Adding Scripts

You can create basic Web pages using nothing more than text and HTML tags. However, if you want to create sophisticated, data-driven applications, you can add script to your Web pages.

Scripts are programs that run when users display your Web page. They can be simple or complex, depending on your needs. You can include either client scripts or server scripts.

For example, you can use script to create these types of Web pages:

• A page that includes the current time and date along with the text.
  
  
• A page that displays the number of times that the Web site has been visited.
  
  
• A page that displays a form for users to fill in and then returns requested information or updates a database.
  
  
• A page that performs database operations that include transaction processing and other sophisticated data management operations.

You can write script in a variety of scripting languages. Two common scripting languages are Microsoft^® Visual Basic^®, Scripting Edition (VBScript) and JScript™, Microsoft's implementation of the ECMAScript language.

You can choose whichever language you prefer, and you can even use different languages for different scripts on the same Web page. For more information, see JScript Reference and VBScript Reference.

The Microsoft^® Visual InterDev™ editor helps you create script with these features:

• Source view, where you can write script directly.
  
  
• Colored text that clearly shows you the different elements of your script statements.
  
  
• IntelliSense^®, which helps you create error-free script statements by presenting you with the names of methods and properties as soon as you've typed in the name of an object.
  
  
• The Script Outline Window, which displays the client and server objects in your page, and a list of the events that you can write script for.

Note   You can use Visual InterDev design-time controls to generate script for common tasks such as querying a database, presenting an input form, or displaying a report. For details, see Viewing Data, Modifying Data, and Scripting with Design-Time Controls and Script Objects.

For more information about scripting, see Editing and Scripting and Scripts in Web Applications.

After you've written scripts, you can use the built-in debugger commands to help you find errors in them. For more information, see The Script Debugging Process and Debugging Your Pages.