ASP.NET Kick Start

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ASP.NET Kick Start

By Michael Riley

Author Stephen Walther knows ASP.NET. He has written notone, but two books on the subject. His first title, ASP.NET Unleashed, was a heavyweight 1,441-page encyclopedia on hisvast expertise on the subject, including all the areas that make ASP.NET socompelling to learn and use. I gave the first edition of this title arespectable review (see my review of ASP.NETUnleashed) considering the challenge of capturing everything about ASP.NETthat would appeal to the vast array of Microsoft developers in the marketplace.Walther's latest release, ASP.NET KickStart, essentially is a synopsis of ASP.NETUnleashed, concentrating on code fragments and concepts that produce quickresults. This approach works flawlessly, especially for the ASP.NET newcomer.

As the red lettering on the cover of the book states, ASP.NET Kick Start is quick, concise,and practical in its approach to teaching the basics of ASP.NET development.The book is logically segmented into four parts. Part 1, Building Web FormPages, introduces you to creating ASP.NET applications using Visual Studio .NETas well as applying and understanding basic server controls; form validation;debugging Web forms; and even an introduction to creating Web user controls.Part 2, Working with Database Data, shows how you can use Visual Studio .NET'sDatabase Object Server Explorer and Database Diagrams to leverage ADO.NETobjects. It includes brief examples of using List, Repeater, DataList, andDataGrid controls that show how easily you can deliver dynamic database-drivenASP.NET applications. Part 3, Working with ASP.NET Applications, teaches youabout page caching, application security and state, and understanding andmodifying the machine.config and web.config project files. Part 3 alsodiscusses the Global.asax file, customer HttpModules, and, of course, what youneed to know when deploying a Web application to a server using a Web Setupproject. Finally, Part 4, Components, Web Services and Custom Controls,examines component creation and Web service consumption and invocation, and itcloses with 50 pages dedicated to the creation of custom Web Forms controls.

Because the book is one-third the size of ASP.NET Unleashed, Walther eitherglossed over or completely omitted many topics in ASP.NET Kick Start. For instance, mobile devices and controls,using .NET's XML and string manipulation libraries, and other Web facilitiessuch as the SMTP service are not included in ASP.NET Kick Start, but their absence makes this book morebeginner-friendly. His focus on generating the most obvious, visible, andimmediately gratifying results rewards readers for their participation with arapid understanding of the working basics of ASP.NET.

This book includes a couple of other improvements. Unlike ASP.NET Unleashed, which focusesexclusively on VB .NET, ASP.NET KickStart provides both C# and VB .NET code for every example, oftenillustrating how much cleaner and succinct the C# syntax is compared to its VB.NET translation. Also, ASP.NET KickStart is more cleanly edited - so, no references to a phantom CD-ROMcompanion disc. Although this book's code samples are unavailable from thepublisher's Web site, there is no real need to obtain it because few of thebook's examples exceed 10 lines. In fact, many code listings are only a fewlines long - a true testament to the power encapsulated by ASP.NET's objects.

In addition, Walther's writing style is as quick, concise,and practical as the book's contents. Given the page constraints he had to workwith and the challenge of distilling the most important, approachable aspectsof ASP.NET development from his previous title, his result is admirable. Everypage in the book exudes the excitement of learning something new and powerful.If you're a beginning ASP.NET developer or know someone who is, ASP.NET Kick Start will teach you thebasics yet keep you engaged from start to finish.

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Web Site: http://www.sams.com

Price: US$34.99