Active Sever Pages (ASPs) is a technology provided by Microsoft with its Web Server, the Internet Information Server (IIS). ASPs facilitate and simplify writing server side scripts. Active Server Pages correspond to CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts used by other Web servers to develop Internet applications.
However, unlike CGI scripts, there are no binaries involved in Active Server Pages (ASPs). Scripts are written in languages supported by ASP. Currently, you can write scripts in VBScript or JScript.
The advantage of using ASPs is their built-in ActiveX support. You can use any ActiveX component (a COM Object) or ActiveX Control in your ASPs. This greatly extends the capabilities of any scripting language. You can use DirectScript objects in Active Server Pages to quickly create powerful server side scripts.
Advantages of Using DirectScript Objects in ASPs
Single Install for the entire network: You need to install DirectScript objects only once on your Web Server and then use any Web Browser on any computer to administer your network.
Standard scripts for common operations: You can write and store some standard scripts that are commonly used by administrators. For example, a script that forces all users to change their passwords at the end of a month.
Location transparent network administration: You do not have to physically go to the Server machine to administer the network. You can accomplish many tasks through a Web browser such as Internet Explorer.
See Also
Before You Use DirectScript Objects in ASPs