W
elcome to ASP Programming for the Absolute Beginner. By developing an
interest in Active Server Pages (ASP), you stand at the threshold of a very
exciting programming adventure. When first introduced, ASP offered the
promise of an easy, powerful method of breaking through the functional
shackles of the Common Gateway Interface (CGI)—it has delivered on that promise.
Now, several years into its history, ASP technology has become a central component of
the Microsoft development strategy. Moreover, it has become the scripting language of
choice for literally thousands of programmers, so you are in good company in wanting
to learn more.
Although ASP is relatively easy to learn, it does require some degree of general program-ming knowledge to best utilize its power. Additionally, ASP allows for easy integration of
data sources (Access, SQL Server, and so on), so an understanding of basic database devel-opment comes into play. Finally, because ASP is, at its core, a Web scripting language,
you should have some basic knowledge of HTML to better understand how ASP can be
used to bring a previously unleashed power and functionality to your Web pages