Web Programming with ASP and COM emphasizes the importance of both technologies in an easy-to-read tutorial format. This book covers the fundamental concepts of ASP and COM, and quickly gets the programmer up to speed building Web applications. Key topics include: *Basics of Active Web programming *The VBScript programming language *Fundamentals of ASP and the debugging of applications *Working with databases and ActiveX Data Objects *Introduction to COM objects and the Active Template Library (ATL) *Automation *Introduction to Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), Active Directory, and Microsoft Message Queues *Securing ASP applications This thorough, approachable resource shows you the power and flexibility of using ASP and COM together. If you are a Web application developer looking for a down-to-earth introduction to the construction of ASP Web applications using COM components, you need this book. The accompanying CD-ROM includes extensive code examples used in the book, along with compiled, ready-to-run COM components. 0201604604B04062001

Table of Contents:
Preface. 1. The Active Server Platform. Introduction. The Web Client/Server Model. Web Clients and Web Servers. Protocols for Web Client/Server Communication. Server-Side Processing with CGI Programs. Disadvantages of the Common Gateway Interface. Advantages of the Active Server Platform. Software Pieces of the Active Server Platform. Internet Information Server (IIS). ISAPI Extensions. ISAPI Filters. Active Server Pages (ASP). JScript. VBScript. The Component Object Model (COM) and COM Servers. Some Advantages of COM. More Advantages of COM. Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). Alternatives to the Active Server Platform. Allaire Cold Fusion. Netscape Enterprise Server API. Common Gateway Interface (CGI). ASP-Supported Platforms. Windows NT 4.0. Windows 95/98. Other Platforms. What's Ahead. Further Reading. 2. The VBScript Programming Language. Introduction. The Megabyte's Pizzeria Welcome Page. The .asp File. Testing Your .asp File (Running from the Web Root Directory). VBScript Data Types. Variables in VBScript. Constants in VBScript. Controlling Program Flow. If...Then...Else. Select Case. Comparing Values of Expressions. Logical Operators. Functions and Subroutines. Creating Loops. While...Wend. Do...Loop. For...Next. For Each...Next. Building the Megabyte's Pizzeria Welcome Page. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 3. Fundamentals of Active Server Pages. Introduction. Web Applications. The Active Server Pages Object Model. Application Object. When to Use Application Variables. The Contents Collection. The StaticObjects Collection. Volatility of Application Variables. Potential Hazards of Using Application Variables. Protecting Application Variables. Session Object. The Contents and StaticObjects Collections. Anatomy of a Session. Controlling Sessions. The global.asa File. Tracking Application and Session Events. Structure of the global.asa File. Using Application and Session Events. Request Object. CGI Encoding and Form Variables. Cookies. Server Variables. The Megabyte's Pizzeria Order Registration Page. The newuser.asp Script. Client Certificates. Certificate Code Sample. Response Object. Sending Page Output. Buffering the Output Stream. Working with HTTP Headers. Cookies. Browser Redirection. Customizing the IIS/PWS Logging Feature. Server Object. HTML Encoding. URL Encoding. Setting the Script Timeout Parameter. Instantiating COM Objects. Using the ObjectContext Object. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 4. Working with Databases and ActiveX Data Objects. Introduction. The History of Microsoft Data Access Technology. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). Data Access Objects (DAO) and Remote Data Objects (RDO). COM-Based OLE-DB. ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). Programming with ADO. Connection Object. The Open Method. Storing the User Account Information. Executing the SQL Statement. Handling Exceptions in Your Code. Errors Object. Trapping Errors. The Close Method. Database Connection Pooling. Database Transaction Processing. Properties Object Properties. Other Properties of the Connection Object. Recordset Object. Cursor Types. Performing Queries with Recordsets. Beginning the Query Process. Determining Recordset Capabilities. Making Updates to the Recordset. Updating the Megabyte's Account Creation System. Advanced Features of ADO. Retrieving Recordsets into an Array. Retrieving Recordsets as Strings. Searching Recordsets. Filtering Recordset Records. Dynamic Queries with the Command and Parameter Objects. Exporting Recordset Records to Files. Querying for Database Schema Information. