In order to run ASP pages on your local PC, you will need the Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3 or higher. Since the price is right for this powerful software - free - I highly recommend downloading the most current version The examples in this book use version 4.0.
We have been discussing client and server concepts. We can now make your PC act as a server that can create and display ASP pages. The pages can be used on the same machine, or you can even allow others to access your ASP pages via the Internet. In order to accomplish this feat, we will need to use the Microsoft Personal Web Server (PWS). The PWS is similar to any other Web server, except that it is compact enough to run on Windows 95, but powerful too: PWS 4.0 is a scaled-down version of Microsoft's Internet Information Server. PWS does not require a high-end server machine and, what's more, it's free.
If you have a later version of Windows 95 or 98, or Front Page, the Microsoft Personal Web Server (PWS) is fully integrated into the Windows taskbar and Control Panel, allowing users to start and stop HTTP and FTP services, administer the server, or change general options.
The PWS is required to run our ASP files. If you don't have the Personal Web Server currently installed, you can easily download the latest version from Microsoft. Here's how.