Tools & Components
· Editors
· Free
· Commercial

Editors

• Visual Interdev - By Microsoft. This is the grand daddy of ASP editors, and the tool of choice for many ASP developers. I have it installed on my PC at work but I'm not particularly fond of it, and I'm not sure why. I do use it to edit scripts regularly but I'm still not a convert. It could be that I'm used to doing things a certain way and I'm just set in my ways. ;)
• Homesite - By Allaire. This is the editor I tend to go for the most, probably more out of habit than anything else. Don't get me wrong - its a great program! Its ASP-related features include auto-indent, color coding, and an ASP toolbar. They also have a "snippets" area where you can save all those little bits of reusable code - I use that a whole lot! If they included database and recordset script generation features (as they do for their own Cold Fusion), I'd probably never look elsewhere.
• EasyASP - Shareware, by Erik Banker. I just recently found this program and I'm getting more attached to it every day! This low-cost ($20 USD) editor is jam-packed with features, and was rated 5 stars on the No Nags software site as well as having been listed as a top download by Internet Magazine for January 1999. It does the standard color-coding (look in the View menu to enable), and has a handy ASP toolbar and ASP wizards. Its also got HTML and Javascript toolbars, which are really handy (since most of us don't develop in a vacuum!). But wait! There's more! The included EasyFTP program makes it easy to upload those freshly-edited scripts, and the EasyDB program, also included, is really handy - it lets you connect to your database and view its structure and even edit some of its properties. Its lightweight filesize (under 2Mb installed) is another big plus. If you're just starting out and need a good combo HTML/ASP editor at a great price, this one is well worth a try.
• ASP Express - By August Wind Enterprises. This program, rated 4 stars by Ziff-Davis, features wizards that, in the words of Charles Carroll (of Activeserverpages.com), "that ACTUALLY WRITE VIABLE, MODIFIABLE CODE... It not only has top notch ASP support it does CSS, Frames and all the goodies well." Quite a recommendation! I agree, the code is great. The ASP structures toolbar (Select Case, If-Then-Else, Do While, Counter, comments and script delimiters) is more extensive than EasyASP, and it also supports CSS (which EasyASP does not). As far as program size, the version I tested (v1.3+) weighs in at a mere 740K installed, including documentation. Still, it doesn't have a database viewer, and there's no directory/file tree as is found with EasyASP and Homesite, which made it a bit less desirable for my particular needs. Despite this, ASP Express is a definite "must try" in my book because its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Your mileage may vary. ;)

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Extending ASP
You can extend the functionality of ASP by using components. Components are installed on the server and serve a variety of functions, from file uploads/downloads, to banner rotations, to shopping carts and more. While many components are commercial (and thus require an outlay of money), there are also free components that work quite well. You can also write your own components, but that's beyond the scope of this page at this time.

Free Components

• SAFileManager - All of your file management needs in a single, easy to use component. By Software Artisans. I just got this component myself and have started to *really* love it. Includes samples which can be tested immediately. Wow! Love it!
• ABMailer - ABMailer is an ActiveX (OLE) Server which delivers email messages to your SMTP mail server. We have used this component on the City of Fresno site, and it works very well.
• File Functions + Download - Copy, Move, Delete and Download Files with ASP.
• Internet Locator Server - While NetMeeting doesn't require the use of a server to enable real-time communications using voice, video, and data, the Microsoft Internet Locator Server (ILS) makes it easier for users to find and connect to each other.
• NNTP Client - A basic news reader component, written in Java.
• POP3 - An Active Server Page Component written in Java for reading POP3 email accounts. Inspired by Denis Basaric's excellent SMTP JMailer. A sample script and full Java source code is included.
• Various Components - This site offers a variety of commercial and free components. Free components include a Ping utility, Content Link Generator, Bible text generator, more - scroll down towards the bottom of the page for the free components.

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Commercial Components
New commercial components are constantly being developed, so keeping on top of every new release is difficult - I'll admit, I can't keep up! However, an excellent list of commercial components listed by category can be found at ActiveServerPages.com.

I'd like to mention, however, the Software Artisans components, as I've personally used a couple and found them excellent.

• ASP Studio - This package includes over 20 components which make life a lot easier for the ASP developer. I've personally used SAFileUp, a file uploading component, with great success. I've also just tried out the SAFileManager component (reviewed above). Good stuff, highly recommended. I'm starting to learn about the other components, as I have a few clients hosted on iNNERHOST; iNNERHOST now has ASPStudio installed and available to all their ASP customers.

I've also found a couple of components that I don't recall seeing listed on activeserverpages.com that I think are worthy of mention. Both are by Mustang Software - yes, the *same* Mustang Software that did the venerable WildCat! BBS software. Ugh, I guess I'm giving away just how long I've been into this computer thing with that comment! (Yes, I am a reformed BBS-er who would have done just about anything to work for Mustang - even if they are located in Bakersfield LOL)

• Web Essentials Listcaster - Web Essentials ListCaster is a mailing list server and SMTP/POP3 server with Active Server Pages based setup and administration by Mustang Software.
• FileCenter - FileCenter, also by Mustang, takes advantage of Active Server technology to give Webmasters the power to provide an organized, searchable library of files to their users.

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