Introduction

There was a time when building a web page or a web site was a very simple task. Knowledge of HTML was all that was required. Add a few images and background, specify text color, provide some links and you've already produced a fancy looking page!

With the changing technology, things have become more complex. As web sites became more interactive and feature-rich, the process of developing them also began to demand a higher level of skill and knowledge. Plain HTML was no longer enough. Terms like PHP, JSP, ASP, CSS, and XML became the buzzwords. Web pages were now "web applications". Suddenly, web development was no longer a hobbyist's domain. For a beginner developer, there was a huge learning curve involved.

Things have changed again, but this time, there is good news for all those who want to become a web developer but are not keen on writing lengthy codes and learning complex technologies. Microsoft's ASP.NET 2.0 provides a web development model that is easy to understand and use, yet provides all the features of an advanced technology. This is good news for seasoned developers as well because Microsoft's ASP.NET 2.0 allows them to create powerful web applications more efficiently in lesser time.

Before we start working with ASP.NET 2.0, we will briefly explore the different models of web development, how they work, their advantages and disadvantages. We will then see how ASP.NET 2.0 helps to overcome those shortcomings by providing a new web development model.