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Summary: Oversimplified and in some cases wrong
Review: I'm not in the habit of trashing someones work, as it's not the easiest thing in the world to write a book, regardless of the content.Anyhow, this book is far too superficial to really be called 'Building a Content Management System', as it really only scratches the surface. Granted, it does build a system that manages content, but the design is largely skipped in favour of some code. The real reason I wanted to write this review though is that the book is plain wrong in one area - the author suggests that there is no way to provide your own custom role implementation, which isn't true - just take a look at the GenericPrincipal class in MSDN.
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Summary: The answer!
Review: If you have content, and are looking for a good way to manage it, without spending a fortune, this book's for you. I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Book Review: Real-World ASP.NET: Building a Content Manageme
Review: In Real-World ASP.NET: Building a Content Management System, Stephen R.G. Fraser presents an overview of the elements of a Content Management System, and builds a Content Management System in ASP.NET using C#. In short the book covers basic information about Content Management Systems, Workflows, Version Control and Personalization, but also introduces the reader with ASP.NET, Database Development, and XML. The book is divided in fifteen chapters which consist of the following major subjects: Definition of a Content Management System -- explains the elements of a Content Management System;
Basics of Web Architecture -- explains the basics of Web Architecture, the presentation, application and database layers;
ASP.NET, C#, and Visual Basic .NET -- introduction to the .NET framework and it's Web scripting languages;
ADO.NET -- explains the database basics and objects;
Authentication -- authorization, and encryption of content and the system;
Personalization -- defines Personalization and how to use it;
The book also has a website, at www.contentmgr.com, were you can see the Content Management System you will build live-in-action. Also you can download the companion source code of the Content Management System that will be built through out the book at the publisher's web-site: www.apress.com, go to Downloads and choose "Real-World ASP.NET: Building a Content Management System" to download it. Analysis
The first five chapters of the book start with explaining the elements of a Content Management System, so it's told that a Content Management System consists of a minimum of three elements: the content manager application (CMA), the metacontent management application (MCMA), and the content delivery application (CDA). After the writer explains the basis of a Content Management System and its terminology, the writer continues with explaining the aspects of version control and workflows. The next chapter is about the basics of Web Architecture, it will explain the reader about the classic n-tier client/server architectures which consist of the following layers: Presentation Layer, Application Layer, and Database Layer. As mentioned in the book the only difference with the classic n-tier client/server and the Web architecture is the presentation layer which will be via a web browser instead of an operation system specific executable. The next three chapters make space for an introduction to the .NET Framework , ASP.NET and the language C# but also Visual Studio .NET. In a tutorial kind of way you will build a Dynamic Content Viewer. Once you are done with this viewer you will step in the world of database development, in the chapter "Database Development and ADO.NET". In this chapter you will learn how to use the database functionality available in Visual Studio .NET and ADO.NET. You will also build some examples were you read data from a database and showing it in a Data Grid, and last you will be altering the Content Viewer you made in the previous chapter to work with ADO.NET. After all this information has been thrown at you it's time to really start building the Content Management System ("CMS"). The first thirty pages of the second half of the book are spent explaining how to install the included source code. The next chapters in the book will guide you how to make the several parts of the CMS. From implementing Authentication or a control panel where you can add or remove your stories. Of course there is information how to display dynamic content and how to implement support for Workflows in your CMS. Verdict
When you have finished reading Real-World ASP.NET: Building a Content Management System, you have all the information you need to build your own CMS successfully. If you build a CMS for the first time this is the book you want. Very well explained it implements the theory you learned in the first chapters into a nice ASP.NET based CMS that you can use a kick-start for your own CMS. The book is really meant for the Web developer. After the first five chapters the content of the book will get too technical for your editor or designer. In short it's a great book, together with a book like Content Management Bible which you in my opinion you already should have on your desk, you have perfect combination to start building your own CMS.
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Summary: Outstanding resource.
Review: Outstanding resource. I rarely encounter technical books such as this that clearly articulate concepts with sufficient detail and substance.
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Summary: Unique approach
Review: Provides comprehensive approach to building an end-to-end .NET solution. Great for content management buffs if you want to learn to build your own CMS.
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Summary: Nice introduction to scale of CMS, but that's about it.
Review: Some other reviewers have stated that the code in this book is very weak for any type of large-scale system. I couldn't agree more. While the first several chapters of the book do a good job of explaining the complexity of content management, the second half of the book intends to actually create such a system. The system created is fine for VERY basic sites, but my hunch is that anyone exploring the realm of CMS has a complex enough site to warrant a complex, robust solution. This book creates a basic system, but that's about it. Anyone looking to books for "real-world" solutions should find a different book.
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Summary: Too weak to develop a serious CMS
Review: The book, no doubt, presents some useful ideas about creating a content management system. However, the sample application "developed" throughout this book is way too weak for a serious system. Many essential areas are not covered in adequate depth, authentication and authorization for one. I found the book and its sample code void of anything exciting on the topic of CMS.
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Summary: Author is a novice
Review: The books presents a good concept but the final solution is far from adequate for the real world. I can't help but wonder if the author has ever worked in the real world, or does he just write books. I would like to see some real advice not just code listings that can easily be derived from the product documentation.
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Summary: Way too simple - a CMS for beginners
Review: The intro is very nice, explaining some good basics about versioning and workflow. Except for that, the result is a very basic CMS that would require way too much work to adapt. I would say it's a nice place to start for real beginners, but then again, real beginners might as well just download some CMS and adapt it. This book certainly won't help you create a real-world CMS. The resulting CMS has a demo online (ContentMGR), and it looks terrible. BTW: No WYSIWYG editing or similar.
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Summary: Good info if you can get through it
Review: This book has good info if you can get past the annoying writing style that Mr. Fraser uses. The first hundred pages are a recap of what a CMS is and you don't get to real ASP.NET and C# until Chapter 9. It does have good examples, however, and building a real application, start to finish is worth the price of the book itself. Don't buy this thinking it will teach you ASP.Net or C#, however, get "C# and the .Net Platform" for the later.
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