TekMetrics (Brainbench) | Transcript ID 91390 | October 8, 1999 | Master Active Server Pages Programmer

On October 8, 1999, I earned certification as a Master Active Server Pages Programmer through TekMetrics. The “Master” distinction came with a gold seal, awarded only to those who exceeded the standard competency score—and I remember feeling exhilarated not only to be certified, but to have mastered a technology that had become my everyday craft.

At the time, what the world now calls Classic ASP wasn’t “legacy”—it was cutting edge. ASP was the backbone of early dynamic web development. It powered login systems, content management, form handling, database-driven websites, and thousands of business applications during the rise of the internet economy. It was powerful, flexible, and—when pushed far enough—tricky.

This wasn’t just about proving I could code. It was about proving I could understand beneath the surface.

That’s why the “Master” part mattered.

The distinction wasn’t simply decorative. TekMetrics reported that only about 12% of candidates who passed the exam scored high enough to earn the Master-level designation. So that gold seal didn’t just mean “qualified.” It meant performing at the very top of the field.

And ASP really was my daily world then. I wasn’t just using the language—I was pushing it well beyond how most developers approached it. Around this time, I was regularly publishing code and techniques on Planet Source Code, including what became my most widely referenced contribution:

“Upload Files Without COM.”

Back then, most ASP developers could only upload files by installing a specialized COM component onto a server. That posed big problems:

• shared hosting environments didn’t allow installs
• corporate environments required approvals and red tape
• many developers didn’t have admin rights at all

So this solution changed things. It allowed developers to upload files directly using native ASP without installing anything. For many people, it simply unlocked capability they didn’t previously have access to.

ASP didn’t just allow me to build things. It helped me learn to take systems apart mentally, understand how they functioned, and then use that knowledge creatively. This certification didn’t create that ability—it recognized it and solidified a turning point in how I viewed myself as a professional.

It marked the moment I realized:

I wasn’t just participating in technology.
I was contributing to how others could use it.