to the web
• Components include:
– MS Intermediate Language; all code is complied into a more abstract,
trimmed version before execution. All .NET languages are compiled to
MSIL – the common language of .NET
– The CLR- common language runtime; responsible for executing MSIL
code; interfaces to Windows and IIS
– A rich set of libraries (Framework Class Libraries) available to all .NET
languages
– The .NET languages such as C#, VB.NET etc that conform to CLR
– ASP.NET is how the Framework is exposed to the web, using IIS to
manage simple pages of code so that they can be complied into full .NET
programs. These generate HTML for the browser.
• Built on open protocols (XML, SOAP)
• Future for development of MS & non-MS based systems.
• Also heading towards the “Internet Operating System”

3. Common Language
Runtime Type System
Compilers use the runtime type system to produce type
compatible components
Components
C# VB C++ Compilers
Runtime Environment
Common Type System

4. Robust And Secure
• Native code compilation
 MSIL
 No interpreter
 Install-time or run-time IL to native compilation
• Code correctness and type-safety
 IL can be verified to guarantee type-safety
 No unsafe casts, no uninitialized variables, no out-of-bounds array
indexing
• Evidence-based security
 Policy grants permissions based on evidence (signatures, origin)

5. .NET Execution Model
VB VC ... Script
Native
IL
Code
Common Language Runtime
Standard JIT
Compiler
Native
Code

6. Common Language Runtime
• Lightweight Just-in-time compiler:
– MSIL to Native machine language; Can be ported to numerous platforms
• The compiled code is transformed into an intermediate language
called the Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL or IL)
• An integer in Visual Basic .NET or an int in C# are converted to
the same .NET data type, which is Int32
• The IL that is created is the same for all languages
• The assembly is the compiled .NET program
• The assembly contains the IL along with additional information
called metadata
• Metadata contains information about the assembly
• Use the IL Disassembler (ildasm.exe) to view the IL within an
assembly

7. Framework Overview
VB C++ C# JScript …
Common Language Specification
Visual Studio.NET
Web Forms
Win Forms
(ASP.NET)
Data and XML
Base Class Library
Common Language Runtime

8. .NET Framework Architecture
System.Web System.WinForms
Web Services Web Forms Controls Drawing
ASP.NET Application Services Windows Application Services
System Base Framework
ADO.NET XML SQL Threading
IO Net Security ServiceProcess
Common Language Runtime
Type System Metadata Execution

9. Namespace
• The base class libraries are organized into logical
groupings of code called namespaces
• A namespace is a hierarchical way to identify
resources in .NET
• The System object is at the top of the namespace
hierarchy, and all objects inherit from it
– ASP.NET: System.Web namespace
– WebForms: System.Web.UI namespace
– HTML Server Controls:
System.Web.UI.Control.HTMLControl
– ASP.NET Server Controls:
System.Web.UI.Control.WebControl

10. Importing Namespaces
• Visual Studio .NET adds references to your projects’
commonly used namespaces by default
• You can import the namespaces into your page using
the @Import directive
• The following is the syntax for importing a .NET
namespace
<%@ Import NamespaceName %>
• Below is a sample of how you would import the
ASP.NET Page class
<%@ Imports System.Web.UI.Page %>

11. Some ASP.NET namespaces
System Defines fundamental data types eg
system.string
System.Collections Definitions and classes for creating
various collections
System.IO File reading & writing operations
System.Web Support browser/server
communication
System.Web.UI Creates the Page object whenever
an .aspx page is requested
System.Web.UI.web Classes and definitions to create
controls server controls

12. ASP.NET – class browser
• ASP.NET provides a means of exposing the .NET
Framework and its functionality to the WWW
• Contains a number of pre-built types that take
input from .NET types and represents them in a
form for the web (such as HTML)
• Class browser (over 9000 classes; lists the
namespaces):
http://interdev.csse.monash.edu.au/quickstart/aspplus/sam

13. ASP.NET
• The latest version of ASP is known as ASP.NET
• Visual Studio .NET is a developer application used
to create ASP.NET Web applications
• There are two main types of Web resources created
with ASP.NET applications
– WebForms are ASP.NET pages within an ASP.NET
application
– Web Services are ASP.NET Web pages that contain
publicly exposed code so that other applications can
interact with them
– Web Services are identified with the file extension .asmx

14. WebForms
• The ASP.NET WebForm is separated into two
logical areas:
– The HTML template
– A collection of code behind the WebForm
• The HTML template
– Contains the design layout, content, and the controls
– Creates the user interface, or presentation layer
– Instructs the browser how to format the Web page
– Is created using a combination of HTML controls,
HTML Server controls, Mobile Controls, and
ASP.NET controls

