ASP.net class library

ASP.net class library

What is ASP.net?

ASP.NET takes an object-oriented programming approach to Web page execution.

Every element in an ASP.NET page is treated as an object and run on the server. An ASP.NET page gets compiled into an intermediate language by a .NET Common Language Runtime-compliant compiler.

Then a JIT compiler turns the intermediate code to native machine code, and that machine code is eventually run on the processor.

Some of the most important namespaces in the .NET Framework class library that pertain to ASP.NET are the following:

System.Web

Provides classes and interfaces that enable browser-server communication. This namespace includes the HttpRequest class, which provides extensive information about the current HTTP request, the HttpResponse class, which manages HTTP output to the client, and the HttpServerUtility class, which provides access to server-side utilities and processes.System.Web also includes classes for cookie manipulation, file transfer, exception information, and output cache control.

System.Web.ApplicationServices

Provides classes that provide access to ASP.NET forms authentication, roles, and profiles application services as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services.

System.Runtime.Caching

Contains types that let you implement caching in .NET Framework applications.

System.Web.ClientServices

Contains classes that support access to the ASP.NET login, roles, and profiles services from Windows-based applications.

System.Web.Configuration

Contains classes that are used to programmatically manage ASP.NET configuration.

System.Web.DynamicData

Contains classes that provide the core functionality for ASP.NET dynamic data and extensibility features that let you customize dynamic data behavior.

System.Web.Handlers

Contains HTTP handler classes that process HTTP requests to a Web server. (An ASP.NET Web Forms page -- .aspx file -- is a special form of an HTTP handler.)

System.Web.Management

Contains classes and interfaces for managing and monitoring the health of Web applications.

System.Web.Profile

Contains classes that are used to implement the ASP.NET user profile in Web server applications.

System.Web.Query.Dynamic

Contains classes that are used to parse expressions from a LinqDataSource control into a Language-Integrated Query (LINQ).

System.Web.RegularExpressions

Provides regular expressions that are used to parse ASP.NET files. All members of the System.Web.RegularExpressions namespace are descendants of the Regex class.

System.Web.Routing

Provides classes that are used with URL routing, which enables you to use URLs that do not map to a physical file.

System.Web.Script

Contains classes that provide client-script resource information.

System.Web.Script.Services

Provides attributes to customize Web service support for using Ajax functionality in ASP.NET.

System.Web.Security

Contains classes that are used to implement ASP.NET security in Web server applications.

System.Web.Services

Consists of the classes that enable you to create XML Web services using ASP.NET and XML Web service clients. XML Web services are applications that provide the ability to exchange messages in a loosely coupled environment using standard protocols such as HTTP, XML, XSD, SOAP, and WSDL. XML Web services let you build modular applications that are interoperable across a broad variety of implementations, platforms, and devices.

System.Web.SessionState

Contains classes and interfaces that enable storage of data specific to a single client during a single browser session on the server. Session state data is used to give the client the appearance of a persistent connection with the application.

System.Web.UI

Provides classes and interfaces that enable you to create ASP.NET server controls and ASP.NET Web pages for the user interface of your ASP.NET Web applications. This namespace includes the Control class, which provides all HTML server controls, Web server controls, and user controls with a common set of functionality. It also includes the Page control, which is generated automatically whenever a request is made for an .aspx file in an ASP.NET Web application. Also included are classes which provide the server controls with data-binding functionality, the ability to save the view state of a given control or page, and parsing functionality.

System.Web.UI.DataVisualization.Charting

Contains types for the Chart Web server control.

System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls

Contains classes that can be used to extend design-time support for Web server controls.

System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls.WebParts

Contains classes that provide design-time support for controls derived from classes in the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts namespace.

System.Web.UI.HtmlControls

Contains a collection of classes that enable you to create HTML server controls on a Web Forms page. HTML server controls run on the server and map directly to standard HTML tags supported by most browsers. This enables you to programmatically control the HTML elements on a Web Forms page.

System.Web.UI.WebControls

Contains classes that enable you to create Web server controls on a Web page. Web server controls run on the server and include form controls such as buttons and text boxes. They also include special-purpose controls such as a calendar. Because Web server controls run on the server, you can programmatically control these elements. Web server controls are more abstract than HTML server controls. Their object model does not necessarily reflect HTML syntax.

System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts

Contains an integrated set of classes and interfaces for creating Web pages whose appearance and behavior can be modified (personalized) by end users. The user-defined settings for each page are saved for future browser sessions.

System.Web.Util

Contains classes that enable callback methods to be run under the scope of a transaction and that enable work to be posted to separate threads.

ASP.NET MVC Reference

This topic provides links to four namespaces that are used by the MVC framework.