Why Not Classic ASP Indeed?
Not long ago, we read this post called “Why not Classic (Legacy) ASP?” http://stevesmithblog.com/blog/why-not-classic-legacy-asp/ about (basically) the pros and cons of programming in Classic ASP.
To recap the post, Steve was replying to a letter he received from an unnamed programmer asking why Steve no longer thought the Classic ASP framework was worth developing for. In his letter, the programmer said this:
“Here's my thinking: HTTP is stateless. All you need the framework to do is talk to your database and render clean HTML. That's it. All UI interactivity should be handled on the browser in JavaScript, and all design should be handled in CSS. Classic ASP (with the help of jQuery) makes all this SO EASY.”
We agree completely, especially for the small business owner’s website. Despite Steve’s obvious experience and well thought out answers, we think that this is a key area of use that Steve Smith overlooked.
Classic ASP applications are perfect for the do-it-yourselfer and the small business owner who do not need large, enterprise-software-sized solutions. (However, it is important to note that there are many large websites out there that do use Classic ASP, like www.futureshop.ca and http://edsitement.neh.gov/)
In fact these SOHO and SME owners are exactly the people who DMXReady is trying to help.
If you are a small business owner who wants a dynamic website or CMS solution, you don’t need a huge database capable of handling thousands of hits at a time. You are most likely concerned about:
- Ease of use
- Ease of customization (sometimes)
- A solution that is ready-to-go “right out of the box”
That’s what Classic ASP applications offer, and that’s why DMXReady has stuck with Classic ASP-based programming.
With DMXReady, you don’t need to set up a separate database because the built-in Microsoft Access database simply uploads with your application and “installs itself”. Plus, if you need to make some minor tweaks to the open source code, it is generally easier to learn Classic ASP than other “advanced” programming languages (in fact many of our customers say that they learned programming from customizing our apps!)
So it really is an easy solution – purchase the application, upload, and use. For those who want to play under the hood, that option is available to you too.
Here’s the thing in a nutshell: ask programmers what they prefer to program in, and 99% will say something other than Classic ASP-based frameworks. It's almost like it's mandatory for “serious” programmers to pooh-pooh Classic ASP to keep their street cred. (For the record, we don’t believe that’s the case for Steve here – usually the bashing comes from programmers who have never worked with ASP.)
But ask non-programmers what programming language they prefer, and they’ll usually say “What? Who cares? I just want something that is easy to use, and works.”
Classic ASP fulfills both those needs – and we would argue it fulfills them better than other programming languages. That’s why we’ve stuck with it, and that’s why we continue to believe in it.
Be sure to check out the whole discussion on Steve Smith’s website here:
http://stevesmithblog.com/blog/why-not-classic-legacy-asp/
Then let us know what you think by leaving a comment!
Happy Scripting,
