Inside ASP.NET

Rating:
Summary: Massive
Review: I'm not sure wether to use it for weightlifting or to read. This is an enormous work, badly proofread, with a strange (illogical?) ordering of chapters. It is too advanced for a college course textbook but the lack of C# (along with the price) makes it unattractive for more advanced students.

The developers (other reviewers) seem to find it OK, but this is NOT a book for educational institutes.

Rating:
Summary: From ASP Expert to ASP.NET Expert
Review: If you are an experienced ASP developer ready to become an ASP.NET developer this book gives you a head start.
As Microsoft developer we all know that the changes between the current development and the .NET framework are major. It makes ASP more mature and a state of the art development platform.

But what are the changes in the use and development of these Internet applications?
This book gives you the answers and helps you to apply your current knowledge to make fully use of the ASP.NET environment all from a programmers view.

All aspects needed to build real live applications are covered. From basic understanding of how the ASP.Net environment is build up to applying sophisticated security on your internet applications.

The chapters are clearly divided in the various aspects you come across in various projects. The commonly used ASP.NET classes and its intrinsic objects are explained in detail, focusing on what is important to know. All is backed up by al lot of code examples and is clearly explained, without analyzing every line of code.
This makes the chapters easier to read and it keeps the focus on the subject.
After reading the book you have a real good reference to keep with you in your development projects.

At the end of the book there is a complete project you can build. Using the techniques and controls explained in previous chapters. It shows you the power and flexibility of ASP.NET and the .NET framework. All pieces come together in this chapter.

Rating:
Summary: At Last Information Not Hype
Review: Inside ASP.NET is the sixth book I have purchased on the subject (...). In four of the six books over 40% of the text was spent introducing the framework with the same information available on the web. This book moved quickly yet comfortably and provided a reader with pertinent information rather than hype about a new technology. The writer's style is concise yet entertaining. It is an easy read yet a comprehensive voyage into the future. I recommend this book highly.

Rating:
Summary: I agree with the other review posters this is a good book!
Review: Just a good book, very usefull as a desktop reference, and eductaional tool for the advanced developer, in the ways of ASP.NET.

Rating:
Summary: Great reference and learning material!
Review: Not sure what to type, here, but here goes.
I found this book to be a very usefull reference and learning guide on ASP.NET.
This book has a more orthodox structure to it than most other books other books, it also seems to have been written by someone who knows the technology, rather than how to tell a tale, by this I mean that the author obviously has great knowledge and skill with ASP.NET, and this is passed onto the reader without a lot of fluff. (the book is quite direct in places)

So my final word on this book, is that if you need a great reference with solid (working source).

Get this book, you will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A great desk-side companion for the experienced dev
Review: Overall, this is a very fine book, and very deserving of its name. Being targeted at the experienced developer, its focus is not regurgitation of coding principles involved in building .NET-based applications, but rather takes an overall look at the operations and ways of manipulating, managing and presenting data for a better understanding of the .NET Framework as a whole. The ordering of the chapters is a bit unorthodox from the norm with what other .NET titles follow, but it is of value to the developer in being both a quick reference, and a practical guide. The logical flow of the book deviates from what many other titles go with.

The chapters are explained well and are succinct, not verbose over-amplifications of what should be simple concepts. The reader can get what he wants and move on. I was able to read easily and quickly. Each major property, method, and parameter or major objects is listed in tabular format, which is great for future lookups when I need a bit of code. (The code is all in VB.NET, with C# to be included with the online documentation. ...)

The chapters on MSMQ, ADSI, and state management support/integration were explained better and in more general detail than most books, in very simple to understand dialogue. In my experience, this is the section that throws most people off...or that they wind up skipping because no matter how good the ability of the author to analogize the concepts, they get lost in the complexity of it all. Worley did an excellent job describing why such features are of use to the developer, and although admittedly not diving into each technology in gross detail, but quickly enough to get a developer started.

On the whole, I enjoyed the writing, had fun with the experience and was pleased with the outcome. The lack of proofreading leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but overall I'd say this was a success.

I would recommend this book as an excellent addition to an ASP.NET developer's library. Hopefully the 2nd edition will patch and suture the bleeding left by the editorial mistakes.

Some additional comments:

Ø The book did a better job than most explaining the importance of .NET's configuration and state management features, using global.asax and web.config.
Ø Properties and methods of major objects and namespaces within the .NET Framework are laid out in tabular format, making for an easy-to-read and very quick, searchable listing, not forcing the read to go sifting through pages of editorial rhetoric just to get a bit of syntax. Too many books lose sight of the fact that people want to know as many method and properties as they can, and the authors too quickly refer to the "consult the Microsoft documentation" excuse. Worley also compiled a very useful listing of Appendices Many books do not go to the length of listing all of the given properties and methods for an object, but this is a great job of providing this for the reader.
Ø The physical dimensions and paper used for the book make it easy to hold and read (an important factor to me, typically lying the book on my stomach...I've nearly broken ribs with other publisher titles). The fact that the book is uses a softbound-yet-sturdy binding and cover makes this durable and rugged...this is a good thing in my mind, and something to capitalize on.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, not a giant paperwieght!
Review: Simply put its a great book, nice examples, very good chapters on web services, xml, ado and security.

I certainly reccommend this one!

Rating:
Summary: Cream of the crop
Review: This book is easily the peer of any currently-available book on ASP.NET, and superior to most in scope, organization, detail, and practical examples. It does an excellent job of answering the questions that smart developers need to know in order to become quickly productive in the ASP.NET environment.

In addition, this book does a good job of covering areas that are neglected in some other ASP.NET books, such as security and localization. A very worthwhile book overall.

Rating:
Summary: A very usefull reference for the Intermediate developer
Review: This book, is a very usefulll reference for the intermediate to advanced developer, its covers a myriad of topics, some which are not mentioned in other ASP.NET books, certainly not the ones I own, some of the best chapters in the book in my opinion were the following:

Web Services
XML and ASP.NET
Directory Services
Messeging Services
Custom Control Development
A very good, and direct chapter on ADO.NET
and my personal favourite, Localizing ASP.NET Applications

I am using this book in conjunction with Stephen Walthers ASP.NET Unleashed book, and find them both indespensible, where one book is weak the other is strong, yes there is some overlap, but seeing the same good from two obviously skilled writers and system engineers, lets the reader see more than one way to solve a common problem.

I recommend both books whole heartedly!

Rating:
Summary: Great reference and intemediate guide to ASP.NET
Review: This book, is in my opinion is great, it has been a long while since I have read a book, and actually learned a lot more than I bargined for.

For example, like most Classic ASP programmers, my security knowledge is passable, but after reading the security chapter in this book, I feel a lot more advanced in my knowledge, the same goes for the Globalization and Web Services chapters.

I am very happy with my purchase, and highly reccommend this book to anyone who needs a great ASP.NET reference

Jody F.