What is the difference between script tag, and "<%....%>" tag?

Question

I have just started to work on web applications, and learning to use ASP.Net. I have come across two methods to add script in an HTML page. One is by using script tag, and other one is by using <% ... %> tag. But, I am unable to figure out, what is the difference between both, and which one should I prefer in which case?

Answer 1

The script tag is used to specify full scripts (usually complete methods/function) (mostly client side scripts but you can also have server side script blocks) while the <% ... %> are used to include server side inline snippets.

Answer 2

The tag can be JavaScript or the language in question. The <% %> is functionally equivalent to

<script language="C#|vb" runat="server">

In general, you put the code in code behind (win forms), so the only is for client side script (generally JavaScript). With ASP.NET MVC, the <% %> is for marking up the view and is not really code.

Answer 3

Script tags are used to add Javascript (or similar) script to the final HTML which is rendered by the browser, and hence allow client-side scripting.

<% ... %> tags are ASP tags that are processed on the server side, and will not be present in the rendered HTML.