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 5. Using COM Objects in Active Server Pages. Introduction. From Object-Oriented Code to COM. Encapsulation. Obstacles to Code Reuse with C++. Enter the Component Object Model. Using COM Objects in ASP. Creating COM Object Instances. Cleaning Up COM Object Instances. Using the Built-in Scripting Objects. Dictionary Object. FileSystemObject Object. File and Folder Objects. Drive Object. Files, Folders, and Drives Collections. TextStream Object. Using the Standard IIS Components. AdRotator Component. Browser Capabilities Component. Content Linking Component. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 6. Introduction to COM Architecture and the Active Template Library. Introduction. The Benefits of Creating COM Objects. Overview of COM Architecture. Making a COM Component with the Visual C++. ATL COM Wizard. Creating the Project. Adding a New ATL Object. Adding Methods to the COM Object. Adding Properties to the COM Object. Adding Implementation Code for Methods and Properties. Compiling the Project. COM Component Registration. Calling a COM Component from an ASP Page. Under the Hood of COM and ATL. Interfaces. A Simplified Interface Class. An Implementation Class. Calling the Methods of the Implementation Class. Creating a New Interface. The IUnknown Interface. Interface Definition Language (IDL). Instantiating Objects. CoCreatelnstance(). HRESULTs. SUCCEEDED and FAILED Macros Release(). Calling COM Objects Using ATL Smart. Pointers and Type Libraries. Type Libraries. Using the #import Directive. The ATL Smart Pointer. Using a Namespace. Using ADO with Visual C++ and Smart Pointers. Using ADO with Visual C++ and VBScript. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 7. Advanced COM: Exploring Automation, COM/ATL Data Types, and Error Reporting. Introduction. A Review of COM. Defining Automation. Static versus Dynamic Invocation. IDispatch and Dispinterfaces. Behind the Scenes with Invoke(). Invoke(). Getting Our DISPID. Midstream Summary. Data Types. The VARIANT Data Type. Variant Utility Functions. The CCom Variant Class. Working with Properties. Working with Numerical Data in Properties. Working with Strings. The CComBSTR Class. The '' Other'' BSTR Wrapper Class. Converting COM Data Types. Working with Methods. Handling Other Data Types. Returning an Object Reference. Handling Arrays. A SAFEARRAY Component Example. Initializing Class Member Variables. Accessing ASP Objects within COM Components. Adding an ActiveX Server Component. IScriptingContext. An Example of Retrieving a Variable from the Query String. Error Handling. ISupportErrorInfo. Raising an Error with Error(). Running an Example of Error Handling. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 8. A Primer on Microsoft Transaction Server, Active Directory, and Microsoft Message Queuing. Introduction. Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). The Megabytes Ordering Component. Preparing to Use the PizzaOrder Component. Upsizing to SQL Server 7.0. Configuring an ODBC Data Source for the Database. Creating the PizzaOrder Component. The Order.cpp File. Adding the PizzaOrder Properties and Methods. The ACID Test: Design Considerations for COM Components. Adding the Component to the Transaction Server Environment. Transactional ASP: Using the Component inside ASP. Integrating the PizzaOrder Component. Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ). The MSMQ Explorer. Elementary Setup of MSMQ. Sending a Message. The MSMQ Objects. Reading from the Message Queue. Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI). The ADS Namespace Container. Standard ADSI Object Properties and Methods. Standard Container Object Properties and Methods. Using ADSI for User and Group Management. The Future of ADSI. Collaborative Data Objects (CDO). Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. 9. Securing Your ASP Application. Introduction. ASP/HTML Design. Windows NT Security. File Systems. User Rights, Groups, and Policies. Types of User Authentication in Internet Information Server. Anonymous Access. Using a Username/Password Database. Using Windows NT Challenge/Response Authentication. Basic Authentication. Coding and Setting Up Security on Your Site. Secure Connections. A Crash Course in Cryptography. Single-Key Cryptography. Double-Key Cryptography. Digital Signatures. Certificates. Custom Authentication Schemes. Chapter Review. What's Next. Further Reading. Appendix A. Installation and Configuration of IIS/PWS and Supporting Software. Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack. Where to Get the Option Pack. Installation Instructions. IIS/PWS Configuration. Setting Up the Home Directory. Configuring Virtual Directories. Installing the Megabyte's Pizzeria Samples. Appendix B. Debugging ASP Applications. The Microsoft Development Environment Debugger. Invoking the Debugger. Setting Breakpoints. The Debugging Controls. Setting Up to Debug ASP Components under IIS. Setting Up to Debug ASP Components under MTS. Appendix C. ASP Intrinsic Objects. Server Object. Request Object. Response Object. Application Object. Session Object. ObjectContext Object. Appendix D. ADO Reference. Index. 0201604604T04062001