ASP.NET master page vs. SharePoint page layout template

What is the difference between a master page and a SharePoint template?

[Tom_N]

A client of mine uses SharePoint to manage its websites, and recently asked me to build a small website for them using ASP.NET, which they would then implement via SharePoint.

My skills with ASP.NET are intermediate, and I have no experience at all with SharePoint.

I created a master page for the site, as well as the individual pages, but the client is telling me that they also need a page layout template in order to view and manage the site via SharePoint.

Unfortunately I have no idea what this means. So, my questions are:

1. What is the difference between a master page and a page template?

2. What does this page template look like? In other words, what type of file is it, and what kind of code goes in it?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

[Ocean10000]

Hello Tom

I am not very familiar with Sharepoint, so I had to do a bit of learning. I found some documents on Microsoft's sites that might help answer a few questions.

Customizing Master Pages in Windows SharePoint Services [msdn.microsoft.com]

Application Templates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 [technet.microsoft.com]