Author: Casey Kochmer
As both an ASP and JSP programmer, I started a series of articlesto examine the differences between ASP and JSP. After I releasedpart one and part four of the articles, ASP was announced. ASP changes the game to the point that I delayed writing additionalarticles until I could examine ASP in greater detail.I am currently working on a JSP project and on a separate ASP project. The ASP project itself is very interesting. It is starting off in ASP 3.0 and will be translated into ASP by time the project is be done. As a result of these projects I will be able to examine ASP closely, providing solid ASP to JSP comparisons. This article presents my early observations of ASP and the impact it has on an average developer such as myself.In an initial comparison of ASP and JSP I found the following: 1) Object Orientation: ASP introduces C # as an object oriented language In many respects it will become Microsoft's version of a Java-like language The other fun fact about C # is.. that every object created automatically becomes a COM object. What this all boils down to is, if C # lives up to all or even 75% the marketing hype, it will give ASP Java- like capabilities but with faster performance due to its tight coupling with the Windows environment. C # is the single most important improvement for ASP development. Microsoft has engineered C # to be a stiff competitor of Java. It is a major part of Microsoft's reinvention of their .Net framework. I see C # as Microsoft's push to be the Dominant Player In The Programming Market Place. I Expect to See Microsoft Put ITS Full Weight Behind this Product. As a result of all this, it '
sa safe bet C # will become the language of choice for many programmers. The consequence of C # will be the intensification of the battle lines between the Sun and Microsoft product lines. This actually will be of benefit to the consumer, as it will spur both Java and C # to new improvements 2) Database Connectivity:.. The one place that ASP really shines is in the use of the ADO Object, ODBC, OLE-DB and the Transaction Manager Among all these pieces it is very easy to build fast and simple ASP database web applications. ASP takes all this and marches onward to even more features, while ADO is being released with even more enhancements and speed boosts. JSP and JDBC currently lag behind in ease of use and features when compared to the current implementation of ASP / Ado. With the new release of asp / ado the GAP WITH JSP WILL WIDEN EVEN FURTHER. I Personally Hope Sun Will Put Serious Effort Into Catching Up With ASP / ADO Combination.3) Lar ge Scale Sites:. ASP will have better support for large web farms In fact, Microsoft is pushing this idea pretty hard ASP wants you to think in terms of multiple servers As you need more power, just add an extra server The whole... .Net framework has solidly embraced this methodology. ASP introduces external session state support providing built-in web farm support. in addition, since all the components required to support a web farm are built fully optimized with each other, it will be fast. The End Result Is That ASP WILL NOW Equal JSP in Its Ability TO Scale to Large Projects. in Fact, ASP
will have a cost benefit over JSP since all the components will be part of your server operating system from Microsoft. In JSP, you currently need to purchase expensive Server Application servers to achieve similar results.4) ASP offers many other new features that I will review in more detail in future issues. for example, * Built-in object caching and page result caching. * Built-in XML support for easy handling of XML data sets. * Server controls which offer fuller interactive controls to be used on the client page. Initial indications, however, show these are costly items in terms of round trips to use. I am finding that ASP truly expands what is possible in ASP.My preliminary conclusion, after looking at ASP , is the majority of my future projects will STILL BE JAVA and JSP BASED. The Three Reasons for this Are: 1) To really unlock the full potential of asp you will need to use c # or vb.net. these Two Languages Will Become THE STANDARD scripting heart of ASP . This is a good thing for the future of ASP. I never liked building com objects in the current version of Visual Basic. The new scripting heart of ASP is a substantial improvement over ASP and will really energize the possibilities of web Applications BUILT WITHIN ASP . All of the New Development in ASP
is making it clear I need to make a personal decision to choose the language into which I desire to put the most time and effort. I learned Java back when it all started and I feel Java is a language that will be around for the rest of my programming career. As a result, JSP is my primary choice for web development. When my current ASP project is done, I will reconsider if C # convinces me to re-gear my programming tool belt. As I am now a big JSP fan, if Microsoft converts me, it has a real winner! I suppose I am taking the ASP challenge.2) ASP is still pretty squarely locked into Microsoft's operating system. JSP has a major edge over ASP in its flexibility to work on other server configurations. Keeping in mind, however, the rising predominance of the Windows 2000 operating system, this will not be a problem for many developers.3) I am not sure if I agree with aspects of the new ASP architecture. I need to perform a more IN-Depth Analysis on SE veral issues before feeling comfortable with ASP . As a result, I am hesitant to plan on using it for future projects. This may change after I have used it for a month or two. After all, this is a high level overview of a beta product. I will provided more information in a future in-depth review of ASP .As an ASP developer, ASP gives me pause to think. The next eight months are going to be a hard time to start a new ASP project. Why? ASP And C # Introduce a Dilemma for development shops as the aren't available yet and won '
t be introduced until the first quarter of 2001. This means if you are starting a new project now you are faced with some seriously hard choices. I am in charge of setting up the technical aspects of such projects and appreciate these considerations.Since ASP is only available as beta software it makes my first choice easier. My current project will start in ASP 3.0. I consider any beta language to be vaporware until the production release is available.I can not ignore ASP , however, as in six months it will be available and it represents the future of ASP. Managers of ASP projects in production now or in the near future should consider how to ensure migration to ASP will occur as smoothly as possible. While a savvy design will ensure a smooth upgrade to ASP , the cost for development increases as extra time is spent in creating and implementing the design, as well as implementing the upgrade. This approach is sensible, however, to prevent even higher costs over the long term when th e final upgrade does happen.A side effect of all this is that it makes both PHP and JSP more attractive alternatives to ASP for the near future. After all, 1) To use ASP you will need some extra time to learn new tools. 2 ) The New Tools Are Still To BE Released, SO why not loo beetting That Currently Exists? 3) JSP Already HAS MANY OF THE New Features of Asp . 4) ASP
locks you down into a Microsoft-only architecture. (I have read one news story about Microsoft porting .Net to Linux, but I discount this as being unrealistic at this point in time. Until the code is released, it fits in my vaporware category .) As a result, I predict quite a few people will make the leap into PHP and JSP. However, I also feel many people will stay the course due to the sheer excitement that ASP brings to the field. (I have never seen such an explosion of material for any beta programming product). Below is a VS.net article which nicely illustrates both of these points. for something that started as freeware, ASP has grown to become a cornerstone of Microsoft's .Net framework. Sun may find a lesson in this. Extra caution and care, however, is warranted when upgrading to ASP as it is being integrated with so many other products and the overall size of the .Net framework is so large. I usually wait for the first service pack of any Product Before assuming it is safe to use in a production environment. So, even if ASP is released in the first quarter of 2001, for planning purposes, I am not expecting ASP to be ready for my production environment until second quarter of 2001. Of course, since ASP has generated so much excitement, many shops will switch over to ASP as soon as it becomes available. In factI have already come across ASP web sites using the beta release ASP ! For example, the link to the ASP site I reference below is Written in Asp , You Can Tell by The .aspx Extension. All this suggests to me That Microsoft Will Release The First Service Pack for ASP
