Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This is a mediocre book that doesn't have a very good focus. The first four chapters are fine as introductory chapters, discussing how to pick a server-side scripting language, how to handle exceptions and "regular expressions, classes and dynamic evaluation and execution" (i'm not sure how those got lumped together!) There are two main chapters, one on form reuse (that has some reasonably useful info) and one on a reusable database admin page, which may or may not be useful. The methodology is interesting but it seems to have limited usefulness. The final chapters outline COM & how to use 3rd party COM objects. The information here is at a very high level and you would best be served by getting a book devoted to that topic. My biggest concern with the book is that the title is hopelessly misleading. There is almost nothing on "designing" active server pages. We are instead led through a couple of administration apps and a high-level intro to COM & how to use 3rd party components. I expected information on how to structure your application, on performance issues, on scalability, on security, session & application variables, maybe even something on database issues. Unfortunately most of the author's advice seems could be summarized with "encapsulate your code: use classes, COM objects and include files". I found that a lot of the writing seemed wordy and repetitive, unlike most O'Reilly books. Also this book seems pitched at intermediate developers, say those that are familiar with the syntax but don't have much expertise in building multi-page ASP applications. I don't think experienced ASP developers would get much out of this book, since they probably have written their own code to accomplish some of the things discussed in this book. I wanted to give this book a good review, being a big fan of the author's web site,.... Unfortunately this book is not a keeper. If you want ASP books get "ASP in a Nutshell" (O'Reilly) for the syntax, "Developing ASP Components" (O'Reilly) if you want to get into COM and Professional Active Server Pages 2/3 (Wrox) for an excellent look at real ASP programming in an enterprise.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for all levels
Review: As a web developer, I've been using ASP for a couple years and would consider myself and intermediate ASP programmer. I've built up a collection of books on the topic, mostly referring to WROX books for their reference quality. ASP isn't my primary function at my job, so I don't get to work daily on developing and using my skills. I've recently been looking to improve my ability in this area, and inject some new ideas into the way I accomplish things in code. This book was the perfect answer! If you're new to ASP or programming, you'll appreciate the emphasis on structure and conventions. If you're experienced with ASP, you'll appreciate the ideas presented here. I especially like the work on code reusability. This is definitely one of the best ASP books I've seen in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: The difference between men and boys
Review: As an expert Microsoft developer, being productive is all there is to be a distinct professional. Reusability is the key to increase your efficiency and this book shows how to achieve it. A must buy for professionals with little time available and too much to do.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for ASP designers
Review: Do you find yourself continually writing code that invokes a sense of deja vu? Do you keep planning to rewrite that function that has spawned too many variations to count? Does the fourth about-face on specs have you drinking, pulling out your hair, and junking your last month's work? If you can say yes to any of these questions, you need to buy this book. In an easy to read format, it provides excellent examples of how to build reusable and maintainable code. It doesn't have all the answers, but it will point you in the right direction and inspire you to write code that you can be proud of. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Must have for ASP designers
Review: Do you find yourself continually writing code that invokes a sense of deja vu? Do you keep planning to rewrite that function that has spawned too many variations to count? Does the fourth about-face on specs have you drinking, pulling out your hair, and junking your last month's work? If you can say yes to any of these questions, you need to buy this book. In an easy to read format, it provides excellent examples of how to build reusable and maintainable code. It doesn't have all the answers, but it will point you in the right direction and inspire you to write code that you can be proud of. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: JavaScript Bible
Review: Great educational book that highlights main topics well enough that it allows to understand the logic as well as syntax and structure of the pages on the website. Most of all this book is well organized and user-friendly meaning that in order to find any detail, statement, function or definition it'll take seconds from the point of opening up an Indexed page. This book is a great choice and gift for someone with experience or without in web developing field.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am sorry. In my opinion this book is a waste of paper. I have
tried to find some answers to simple questions
about ASP in this book. Things concerning little
things one might forget and you want to look up.
After a few times using the book in this way it's clear this book tells us little useful things. Even free (digital/psd) manuals on ASP are a lot more useful. After
buying this book from amazon it went quite quickly to a dump shop, sorry...
Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: I bought this book as an introduction to ASP. I did not expect much, but I got even less than that -- some 330+ pages of light prose, little specific information about the platform, trivial code examples and some obviously borrowed answers to the "what is good software design" question. Real disappointment, moreover so since it is coming from ORA. Looking for a general reading on software design? Design Patterns would be a much better choice. General book on ASP? I don't know the market well, but avoid this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time and Money
Review: I do not find fault in the purpose behind this book. Code reuse is of extreme importance in coding stable, scalable, and bug-free applications. This book however does not address anything that has not already been discussed in much greater detail by authors with more experience. This is only an application of that code reuse. The problem is, if you are creating any application that must meet certain security standards and or must be very scalable, the solutions offered in this book are of little or no use. I recommend purchasing "Code Complete" by Steve McConnell. This book will show you how to be a better programmer. "How to Solve It" by Polya, will help you to think so you can come up with better solutions than "Designing Active Server Pages". Do not get me wrong, the book is not terrible, rather it is useless.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent work, but please organize the sample code
Review: I have around 20 titles in my personal library which focus directly or indirectly on ASP. This is simply the best. It isn't an introduction to the language -- there are several good ones for that -- it is more about using sound program design methodology to accomplish some of the more complex tasks facing ASP programmers, such as content management systems, reusable forms, and eCommerce. If you have any programming experience in other languages and are moving to ASP, get this book. If you are just learning what an Active Server Page is, then it is not for you, but if you plan to do anything more than fairly simple pages in ASP, get it, even if you don't think you're ready for advanced stuff. Scott gives good examples, clear explanations, and lays out methodology that will help you no matter what your level of experience. It's one of the best bargains out there in technical books.
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