15. Server Controls
• HTML Server controls are similar to the HTML
controls, except they are processed by the server
• Add runat = "server" to the HTML control to
transform it into an HTML Server control
• HTML control: <input type="text">
• HTML Server control:
<input type="text" runat="server"/>
<input type=”radio” runat=”server” value=”Yes”/> Yes
• Server-side programs can interact with the control
before it is rendered as a plain HTML control and
sent to the browser

16. ASP.NET Controls
• ASP.NET form controls will create the HTML code
• ASP.NET Server controls are organized as:
– ASP.NET Form Controls
– Data Validation Controls
– User Controls
– Mobile Controls
• ASP.NET controls are usually identified with the
prefix asp: followed by the name of the control
• ASP.NET button:
<asp:Button id="ShowBtn" runat="server"
Text="Show the message." />

17. HTML Server Vs
ASP.NET Server, Controls
• ASP.NET form controls can interact with client-
side events such as when the user clicks on a
button
– When the event occurs, ASP.NET can trigger a script to
run on the server
• ASP.NET form controls also have different
properties than their HTML server control
counterparts
– HTML Server label control
• Message1.InnerHTML = "Product 1"
– ASP server label control
• Message2.Text = "Product 2"

18. User Controls
• User controls are external files that can be
included within another WebForm
• User controls allow you to reuse code across
multiple files
• For example, you can create a user control that
displays the a navigation bar
• You can use this control on the home page; they
are often used for creating self-contained code,
headers, menus, and footers
• User controls replace the functionality of ASP
server-side include pages
• They are identified with the file extension .asmx

19. Other ASP.NET Server Controls
• Data validation controls
– A series of controls that validate form data without extensive
JavaScript programming
• Mobile controls
– A series of controls that provide form functionality within
wireless and mobile devices
• Literal controls
– Page content that is not assigned to a specific HTML control
such as a combination of HTML tags and text to the browser

20. Server Controls within
Visual Studio .NET
• In Visual Studio
.NET most of the
ASP.NET Server
controls are located
on the Web Forms
tab in the toolbox
Server controls with Visual Studio.NET

21. The Code Behind
• Server programs are written in a separate file
known as the code behind the page
• By separating the programming logic and
presentation layer, the application becomes
easier to maintain
• Only Server controls can interact with the code
behind the page
– Written in any ASP.NET compatible language such
as Visual Basic .NET, C#, Perl, or Java
– Filename is the same as the WebForm filename
– Add a file extension that identifies the language
• Visual Basic .NET use .vb (mypage.aspx.vb)
• C# use .cs (mypage.aspx.cs)

22. Code Behind file
• The location of the code behind the page is determined
via a property that is set on the first line in the page
using the @Page directive
<%@ Page Language="vb" Codebehind="WebForm1.vb"
Inherits=“MyFirstApp.WebForm1"%>
• The @Page directive allows you to set the default
properties for the entire page such as the default
language
• The CodeBehind property identifies the path and
filename of the code behind file
• The Inherits property indicates that the code behind the
page inherits the page class
• This page class contains the compiled code for this
page

23. Compiling the Page Class
• The compiled code behind the page is the class
definition for the page
– A class is a named logical grouping of code
– The class definition contains the functions, methods, and
properties that belong to that class
• In Visual Studio .NET the process of compiling a
class is called building
– When you build the application, you compile the code
into an executable file
– Visual Studio .NET compiles the code behind the page
into an executable file and places the file in the bin
directory

24. Page Class Events
• The Page Class consists of a variety of methods,
functions, and properties that can be accessed
within the code behind the page
• The first time a page is requested by a client, a
series of page events occurs
• The first page event is the Page_Init event
which initializes the page control hierarchy
• The Page_Load event loads any server controls
into memory and occurs every time the page is
executed

25. Page class events
• Page_init
• Page_load
• Server_Controls
• Page_prerender
• Page_Unload

26. Web Services
• Web Services also provide a means to
expose .NET functionality on the web but
Web Services expose functionality via
XML and SOAP (cf: function calls over the
web)

27. Web Services
• If your business partner is Course Technology
and you want to query that company’s product
catalog from your Web site, you could:
– Post a link
– Scrape a Web site (use a program to view a Web site and
capture the source code)
– Provide a Web Service to their catalog application
• Web Services are used to create business-to-
business applications
– Web Services allow you to expose part or all of your
programs over the Internet. The Web Service source file
has the extension .asmx
– A public registry known as UDDI contains registered
public Web Services. Third party Web Services are
available at http://www.xmethods.com

28. How ASP.NET works
• When .NET is installed, IIS is configured to
look for files with the .aspx extension and
to use the ASP.NET module
(aspnet_isapi.dll) to handle them.
• ASP.NET parses the .aspx file and arranges
it in a predefined class definition and
generates an asp.net page object.
• The page object generates html that is sent
back to IIS and then the browser.
• NOTE: only .aspx files are parsed (if it is
pure html don’t save it as an aspx file as it
will slow down the server.

