ASP Built-in Objects

This section describes the intrinsic COM objects (ASP built-in objects) that are available to ASP pages. Using ASP built-in objects, you can access to information regarding the Web server, the client who is accessing a Web page, the Web application that contains the Web page, and the fields in the HTTP request and response streams. The ASP built-in objects are organized by the type of information they contain.

The information in ASP built-in objects can also be obtained in a COM component or an ISAPI application. The following table lists the technologies from which ASP built-in objects can be accessed and how to access them.

Technology

Method of accessing ASP built-in objects

ASP

Use the ASP built-in objects listed in this section.

ASP.NET

The Request, Response, Server, Application, and Session objects are part of ASP.NET and are used in much the same way as they are in ASP. However, in ASP.NET these objects are defined in new classes in the System.Web namespace. For more information, see ASP.NET Intrinsic Objects

COM component

Use the C++ interfaces, the Java classes, or the COM+ ObjectContext object by calling GetObjectContext to gain access the ASP built-in objects.

ISAPI application

Use the C++ interfaces for the ASP built-in objects.

This section includes the following topics:

Topic

Description

Application Object

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information related to the entire Web application, including variables and objects that exist for the lifetime of the application.

ASPError Object

Describes the properties of the object that stores information about an error condition.

ObjectContext Object

Describes a wrapper for the COM+ ObjectContext object, which provides methods and events that are used only for transaction processing.

Request Object

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information related to the HTTP request. This includes forms, cookies, server variables, and certificate data.

Response Object

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information related to the server's response. This includes displaying content, manipulating headers, setting locales, and redirecting requests.

ScriptingContext Object

In a component, the ScriptingContext object returns references to the ASP built-in objects; however, this is an obsolete and unsupported method, removed in IIS 4.0. Use the COM+ ObjectContext object to return references to the ASP built-in objects. For more information, see COM+ ObjectContext Reference to the ASP Built-In Objects.

Server Object

Describes the methods and properties of the object that provides methods for various server tasks. With these methods you can execute code, get error conditions, encode text strings, create objects for use by the Web page, and map physical paths.

Session Object

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information related to the user's session, including variables and objects that exist for the lifetime of the session.

Requirements

Client: Requires Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, or Windows NT Workstation 4.0.

Server: Requires Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows NT Server 4.0.

Product: IIS