ASP.NET is a web application framework marketed by Microsoft that programmers can use to build dynamic web sites, web applications and web services. It is part of Microsoft's .NET platform and is the successor to Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) technology. ASP.NET is built on the Common Language Runtime, allowing programmers to write ASP.NET code using any Microsoft .NET language.
ASPX is an html file format used to create Webform pages; in programming jargon, the ASPX file typically contains static HTML or XHTML markup, as well as markup defining Web Controls and Web User Controls where the developers place all the required static and dynamic content for the web page. Additionally, dynamic code which runs on the server can be placed in a page within a block <nowiki><% -- dynamic code -- %></nowiki> which is similar to other web development technologies such as PHP, JSP, and ASP, but this practice is generally frowned upon by Microsoft except for the purposes of data binding since it requires more calls when rendering the page.
It is recommended by Microsoft for dealing with dynamic program code to use the code-behind model, which places this code in a separate file or in a specially designated script tag. Code-behind files are typically named something to the effect of MyPage.aspx.cs or MyPage.aspx.vb based on the ASPX file name (this practice is automatic in Microsoft Visual Studio and other IDEs). When using this style of programming, the developer writes code to respond to different events, like the page being loaded, or a control being clicked, rather than a procedural walk through the document.
Note that this sample uses code "inline", as opposed to code behind.
<%@ Page Language="C#" %>