11.5.1- Summary

Summary

Web site developers that have preceded you have found that almost everyone shares a need for some types of code, such as rotating ads. Microsoft has written code to perform these tasks and made it available as Server Components. To use a component you must first create an instance of the component using Server.CreateObject("MWSC.ComponentName"). Then you can use that server with myComponent.method or myComponent.property.

The first component rotates advertisements on a page without making any changes directly on the page. The number and source of ads can be changed in a scheduler file. In that same file, we can also change the frequency of appearance for each ad.

To direct users through a set of pages on a site we can use the content linker component. Once we make a list of pages, we can get the URL and description of the next and previous pages from the content linker. A webmaster can easily change the order of pages, additions, and deletions in one text file.

We finished with an examination of the browser capabilities component which relies on a file which reads the browser type from the server variable, then sets a range of properties such as the ability to use <TABLE> tags to either true or false. These properties can be tested, and the user redirected to code which best fits his browser.

Keep in mind that many more components are available. Several sources review or sell these components. As your skills increase, you will begin to write your own components to meet the specific needs of your business.