29. ASP.NET samples
• Page directives: <%@ page language = “VB”
debug="true" trace="true“ %>
• <script language = “VB” runat=“server”> VB.NET
code declarations ……….. </script>
• Message.aspx
<html>
<head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</title> </head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
</body>
</html>
• Note this has no asp code so better to use .html extension

30. • Message2.aspx
<script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />")
End Sub
</script>
<html> <head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</TITLE> </head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
</body>
</html>

31. • Message3.aspx
html>
<head><title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</title></head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
<script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />")
Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />")
End Sub
</script>
</body>
</html>

32. Render or inline code block –
<html> interweave1.aspx
<head>
<title>Interweaving ASP.NET code and HTML Example</title>
</head>
<body>
Line1: First HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("First ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
Line2: Second HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("Second ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
Line3: Third HTML Line<br />
<% Response.Write ("Third ASP.NET Line<br />") %>
</body>
</html>
NOT RECOMMENDED.

33. Interweave2.aspx A Server control
script language="VB" runat="server">
Sub Page_Load()
Message.Text="The ASP.NET line"
End Sub
</script>
<html>
<head> <title>Inserting ASP.NET code Example</TITLE> </head>
<body>
First HTML Line<br/>
<asp:label id=Message runat="server"/> <br />
Second HTML Line<br/>
</body>
</html>

34. Web application project files
AssemblyInfo.vb Info about the compiled project file stored in
/bin and named project.dll
Global.asax Event handler commands visible to all web
forms in a project
Global.asax.resx Define application resources such as text
strings, images. Can change without
recompiling project.
Global.asax.vb Asp.net code for application events eg
session.start
Project.sln Stores links to all project files
Project.suo VS.NET IDE configuration info for the proj.
Project.vbproj Configuration and build settings for project
files.

35. Web application project files cont.
Project.vbproj.webinfo URL to project web server
Project.vsdisco Enables search for web services
Styles.css Project style sheet
Web.config Project and folder configuration information
Webform.aspx Web form .aspx file;Html
Webform.aspx.resx Resources in corresponding web form
Webform.aspx.vb Code written for the form (code behind)
Binproject.dll Compiled project output file (assembly)
Binproject.pdb Debugging information used by developer

36. Viewing the Assembly
• Create a simple class, compile the class into an assembly,
then view the class using the IL Disassembler
• Open Notepad and type the code shown:
' hello.vb - displays hello world
' Created 06/01/2002
Imports System
Public Module Hello
Sub Main()
Dim s1 As String = "1 - Hello World"
Console.WriteLine(s1)
End Sub
End Module
' Run this at the command line
' vbc hello.vb

37. Using the ILDASM to
View the Assembly and Classes
Using the ILDASM to view the assembly and classes

38. Examples
• quickstart – webforms
– Intro4 shows VIEWSTATE
– Intro6 shows a click event
– Intro7 shows a usercontrol with a calander
– Intro8 shows a db connection
– Intro9 & 10 show asp.net templates
– Intro11shows validation controls
– Intro13 shows code behind pages
• Server directives eg trace and debug
– trace

39. The lab environment.
• Each machine is set up to be an IIS server –
http://localhost:1900/…..
• You create your web projects with Visual Studio.Net.
VS.NET will create a subdirectory in c:/inetpub/wwwroot
for your project. You must copy this subdirectory when
moving to another machine or home.
• URL
– http://localhost:1900/MyfirstApp/homepage.aspx
• Alternative to VS.Net is webmatrix
• Some samples on another machine
– http://interdev.csse.monash.edu.au/cse2030/ Interdev is not
accessible outside the Monash network.

40. ASP.NET Vs PHP
Feature PHP ASP.NET
HTML Yes Yes
CSS Yes Yes
‘php Templates’ Yes UserControls
ServerControls No Yes
(buttons,grids etc)
Javascript Yes Yes + Validation controls
Database Conn Yes Yes
Cookies & Sessions Yes Yes
VIEWSTATE No Yes
POSTBACK No Yes