Web Application Basics
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
Interpret HTTP requests.
Use the Microsoft
.NET Framework to make HTTP requests without a
browser.
Interpret HTML.
Work with Internet Information Services (IIS).
Produce dynamic Web content without using
Microsoft ASP .NET yet.
This chapter covers the fundamentals of building a Web-based application. Unlike
the development of most desktop applications, in which many of the parts are
available locally (as components on the user's hard disk drive), developing a
Web application requires getting software parts to work over a widely
distributed network using a disconnected protocol. The technologies underlying
ASP .NET have been around for a long time, but ASP .NET puts them together in a
way that makes Web development very approachable.
This chapter covers three topics necessary for
you to understand to work with ASP .NET:
How HTTP requests work
How HTML works
How HTTP requests are handled on IIS, the
Microsoft production Web server
Even though ASP .NET makes developing Web applications far easier than it was
earlier, having a solid understanding of how the individual components actually
work is important and can help you make sense of all parts of Web application
development.
For example
when you are tracking down a stray HTTP
request or trying to figure out why a section of your page is appearing in the
wrong font in a client's browser, it's helpful to know how HTTP and HTML work
together to deliver the page to the client . And when you write a custom control
for a Web page, because custom controls often require that you write the
rendering code manually and ensure that the HTML tags emitted by the control
occur in exactly the right order, you need to understand HTML.
Understanding of the three technologies
underlying ASP .NET frames the rest of the system. As you study ASP .NET, these
pieces will undoubtedly fall into place.