ASP Basic syntax rules


In our ASP tutorial, every example provides hidden ASP source code. This makes it easier for you to understand how they work.


Write output to the browser

ASP files usually contain HTML tags, just like HTML files. However, ASP files can also contain server scripts, which are surrounded by delimiters <% and %>.

Server scriptsexecuted on the server, which can contain valid expressions, statements, procedures, or operators of the scripting language you choose.

response.write command

The response.write command is used to write output to the browser. The following example sends a piece of text to the browser: "Hello World":

Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
response.write("Hello World!")
%>

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

There is also a shorthand method for the response.write command. The following example also sends a piece of text to the browser: "Hello World":

Example

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

</body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »


Using VBScript in ASP

You can use several scripting languages in ASP. However, the default scripting language is VBScript:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<%
response.write("Hello World!")
%>
</body>
</html>

The example above writes the text "Hello World!" to the body part of the document.


Using JavaScript in ASP

If you need to set JavaScript as the default scripting language for a specific page, you must insert a line of language declaration at the top of the page:

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

Note:Unlike VBScript, JavaScript is case-sensitive! You must write your ASP code with different case letters according to the requirements of JavaScript.


Other scripting languages

ASP works natively with VBScript and JScript (JScript is Microsoft's implementation of JavaScript). If you want to write scripts in other languages, such as PERL, REXX, or Python, you must install the corresponding scripting engine.


Examples

More examples

Add some HTML tags to the text


Other extensions