ASP.NET 2.0

ASP.Net 2.0
.Net Framework is a development and execution envirnonment that allows developers to create windows and web-based applications.

.Net Framework provides an integrated development environment in which programmers can develop applications in different programming language, such as C# and VB.NET.

Common Language Runtime (CLR)
This is a language-independent runtime environment of .NET Framework that manages the code at execution time. Irrespective of what language you choose to develop your application, CLR manages the code for all.

GARBAGE COLLECTION
The Common Language Runtime (CLR) requires that you create objects in the managed heap, but you do not have to bother with cleaning up the memory once the object goes out of the scope or is no longer needed. The Microsoft .NET Framework Garbage Collector provides memory management capabilities for managed resources. The Garbage Collector frees objects that are not referenced and reclaims their memory. You should set your references to Nothing(null) as soon as you are done with them to ensure your objects are eligible for collection as soon as possible.

Here are the list of some tasks performed by the Garbage collector:

Garbage collector reserves a piece of memory as the application starts for the managed heap.
Garbage collector controls the managed heap memory currently used and available to an application.
Garbage collector allocates memory for new objects within the application.
The Garbage Collector attempts to reclaim the memory of objects that are not referenced.

In ASP.Net the state can be maintained in following ways
Server-side state management
Application objects
Session Variables
Database
Client-side state management
Cookies
Hidden input fields
Query String
ViewState

CONNECTION POOLING
Connection pooling enables an application to use a connection from a pool of connections that do not need to be re-established for each use. Once a connection has been created and placed in a connection pool, an application can reuse that connection without performing the complete connection creation process.

By default, the connection pool is created when the first connection with a unique connection string connects to the database. The pool is populated with connections up to the minimum pool size. Additional connections can be added until the pool reaches the maximum pool size.

When a user request a connection, it is returned from the pool rather than establishing new connection and, when a user releases a connection, it is returned to the pool rather than being released. But be sure than your connections use the same connection string each time. Here is the Syntax

conn.ConnectionString = "integrated Security=SSPI; SERVER=192.168.0.123; DATABASE=MY_DB; Min Pool Size=4;Max Pool Size=40;Connect Timeout=14;";

WEB SERVICES AND REMOTING
ASP.NET Web Services Can be accessed only over HTTP but .Net Remoting Can be accessed over various protocols like TCP, HTTP, SMTP etc.

Web Services are based on stateless service architecture but .Net Remoting support for both stateful and stateless environment.

Web Services support heterogeneous environments means interoperability across platforms but .Net remoting requires .Net on both server and client end.

.NET Remoting provides the fast communication than Web Services when we use the TCP channel and the binary formatter.

Web services support only the objects that can be serialized but .NET Remoting can provide support to all objects that inherit MarshalByRefObject.

Web Services are reliable than .Net remoting because Web services are always hosted in IIS.

Web Services are ease to create and deploy but .Net remoting is bit complex to program.

ASP.NET 3.5 with VS 2008
I found a good presentation on new features in Asp.NET 3.5 with VS 2008 and journey from Asp, Asp.NET 1.1 to Asp.NET 3.5 with Visual studio 2008. Visual studio 2008 completely replaces VS 2005. It provides new features like JavaScript intellisense, JavaScript debugging and new CSS editor, and also Unit test automation tools.NET 3.5 built on top of 2.0 and 3.0. In it, Membership, Role, and Personalization framework exposed as web services.Language Integrated Querying (LINQ), Native support for latest web protocols (RSS, JSON, etc) are some exciting features.

What is the difference between DataList and Repeater data binding controls?
Answer: The DataList control is similar to the Repeater control. However, it has some additional properties and templates that you can use to display its data in a diverse fashion. The Repeater control does not have any built-in layout or style. We are forced to specify all formatting-related HTML elements and style tags. On the other hand, a DataList control provides more flexibility to display data in a desired layout. It also provides data selection and editing capabilities. How does it do it? Well, in addition to the five templates (Item Template, AlternatingItem Template, Separator Template, Header Template, Footer Template that a repeater has, the DataList control has two more templates: SelectedItemTemplate, and EditItemTemplate. These templates are useful for allowing data selection and data editing functionalities.

Furthermore, the RepeatDirection and RepeatColumns properties of a DataList control can be exploited to lay out the data in horizontal or vertical fashions.