Different File Extensions for Web Pages (What are .asp, .php pages?)
There are hundreds of different files extensions as well as file types. Surf around the web for sometime and you will notice some of the website pages you can view with different file extensions. A number of files are needed to build a webpage. A complete website consists of static as well as dynamic webpages. Most of the modern websites are built on server side technology like active server pages. Common web files include HTML, ASP, CGI, and others.
Why File Extensions Are Important?
File extensions are the basic parts to save any web file. They are mainly used by operating system, so a computer can recognize the file type and work accordingly. When your computer OS sees the file with certain file type, it immediately get to know if it is a native file of doc file. Therefore, when you double click on the file, it instantly open the required file type.
Most of the file extensions have three characters, still the number of characters may vary. For instance we have .py file with two characters only. Then we have .wp5. We use this file for creating version 5 word processing application of WordPerfect.
Since there are hundreds of characters as well as hundred of files there, each file type has different type of data. For instance, .txt file contains text data, and .mus contains music data. Another reason to choose the right file type is that software applications organize different data on different file types.
There are some other specific technical reasons to have various file types. For instance, a digital photographer needs a lot of web space to keep the data safe. Algorithms have been developed to compress the data. So images can now be saved with different file extensions and different algorithms to compress the data.
Common Type Of Web Files
There are various kind of file extensions. The file name and extension mainly indicates the file type, and how you access it.
.HTML
.JS
.JAVA
.PHP
.ASP
.PHP File
PHP extension is as common as HTML. It mainly indicates the pages written in PHP. It is an open source programming language, that facilitates scripting, macros, to include on a website.
.shtm, .shtml
These denote files that use server side includes coding that lives on separate files. It allows you to include one webpage inside the other and add macro like actions to your websites.
.ASP
The file extension denotes active server pages. It mainly provides scripting, macros as well as databases connectivity and more. This file extension is most commonly found on windows server.
.cfm and .cfml:
These file extensions are used with cold fusion files. It is a server side content management that is powerful enough to bring tools like macros, scripting and various others for the webpages.
.pl: It denotes PERL extension. It is the most commonly used programming language.it is compiled and run by PERL interpreter software. Such file contains lines of code, comments, and variables. PL files are compatible with IOS, MAC, and windows.
When you send a request to fetch a web page, the browser examines the web file. It then fetches the file according to the requirements. If the file is for hyper-text markup language, it will get HTML file. If the requirements is something else, then it will be rendered accordingly. What the server software does depends on what is written in the web page. And frequently the web pages are running programming scripts or mini-computer programs which are processing data before or after you arrive.
