Description:
Aimed at all developers of all levels who want to program Web applications on Windows, Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step provides a perfectly pitched introduction to the world of ASP.NET ideal for those with a little experience with the older ASP standard, but also suitable for the raw beginner.This text sets a high standard for clarity and approachability, as well as excellent production value, with color printing (using blue) to highlight important points. The author assumes little programming knowledge on the part of the reader and the focus is on using ASP.NET with Visual Basic .NET (with a nod to C#) to create real Web applications, rather than getting bogged down in the richness of the new .NET platform. Essential material on the structure of ASP.NET pages (with a new emphasis on event handling), Web form control processing, and database basics (with ADO.NET) make for a worthwhile tour of the fundamentals you need to get productive with ASP.NET in a hurry. Sections on programming language basics will also bring the novice along. Throughout this text, the author provides highlighted sections of what's new and different in ASP.NET, which will bring readers who have used the older ASP version onboard with the new platform. Later chapters show off more advanced techniques, like creating custom server-side controls and a good introduction to the much-touted Web services used with ASP.NET. While these sections add depth to a capable tutorial, it's the rock-solid tour of the basics that makes this book a winning choice for busy Web developers. Final sections on the new caching abilities in ASP.NET are a must for running your applications effectively, as is the discussion on the nuts and bolts of deploying Web applications. A final section highlighting the changes between ASP and ASP.NET will help introduce you to the .NET version quickly, as will the bulleted lists of task-based tips at the end of the chapter. With its Step By Step series, Microsoft Press has apparently added a winning format to its catalog, and ASP.NET Step by Step shows off its advantages with a new emphasis on approachability, excellent use of color (all too rare in programming books), and an excellent set of examples and material on the most important aspects of the new ASP.NET. This title is quite simply one of the best available getting-started guides to Web development on .NET. --Richard Dragan
| 
