As both an ASP and JSP programmer, I started a series of articles
to examine the differences between ASP and JSP. After I released
part one and part four of the articles, ASP+ was announced. ASP+
changes the game to the point that I delayed writing additional
articles until I could examine ASP+ in greater detail.

I am currently working on a JSP project and on a separate ASP
project.  The ASP project itself is very interesting.  It is
starting off in ASP 3.0 and will be translated into ASP+ by time
the project is be done. As a result of these projects I will be able
to examine ASP+ closely, providing solid ASP+ to JSP comparisons.

This article presents my early observations of ASP+ and the impact
it has on an average developer such as myself.

In an initial comparison of ASP+ and JSP I found the following:

1) Object Orientation:
   ASP+ introduces C# as an object oriented language. In many respects
   it will become Microsoft's version of a Java-like language. The
   other fun fact about C# is that every object created automatically
   becomes a COM object. What this all boils down to is, if C# lives
   up to all or even 75% the marketing hype, it will give ASP+ Java-
   like capabilities but with faster performance due to its tight
   coupling with the Windows environment. C# is the single most
   important improvement for ASP+ development.

   Microsoft has engineered C# to be a stiff competitor of Java.
   It is a major part of Microsoft's reinvention of their .Net
   framework. I see C# as Microsoft's push to be the dominant player
   in the programming market place. I expect to see Microsoft put its
   full weight behind this product. As a result of all this, it's a
   safe bet C# will become the language of choice for many programmers. 

   The consequence of C# will be the intensification of the battle
   lines between the Sun and Microsoft product lines. This actually
   will be of benefit to the consumer, as it will spur both Java
   and C# to new improvements.
  
2) Database Connectivity:
   The one place that ASP really shines is in the use of the ADO
   Object, ODBC, OLE-DB and the Transaction Manager. Among all
   these pieces it is very easy to build fast and simple  ASP
   database web applications. ASP+ takes all this and marches onward
   to even more features, while ADO+ is being released with even
   more enhancements and speed boosts. JSP and JDBC currently lag
   behind in ease of use and features when compared to the current
   implementation of ASP/ADO. With the new release of ASP+/ADO+ the
   gap with JSP will widen even further.  I personally hope SUN will
   put serious effort into catching up with ASP+/ADO+ combination.

3) Large Scale Sites:
   ASP+ will have better support for large web farms. In fact,
   Microsoft is pushing this idea pretty hard. ASP+ wants you to
   think in terms of multiple servers. As you need more power, just
   add an extra server. The whole .Net framework has solidly embraced
   this methodology. ASP+ introduces external session state support
   providing built-in web farm support.  In addition, since all the
   components required to support a web farm are built fully optimized
   with each other, it will be fast.  The end result is that ASP+ will
   now equal JSP in it