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Rating: 
Summary: Good book on "Introduction" (to .NET)
Review: "Even ASP.NET compiled!" (into Intermediate Language, in the form of .cs in case written in C# or .vb in case written in VB)Such was the phrase we shouted out loud on the inception of ASP.NET (ASP+) last year. Maybe I am naive, but one can immediately perceive the way we will architect .NET based application in the future which will be close enough into that of J2EE "Model View Controller" (J2EE Type 2) Architecture, in which Servlet, is responsible for the controller (processing request from the client and instantiate beans (components) from EJB containers, all business logic including database calls are served through EJB components) and JSP, even though later "compiled" into servlet, is responsible ONLY as "response" back to the client. Sure one can still write .NET application without proper architecture, putting "everything" (request, controller, database calls, business logic, response) into ASPs, as such reflects that of non-Enterprise application architecture. Once again, I'm naive here, talking as if .NET is COM (Microsoft Enterprise based architecture) at all. The truth is that, it is NOT (a COM or COM+)! Let me repeat: .NET is NOT COM! .NET "components" (called "assemblies") do not (have to) "register" in the COM+ registry as it encapsulates "manifest" which provides information of the classes. Sure there is .NET wrapper for COM components and vice versa. Common Language Runtime which .NET specifies that one must be compiled into Intermediate Language (bytecoded as that of JVM) before compiled into machine code with Just In Time Compiler. As that of JVM, CLR is in charge of interpreting bytecode, relegating memory allocation to garbage collector, authenticating the code. and its class library is even similar to classes and namespaces in Java! Getting closer to J2EE? (Now on the introduction of .NET, the phrase should be:) "Everything is compiled twice!" Grab this book if you want to learn .NET paradigm, go find other "textbooks" if you want to learn programming languages.
Rating: 
Summary: Good technical overview of .NET
Review: Not having read much online information about .NET I was pretty happy with this book. There's a chapter on each of the major .NET features including the Common Language Runtime, C#, VB.NET, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, Winforms etc. It definitely removed a lot of the mystery of .NET for me. Previously all of the info I had read on .NET was vague generalities but this book really gets down to the actual details. I would only recommend this book to people who are experienced with C++, VB and COM. The book was more technical than I expected and there is a good deal of code. One problem was the editing, there were several mistakes and the book had a bit of a rushed feel to it. Having 10 co-authors makes the style a little uneven and there are a few items that are mentioned by more than one author. This is a decent technical overview of .NET. If that's what you're looking for I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great Overview for .Net
Review: I have purchased several Dot Net books as of late. I thought the book was very thorough as an overview. This book was not intended to be a programmers guide to any single language in the Dot Net suite. But if you want a book to give you some insight as to what Dot Net is all about, this is a great place to start. I also purchased Wrox "Programming C# with the public Beta", although this book is being replaced with Professional C#, I still learned much from this title as well.
Rating:
Summary: Great Overview for .Net
Review: I have purchased several Dot Net books as of late. I thought the book was very thorough as an overview. This book was not intended to be a programmers guide to any single language in the Dot Net suite. But if you want a book to give you some insight as to what Dot Net is all about, this is a great place to start. I also purchased Wrox "Programming C# with the public Beta", although this book is being replaced with Professional C#, I still learned much from this title as well.
Rating:
Summary: New technology - average information
Review: I own quite a few Wrox books. For awhile, they were consistently the best programmers books on the market. Unfortunately, this new trend to be the first with new technologies is lessening the quality of the newer books. Not that this book is bad; it's just not as good as their other works. This book is about average. While that is not bad, it is not as impressive as earlier works. The first two chapters contain the same material I have seen in presentations by Wrox author Billy Hollis, so it was largely an overview I had already seen. The information contained in these chapters is very useful, however, if you want to get a good overview of how .Net and the CLR (Common Language Runtime) work. The same holds true for Chapter 5 (the IDE - VS.Net), chapter 6 (.Net class framework) and chapter 12 (.Net servers). The Introduction to C# is an interesting chapter, but is little more than an overview. Written by Burt Harvey, it contains a similar bent as some of the chapters in the C# Programming with the Public Beta, which you should invest in, if you are serious about C# programming (it is the best C# book on the market, although Gunnerson's is a close second). My favorite code sample (downloadable) is the life simulation application (useless to web programming, but a neat little app). The What's New in Visual Basic chapter is largely a wash for me. If you have not read the articles in VBPJ, or on MSDN, the VB article is a good overview. If sample code is your thrust, either wait for the VB.Net book, or download the code on ibuyspy.com, which contains much more useful code. Chapters 7 to 10 are the meat of the book, delving into both web forms and windows forms applications. You will start with a decent overview of ASP.Net and end with .Net components. Chapter 11 is a nice intro to ADO.Net, but I am still waiting for a tome with deeper info on this subject. The final chapter has an interesting ASP.Net case study. As of this writing, the code is not available for download yet on chapters 10 to 13. Finishing off, Appendix A is a bit weak, although it has a nice introductory framework reference. I feel that Appendix B has much more intrinsic value (how to use classic COM with .Net), but the topic is covered failry well on the net, so it is not worth the price of the book alone. Currently, this is the best introduction to .Net on the market. It is also the only introduction to .Net. Considering the stage .Net is in, this is a great book. From a standpoint of what Wrox generally delivers, however, I would have to say this one is average.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok, for being first. Now its superseded
Review: This book has at least 10 authors and is fun to read for the first few chapters. Then I really got annoyed to read the same things over and over again and at the same time I missed some more in depth explanations. A lot is done with the framework itself. This is probably due to the very early delivery date of the book. Though I really enjoyed the C# example (game of life) I think you be better served with Hollis, Lhotka "VB.Net Programming". Also there seem to be quite a few other books out by now.
Rating: 
Summary: Visual Basic plague
Review: This book is bad, it is annoying that a company that has published so many excellent books in the past would stoop so low. This book is essentially a compendium of information that is presented in a much better fashion in the free MSDN magazine or in more depth in Worx's (good) books such as their C# and ASP+ book (which I recommend). I suppose if Fawcette published it as a special issue of VBPJ I wouldn't have been so annoyed but as a book this simply doesn't work and is a waste of your money.
Rating: 
Summary: For .NET newbies
Review: This book is exactly what it says it is. It is an Intorduction to the .NET. It does not go in depth, however it shines some light on the .NET in general. If you are a COM/DCOM developer and you would like to find out what .NET is all about, this book is definately for you. If you already know what .NET is about, then look for a more in depth per each subject books. I rate it with 5 stars since it delivers what it promises and definately worth the money. Great job!
Rating:
Summary: Okay...but
Review: This is a good introduction to .net, as the cover says, but me thinks it was just a ploy to make money. Not very useful at all, but if you are a beginner to .NET, then you might want to browse through it to get a general feel for the framework.
Rating:
Summary: Okay...but
Review: This is a good introduction to .net, as the cover says, but me thinks it was just a ploy to make money. Not very useful at all, but if you are a beginner to .NET, then you might want to browse through it to get a general feel for the framework.
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