ASP 101

Welcome to ASP 101. Total running time is 96 minutes. This course is FREE.

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4 years	Whats new to use in 2022	Thomas Gonder

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Intro

In this lesson, you will get an introduction to classic ASP (Active Server Pages). We will talk about what ASP is, what you need to get started, some basic ASP commands, and how to build simple ASP pages. This lesson also covers the prerequisites you should know, recommended courses for a smoother experience, and tips for choosing your web editor, including Microsoft FrontPage. You will learn how to check if your hosting supports ASP, what software is required, and the difference between ASP and ASP.NET. This class teaches Standard ASP 3.0 using Internet Information Services on Windows. This is lesson 1.

Transcript

Welcome to ASP 101, brought to you by ASPLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.

In today's class, we are going to learn what ASP is, what you need to use ASP, some basic ASP commands, and we will build a few simple ASP pages. We will not be talking about some of the more advanced concepts today, such as connecting to a database online. As with all things, you have to learn how to walk before you can run, but we will be covering database connectivity in a future lesson.

Prerequisites - what should you know before taking this class? You should definitely know Windows basics, such as how to move around in Windows. I cover this in my Windows 101, 102, and 110 classes, or Windows Vista if you are using Vista. You should also know basic HTML commands, such as how to bold text, what the header section is, the body section, and other similar basics. I cover all of these basics in my HTML 101 class. I am not going to take a lot of time to go over basic HTML concepts. I will assume you are familiar with HTML. You do not have to know advanced HTML concepts like building forms or working with frames. We are not going to worry about that kind of material today, but you should have a basic understanding of how HTML works.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should know how to use the web, browse around different web pages, and understand how web pages, files, and folders work.

Recommended classes - these classes are not required, but they will help you understand ASP if you have taken them. Visual Basic 101 will teach you the basics of the Visual Basic programming language. If you have Visual Basic on your computer, I recommend you take VB 101. If not, I will be covering the basics of the Visual Basic language here in the ASP class, but having an understanding of how VB works will certainly help you before taking ASP. Again, it is not required.

Later on, when we get into connecting to databases, we will be working with basic Microsoft Access tables. If you have Microsoft Access and you are interested in learning Access, I strongly recommend you take my Access 101 class. Again, not required, but when we do start to get into databases in future lessons, knowing some Microsoft Access will certainly help you.

I will be using Microsoft FrontPage as my web editor. If you have FrontPage on your computer and you wish to use that as your web editor of choice, my FrontPage 101 class will certainly help you. It is not required. You may use any web editor that you want for this course, but having a basic understanding of how to work with Design View and HTML View in your web editor is certainly helpful. I personally recommend Microsoft FrontPage. As long as you know how to use Windows, use the web, and have a basic understanding of HTML, you will be fine in today's class.

In today's class, we will be studying Standard ASP 3.0, the latest version of ASP available. I will be using a Windows 2000 server with Internet Information Services 5.0 installed. This is not a course on ASP.NET. ASP.NET is a different language. However, if you have ASP.NET, your ASP pages will also work just fine. I like to think of ASP as a stepping stone to ASP.NET. ASP.NET is a lot more complicated, with more flexibility and features, but learning ASP first is a good first step.

If you do not have your own Windows server, do not worry. There are many different web hosts that will support ASP-based websites. We will talk about some of them a little bit later.

I will be using Microsoft FrontPage 2003 as my web editor in class. You can use any web editor you want. In fact, you can use basic Windows Notepad if you want to. You will not see all the different features that I have, but they are not necessary for building ASP web pages. You can use any web editor that you like.

If you currently have a website and it is hosted somewhere and you are not sure whether or not you have ASP technology available, I will show you in a few minutes how to check your web server to see if you can use ASP. If your web server is running Linux or some other type of operating system, you might not have ASP support available. If that is the case, I will show you a list of Internet providers you can go to for support for ASP web pages.

While watching my lessons, I strongly recommend you sit back and relax, watch each lesson completely through once, then go back through the lesson again and follow along with the examples. Type in the examples that I type in and build the same pages that I build. You will get much more out of the lesson that way than if you try to watch the whole course first and then do a few pieces here and there. Follow along with my examples, and after each lesson, stop and go back through it again and do the examples. The first time through, just watch and learn and try to grasp the concepts.

If you have any questions about the material covered in today's class, please feel free to post them in our student forums. If you are watching this course on our website or if you have the Immacron video player loaded, you should see the student forums for each lesson pop up to the right of the video. If not, you can find a link to the student forums on our website at ASPLearningZone.com.

