ASP By ASP applications we can create dynamic, interactive Web applications that reside on the server, which is capable

of calling other code components to perform complex business processing. We can code ASP applications using scripting code (either VBScript or JavaScript). ASP applications combine the application code and HTML on the same page. COM COM is the fundamental "object model" on which ActiveX Controls and OLE are built. COM allows an object to expose its functionality to other components and to host applications. It defines both how the object exposes itself and how this exposure works across processes and across networks. COM also defines the object's life cycle. Windows In a graphical Win32-based application, a window is a rectangular area of the screen where the application displays output and receives input from the user. Therefore, one of the first tasks of a graphical Win32-based application is to create a window. A window shares the screen with other windows, including those from other applications. Only one window at a time can receive input from the user. The user can use the mouse, keyboard, or other input device to interact with this window and the application that owns it. Java Script You can create basic Web pages using nothing more than text and HTML tags. However, if you want to create sophisticated, data-driven applications, you can add Java Script to your Web pages. JavaScripts are programs that run when users display your Web page. They can be simple or complex, depending on your needs. You can include either client scripts or server scripts. Vb Script Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition, the newest member of the Visual Basic family of programming languages, brings active scripting to a wide variety of environments, including Web client scripting in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Web server scripting in Microsoft Internet Information Server.

COM The Component Object Model (COM) is a component software architecture that allows applications and systems to be built from components supplied by different software vendors. COM is the underlying architecture that forms the foundation for higher-level software services, like those provided by OLE. OLE services span various aspects of component software, including compound documents, custom controls, inter-application scripting, data transfer, and other software interactions. adodb The ADO object model defines a collection of programmable objects that can be used in Visual Basic, Visual C++, VBScript, Java, and any platform that supports both COM and OLE Automation. The ADO object model is designed to expose the most commonly used features of OLE DB. Microsoft Universal Data Access Microsoft Universal Data Access is a platform for developing multitier enterprise applications that require access to diverse relational or nonrelational data sources across intranets or the Internet. Universal Data Access consists of a collection of software components that interact with each other using a common set of system-level interfaces defined by OLE DB. Universal Data Access components consist of data providers, which contain and expose data; data consumers, which use data; and service components, which process and transform data Universal Data Access architecture

Three-Tiered Applications To use Remote Data Service technology, you must understand the three-tiered client/server model. This model separates the various components of a client/server system into three "tiers":

Client tiera local computer on which either a Web browser displays a Web page that can display and manipulate data from a remote data source, or (in non Web-based applications) a stand-alone compiled front-end application. Middle tiera Microsoft Windows NT Server computer that hosts components that encapsulate an organization's business rules. Middle-tier components can be either Active Server Page scripts executed on Internet Information Server, or (in nonWeb-based applications) compiled executables. Data source tiera computer hosting a database management system (DBMS), such as a Microsoft SQL Server database. (In a two-tier application, the middle tier and data source tier are combined.)

These tiers don't necessarily correspond to physical locations on the network. For example, all three tiers may exist on only two computers. One computer could be a Microsoft Windows 95 computer running Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 as its browser. The second computer could be a Windows NT Server computer running both Internet Information Server and Microsoft SQL Server. Designing applications this way gives you greater flexibility when deploying processes and data on the network for maximum performance and ease of maintenance.