APG Script Brackets

<%# ... #%>

Delimits a script block written in the default scripting language.

Syntax

<%# script block #%>

Notes

This element is a block element, meaning the #%> tag must be used to specify the end of the script block.

<%# ... #%> is used to indicate a script block within an APG script. Script blocks are executed by a script engine. For more on script blocks and content blocks, see Writing APG Scripts.

The functionality of script brackets is similar to the <SCRIPT> tag. Both indicate a script block. Script brackets are used more frequently than the <SCRIPT> tag because they are more readable and/or easier to type. Many authors use the <SCRIPT>tag only when using multiple scripting languages.

The <%#... #%> syntax is similar to the <%... %> syntax used (also to denote a script block) within ASP. This similarity brings two advantages:

Makes it easier to port existing ASP pages to APGen optimized pages.
Syntax highlighting works within many popular editors.

Code within APG script brackets is executed using the default scripting language. The default scripting language is VBScript, but can be changed using a registry setting or the @LANGUAGE tag.

Example

Below is an example using APG script brackets:

<%# Output.Filename = "hello.htm" #%>
<HTML><BODY>
<%#
Dim i
For i = 1 to 5
#%>
<P>Hello World!</P>
<%# Next #%>
</BODY></HTML>

This script creates the following output file (hello.htm):

<HTML><BODY>

<P>Hello World!</P>

<P>Hello World!</P>

<P>Hello World!</P>

<P>Hello World!</P>

<P>Hello World!</P>

</BODY></HTML>

Advanced:

The <%#... #%> syntax is a shorthand notation, used to make it easier to generate content. With APG script brackets, text content and script can be mixed within a single APG file.

The above example is functionally equivalent to the script file below. The file below does not contain any content blocks.

<%#
     Output.Filename = "hello.htm"
     Output.Write("<HTML><BODY>" & vbCRLF & "")
     Dim i
     For i = 1 to 5
          Output.Write("" & vbCRLF & "<P>Hello World!</P>" & vbCRLF & "")
     Next
     Output.Write("" & vbCRLF & "</BODY></HTML>")
#%>

APG script brackets provide a clearer, cleaner, easier to write (and easier to debug!) file. These benefits become more significant as content blocks become more complex. In particular, generating files with ASP script and client-side script is very easy with APG script brackets, and very difficult without them.