Quiz

Q1. What is the main focus of today's ASP 101 class?
A. Learning advanced ASP.NET programming
B. Connecting to databases with ASP
C. Learning basic ASP commands and building simple ASP pages
D. Building advanced HTML forms

Q2. Which of the following is NOT required before taking this ASP 101 class?
A. Basic understanding of HTML
B. Knowing how to browse the web
C. Advanced HTML knowledge of forms and frames
D. Understanding how files and folders work

Q3. Which software will the instructor use as the web editor in this ASP 101 course?
A. Adobe Dreamweaver
B. Microsoft FrontPage 2003
C. Visual Studio Code
D. Notepad++ only

Q4. What should a student do if they do not have Microsoft FrontPage?
A. Immediately buy FrontPage
B. Use any web editor or even Notepad
C. Wait for the next version of FrontPage
D. Only use Windows Explorer

Q5. What does the instructor recommend as the best way to follow the lessons?
A. Watch the entire course quickly and take one quiz at the end
B. Skip examples and just read the summaries
C. Watch each lesson fully, then repeat the lesson while following along with examples
D. Only read the transcript

Q6. Which version of ASP is being taught in this course?
A. ASP.NET Core
B. Classic ASP 2.0
C. Standard ASP 3.0
D. JavaServer Pages (JSP) 3.0

Q7. If your website is running on Linux, which statement about ASP is most likely true?
A. ASP pages will always work
B. You might not have ASP support available
C. You must use Microsoft FrontPage for ASP to work
D. ASP support is built into all Linux servers

Q8. Why does the instructor consider ASP a stepping stone to ASP.NET?
A. Because ASP.NET is easier to learn than ASP
B. Because ASP and ASP.NET are the same language
C. Because ASP helps prepare students for the more advanced, flexible features of ASP.NET
D. Because ASP.NET is no longer supported

Q9. What should students do if they are unsure whether their web host supports ASP?
A. Assume that all web hosts support ASP
B. Look for a list of ASP-compatible Internet providers or check their server as demonstrated in the lesson
C. Contact Microsoft directly
D. Install Linux to gain ASP support

Q10. Where should students go if they have questions about the class material?
A. Only ask the instructor by email
B. Student forums available on the ASPLearningZone.com website
C. The Microsoft Access forums
D. The HTML 101 course page

Answers: 1-C; 2-C; 3-B; 4-B; 5-C; 6-C; 7-B; 8-C; 9-B; 10-B

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from ASP Learning Zone covers all of the basics needed to get started with ASP. In this ASP 101 class, I am going to introduce you to what ASP is, review what is required to use ASP, go through some essential commands, and walk you through creating a few simple ASP pages. We will keep things beginner-friendly, so we will not discuss more advanced topics like connecting to databases with ASP just yet. That subject will be saved for a future lesson.

Before you begin with this class, you should already be comfortable with the basics of using Windows. Things like moving around in Windows, managing files, and using programs are important skills to have. If you need a refresher, I have Windows 101, 102, and 110 classes that can help, including content for Windows Vista if you are running that version.

You should also have a fundamental understanding of HTML. At a minimum, know how to use basic tags like bold, understand what the header and body sections are, and a few other basic commands. If you're unsure about these, definitely check out my HTML 101 class. I will not be going over simple HTML concepts in detail during this course. However, you do not need to know advanced HTML like building forms or working with frames. Just a basic grasp of HTML will be enough.

Being familiar with browsing the web, navigating web pages, and how files and folders are organized online is assumed.

As for recommended, but not required, skills: Having some experience with Visual Basic will be useful later on, as ASP uses the Visual Basic language. If you have access to Visual Basic, my VB 101 class would be helpful. However, I will still cover the basic Visual Basic commands you need right here in the ASP course, but that background will make things easier for you.

In future lessons, as we move forward into database connectivity, we will be working with Microsoft Access tables. If you own Access and want to get a head start, my Access 101 class is a great resource. While not mandatory for this course, a basic understanding of Access will help you once we begin working with databases.

Throughout the lessons, I am using Microsoft FrontPage as my web editor. If you also have FrontPage and wish to use it, my FrontPage 101 class can help familiarize you with the tool. That said, you are free to use any web editor that you are comfortable with. Even Windows Notepad is sufficient, although it will not have all the features FrontPage offers. All you really need is a way to edit HTML and ASP files, and familiarity with using both a design view and HTML view in your chosen editor will be handy.

The ASP version we will focus on in this class is Standard ASP 3.0, which is the latest version available. My setup uses a Windows 2000 server with Internet Information Services 5.0 installed. Please note that this class is not about ASP.NET, which is a different, more advanced technology, but if you are working in an ASP.NET environment, your basic ASP pages will still run. Think of ASP as a solid foundation before moving on to the more complex ASP.NET framework.

If you do not have your own Windows-based web server, there are many web hosting companies that offer ASP support, and we will talk about how to find one that suits your needs a bit later in the course.

If you already have an existing website and are unsure if ASP is supported, I will show you how to check your server to determine if it has ASP capabilities. For those with servers running Linux or other operating systems, ASP support may not be available, but I will share a list of providers that do offer ASP hosting.

As you follow these lessons, I recommend you first watch through each lesson fully to absorb the concepts, then go back and work through the examples step by step. Typing in the same code and building the same pages I demonstrate will help you truly understand the material. It's better to follow along in this way than trying to do several things at once or skipping steps. Be sure to watch, absorb, then practice what you see.

Finally, if you have questions about any topics covered today, I encourage you to post in our student forums. These are available alongside the lessons on our website and through the Immacron video player. If you need help finding the forums, you can always access them on ASPLearningZone.com.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Introduction to ASP and its purpose

System requirements for using ASP

Basic ASP syntax and commands

Building a simple ASP page

Testing if your web server supports ASP

Choosing a web editor for ASP development

Overview of ASP 3.0 and its features

Discussing web hosting options for ASP

Checking your web host for ASP support

Differences between ASP and ASP.NET

Using Microsoft FrontPage for editing ASP pages

Using Notepad or other editors for ASP development