2	ASP.NET Basics

So far, you’ve learned what ASP.NET is, and what it can do. You’ve installed the software you need to get going, and, having been introduced to some very simple form processing techniques, you even know how to create a simple ASP.NET page. Don’t worry if it all seems a little bewildering right now, because, as this book progresses, you’ll learn how to use ASP.NET at more advanced levels.

As the next few chapters unfold, we’ll explore some more advanced topics, including the use of controls, and various programming techniques. But before you can begin to develop applications with ASP.NET, you’ll need to understand the inner workings of a typical ASP.NET page—with this knowledge, you’ll be able to identify the parts of the ASP.NET page referenced in the examples we’ll discuss throughout this book. So, in this chapter, we’ll talk about some key mechanisms of an ASP.NET page, specifically:

page structure

view state

namespaces

directives