ASP.NET is more than the next version of Active Server Pages (ASP). It is a unified Web development platform that provides the services necessary for developers to build enterprise-class Web applications. While ASP.NET is largely syntax compatible with ASP, it also provides a new programming model and infrastructure for more secure, scalable, and stable applications. You can feel free to augment your existing ASP applications by incrementally adding ASP.NET functionality to them.
ASP.NET is a compiled, .NET-based environment. You can author applications in any .NET compatible language, including Visual Basic .NET, C#, and JScript .NET. Additionally, the entire .NET Framework is available to any ASP.NET application. Developers can easily access the benefits of these technologies, which include the managed common language runtime environment, type safety, inheritance, and so on.
ASP.NET has been designed to work seamlessly with WYSIWYG HTML editors and other programming tools, including Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Not only does this make Web development easier, but it also provides all the benefits that these tools have to offer, including a GUI that developers can use to drop server controls onto a Web page and fully integrated debugging support.