ASP Syntax

All our examples shows the ASP code in red.

This makes it easier for you to understand how ASP works.

ASP Uses VBScript

The default scripting language in ASP is VBScript.

A scripting language is a lightweight programming language.

VBScript is a light version of Microsoft's Visual Basic.

ASP files can be ordinary HTML files. In addition, ASP files can also contain server scripts.

Scripts surrounded by <% and %> are executed on the server.

The Response.Write() method is used by ASP to write output to HTML.

The following example writes "Hello World" into HTML:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
Response.Write("Hello World!")
%>
</body>
</html>

VBScript is case insensitive. Response.Write() can be written as response.write().

To set JavaScript as the scripting language for a web page you must insert a language specification at the top of the page:

<%@ language="javascript"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
Response.Write("Hello World!")
%>
</body>
</html>

This tutorial uses the VBScript scripting language.

There is an easy shortcut to Response.Write(). You can use an equal sign (=) instead.

The following example also writes "Hello World" into HTML:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
="Hello World!"
%>
</body>
</html>

HTML tags can be a part of the output:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
Response.Write("<h2>You can use HTML tags to format the text!</h2>")
%>
</body>
</html>

HTML attributes can be a part of the output:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
Response.Write("<p style='color:#0000ff'>This text is styled.</p>")
%>
</body>
</html>

This tutorial contains a lot of VBScript examples.

This tutorial has complete VBScript reference.