What is a Dynamically Generated Page?

What is a Static Web Page?

A static page by nature is nondynamic as all elements are fixed on the webpage. The static webpage is made up of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (JS)) hosted on the client side and few are hosted on the web server. The page responds to a click on an internal link or by entering a URL. Static pages are simple and the content is fixed. The page is generated as it is.

What is a Dynamic Web Page?

A dynamically developed page is scripted using CGI (Common Gate Way Interface, AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) a nonprogramming language, ASP which is an open-source framework for .net or ASP.Net. The content generated is as called by the users. Thus, the information retrieved will differ as called by the users. In all cases, the same UX and push button elements are retained. Though this may take more time to load. The dynamically generated webpages are indispensable.  Dynamic pages use apps that are hosted on the server side. The content is brought to the front end for use upon request by the user. The information is stored in a database which is a collection of all information and content which are retrieved upon user request.

Two Types of Dynamic Web Pages

Client-side Scripting: The web page is stored on the client-side that is on the page using client-side scripting. The content is generated on the user’s computer.

Server-side Scripting: Server-side dynamic page examples are the login page, shopping carts, and submissions.  When pages are needed server-side content is generated.

How are Dynamic Web Pages Processed?

Upon request a dynamic page is not sent directly it passes the application server page. Instead, it passes the page to the application server where a code is processed using a database driver function.

Dynamic Web Pages Testing. What is a Static Web Page?

A static website contains simple HTML pages and supporting files (e.g., Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript (JS)) hosted on a web server. When a site visitor requests a static page, say, by clicking a link, selecting a browser bookmark, or entering a URL; the web server sends the page directly to the web browser without modifying the final content of the page.

What is a Dynamic Web Page?

A dynamic page displays different content for different users while retaining the same layout and design. Such pages, usually written in CGI, AJAX, ASP, or ASP.NET, take more time to load than simple static pages. They’re frequently implemented to show information that changes frequently, e.g., weather updates or stock prices.

Dynamic pages usually contain application programs for different services and require server-side resources like databases. A database allows the page creator to separate the website’s design from the content to be displayed to users. Once they upload content into the database, it is retrieved by the website in response to a user request.

Two Types of Dynamic Web Pages

Client-side Scripting: A web page that changes in response to an action within it (“client-side event”) uses client-side scripting. These scripts generate “client-side content” on the user’s computer, rather than the web server.

Server-side Scripting: A web page that changes when it’s loaded or visited, or based on what’s submitted to it, uses server-side scripting. When the pages are loaded, server-side content is generated. Examples include login pages, shopping carts, and submission forms.

How are Dynamic Web Pages Processed?

When the web server receives a user request for a dynamic page, it does not send the page directly to the requesting browser as it would do with a static page. Instead, it passes the page to the application server which then completes three activities:

Read the code on the page

Finish the page according to the code’s instructions

Remove the code from the page

This results in a static page that’s passed back to the web server by the application server, and then to the requesting browser for display.

The application server cannot communicate directly with the database, so it requires a database driver that acts as that functions as an interpreter.

Although dynamic web pages are useful for many types of websites, they can cause difficulties for application security testing teams.

For one, developers struggle to find a consistent form of communication with the different system components, which makes it difficult to do automated testing. This results in extra manual effort and extra costs in tester resources.

Next, since the client and server are knit closely making it is problematic to deploy, test and develop, besides the difficult-to-maintain code clutters the database. Remember the approach to the server side and client side is different and it causes a lot of confusion while working on the code database.  

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