All of this brings us to ASP.NET. A common theme you'll see throughout this book is that ASP.NET takes features usually implemented (over and over again) by developers and rolls them into the ASP.NET framework.

ASP.NET 2.0 takes ASP.NET 1.1 to the next level and pushes even more commonly implemented features into the framework. An example of how ASP.NET 2.0 improves upon ASP.NET 1.1 is the authentication and authorization services provided by ASP.NET 1.1; ASP.NET 1.1 included a reasonable and easy-to-manage authentication model. However, developers were often left with the task of rolling their own authentication systems into their Web sites. ASP.NET 2.0 adds an authorization subsystem. We'll cover ASP.NET Forms Authentication and other security features in depth during chapter 10.

In the following chapters, we'll cover the most important ASP.NET features. By the end of the last chapter, you'll be well equipped to develop a Web site based on ASP.NET.