Using the Object Model as a Road Map

While being able to create a page dynamically is a nice feature, the real power of Active Server Pages comes from its ability to create web-based applications. These applications allow the user to perform tasks that go beyond simply requesting pages. The logic and structure to create these applications are laid out in the object model.

We can use the object model as a road map that lays out:

• Where information should be stored in our applications
• How information specific to a single user can be tracked
• How to set up client pages to send the appropriate information to the server for it to dynamically build a page
• How to dynamically build a page, using all of the features that ASP provides, and then send that page back to the client

In the next few chapters, we will be walking through this landscape in detail and building up the expertise needed to put together an application using Active Server Pages.