| The introduction of .NET has blurred the lines between previously distinct programming disciplines. With so much functionality encapsulated by the .NET Framework class library, some very diverse tasks have gained a common programming interface that makes moving from one to another seem much less daunting. One area in which this change is particularly striking is web development: where ASP was the realm of script programmers, ASP.NET is implemented by a set of classes that enable you to create Internet applications using the same languages that you'd use for Windows desktop programs.
In Visual Studio .NET, Microsoft has taken this idea a stage further: not only does the code look similar, but the GUI looks similar too. Visual Basic .NET's familiar form-based interface is used for the development of web applications as well as for desktop programs. If you want to, you can create a web application without ever seeing a line of HTML code, and you can do so with all the facilities for testing and debugging that Visual Studio .NET provides to programmers of all types.
In this book, we'll take what you already know about creating desktop applications using Visual Basic .NET, and show you how to apply it to the Web. We'll teach you about the different thinking that you have to employ when writing web applications, and also tell you about some of the technologies that can help in the creation of compelling web content. In particular, we'll explore:
How the Web works: the Internet, HTTP, and the client-server architecture
Creating dynamic web pages with web forms and web server controls
Acquiring and displaying data using ADO.NET and Visual Studio .NET components
Debugging and error handling in ASP.NET applications
The importance of XML, and particularly its role in web services
Setting up your web server efficiently and securely
Assessing the performance of your application, and preparing it for release
Along the way, we'll be building a case study that demonstrates the use of these technologies in practice. That example, like all of the others in the book, is presented in Wrox's tried-and-tested Try It Out format.
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