ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated

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ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated

ASP.NET 2.0 is undoubtedly a flagship technology forbuilding robust Web-based applications. And although there are many resourcesavailable for learning ASP.NET on the Internet, readers often must spend hoursto grasp the content. Hence, many prefer the quality books that are availableon the market to learn ASP.NET. One such book, written by renowned experts AlexHomer and Dave Sussman, is ASP.NET 2.0Illustrated. Part of the popular Microsoft .NET Development Series offered byAddison-Wesley, this book is packed with a mixture of basic and advancedcontent about the various aspects involved with the development of Webapplications using ASP.NET 2.0.

The first chapter discusses the new features of ASP.NET2.0, including the installation and configuration of .NET Framework 2.0. Thesecond chapter provides a detailed roadmap regarding a day in the life of adeveloper. It analyzes some of the key features involved with the developmentof applications with databases using the GridView control. The next threechapters cover some of the advanced concepts regarding databases, including adetailed overview about the two- and three-tier architectures, Typed datasets,Data Source Control Events, Asynchronous Pages, and SQL 2005 User DefinedTypes. The fifth chapter demonstrates how to handle data editing conflicts withthe help of relevant source codes.

The sixth chapter analyzes the use of caching, one of thekey concepts of ASP.NET 2.0. Homer and Sussman provide detailed coverage aboutoutput and data caching with special reference to Cache API, in addition tospecial coverage about when to use caching in your applications. With the helpof Chapter 7, you ll learn how to work with XML using Visual Studio 2005,including debugging XSLT, Streaming XML, Creation of XML Columns, and Schemasusing SQL Server 2005. Chapter 8 elaborates about the building of ASP.NETprojects using various controls, such as Hyperlink, ValidationSummary, List,Grid, and Mobile controls, and much more, with briefcoverage about the use of the Postback approach.

While Chapter 9 examines such classes as HttpRequest,HttpResponse, and HttpServer, as well as Skins and Themes, Tracing, and MasterPages, Chapter 10 deals with various navigation techniques, including the useof sitemaps and menus. The next chapter is important because it examinessecurity and membership. You ll learn how to manage Roles, Users, and the useof the Membership class, including the new security controls integrated intoASP.NET 2.0.

One of the points I noticed is that the authors jumped straightinto discussing database-related concepts, without first discussing any fundamentals.From my point of view, Chapters 8 and 2 should be swapped. This is becausereaders should learn about the use of various Toolbox controls before beginningto work with databases. I also found that some of the explanations in some ofthe chapters did not meet my expectations. For instance, in Chapter 11 (Securityand Membership) the authors explain the concepts simply by giving lines of codeafter each section. The authors should provide relevant explanations withcomplete source code so that readers can implement the concepts easily. Theauthors also should provide coverage about the use of security controls with a MicrosoftAccess database as the back-end, as it is still being used by many developers.

Using a shopping cart application as an example, Chapter12 provides comprehensive coverage about Profiles, Personalization, and Themes.WebParts is a new addition to ASP.NET 2.0; Chapter 13 will help you master theconcept.

Chapter 14 demonstrates how to validate page content anddetect browser capabilities, in addition to the use of CSS, Shortcut keys, Taborder, Accessibility features, Creation of ASP.NET applications for mobiledevices, and the relevant concepts regarding localization. While Chapter 15examines various classes included with .NET Framework 2.0 (including exhaustivecoverage about System.Net, System.Net.Mail, and System.Directory.Servicesnamespaces), the final chapter demonstrates the creation and consumption of Webservices with special coverage of the WSE 3.0 Toolkit. The chapter concludeswith a short note about the future of Web services.

I was a bit disappointed after going through the book whenI found it doesn t devote a chapter to the use of AJAX.One of the hottest topics in the developer community, I m sure readers expectAJAX-related content. For the most part, however, the authors provide detailedexplanations, along with relevant source code and screenshots in all chapters. Theymade a nice attempt to provide clear-cut explanations about the variousfeatures of ASP.NET 2.0. Moreover, each chapter ends with a detailed summary. Inaddition, Homer and Sussman maintain a Web site (http://www.daveandal.net/books/8344/)that supports the book; you can download the code samples or run and view themonline.

This book will be most useful for intermediate and advanceddevelopers; beginners will sometimes find it difficult to follow the content. Novicedevelopers should first master a beginner-level book before venturing into ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated.

Anand Narayanaswamy

Rating:

Title: ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated

Authors: AlexHomer and Dave Sussman

Publisher:Addison-Wesley Professional

ISBN:0-321-41834-4

Web Site: http://www.awprofessional.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0321418344&rl=1

Price: US$54.99

Page Count: 800