Review

ASP can be a great way to extend administrative script functionality to other administrators in your enterprise. With it, you can create Web utilities that don't necessarily require administrative privileges, and you can closely control the functionality provided by your Web tools. ASP also makes it easier to provide access: Rather than distributing scripts via e-mail or a file server, they can be centrally located and easily accessible from a single intranet Web server.

The capability of ASP to perform actions that ordinary users can't perform can also be useful. For example, I work with one company that allows department heads to submit new user account requests online. The ASP page waits for administrator approval, and then creates the new user account automatically. Administrators don't need to type in any additional information, and the approval process can be handled by a junior administrator or assistant who might not have Domain Admin privileges. ASP is a powerful way to leverage your growing scripting skills, especially in large organizations.

COMING UP

With the ASP basics under your belt, you're ready to build a basic static Web page and add some VBScript to it, and I'll show you how in the next chapter. After that, I'll explain some of the finer points of ASP security, and then show you how to pull everything together in a Web page designed for Help Desk technicians.