Generally speaking, ASP.NET is Microsoft's web development environment. It doesn't overturn the traditional web development paradigm — the use of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) — which more easily allows for web developers to integrate these tools into their next projects. Instead, ASP.NET projects are built to include the various C# tools we've been regularly using up to this point, with our Windows Form projects: EventHandlers, attached to GUI components, using C# code. While this isn't a new functionality in the web development space, these tools are meant to simplify the solution to various common needs/problems that arise from web development, as well as allow us to forgo the use of languages like JavaScript for our dynamic or intelligent web experiences. Which if you've never experience the... joy of using JavaScript before, then feel blessed, for it is often more frustrating than it is useful.

Before we dive into the specifics of what ASP.NET brings to the table, we're going to first begin by covering the basics of HTML, very quickly and not at all completely. There is an entire course's worth of material to be had with how to use HTML (and more importantly, CSS) to create aesthetically pleasing layouts, why you should use certain layouts, how to tailor your design to your product/audience, the use of color, browser-compatibility, mobile-friendliness, etc. We're only going to focus on the basics, as a means of providing an introduction as to how you might integrate the tools and experience you've developed through the Windows Form projects we've worked on thus far this semester.