“This book is a phenomenal start for someone new to ASP.NET, as well as a complete guide to the new features of version 2.0 for programmers familiar with an earlier version. The beginning chapters detail concepts using a hypothetical company, examining the myriad sorts of requests and situations often requested by clients. The authors deal with these in an eloquent, realistic manner. They have clearly worked in the industry and have faced real-world challenges that programmers encounter daily. The content covers everything from the most basic tasks to the most complex, and is a comprehensive collection of information on ASP.NET 2.0. Every topic is well-referenced for additional information, but contains clear examples that work. The content is technical but the clear writing makes it easy to understand. Difficult concepts are explained in such a way that this book will quickly become your favorite reference for ASP.NET!”
—Ronda Pederson, consultant, Microsoft MVP Visual Developer, ASP/ASP.NET “As to be expected from two of today’s leading technical authors, this book is a cracking guide to getting the most from the ASP 2.0 Framework. Detailed chapters, concise yet practical examples, and clear explanation provide the grounding and support necessary to leverage the new features that ASP 2.0 brings to the table—all explained with a logical, no-nonsense approach. This book will be borrowed by every developer you work with, so guard it wisely!”
—John Timney, Microsoft MVP, senior Web services consultant, British Telecom “This book will absolutely change the way you view ASP.NET technology. Read it and your existing Web sites will suddenly appear to be underperforming.”
—Chris Carpenter, senior software engineer, L3 Communications, Inc. “The authors have worked closely with the ASP.NET team at Microsoft to makesure that this book is authoritative, accurate, and informative. Anyone usingASP.NET will find a wealth of useful information on ASP.NET 2.0.”
—Scott Guthrie, general manager, .NET Developer Platform, Microsoft Corporation Developers moving to ASP.NET 2.0, the breakthrough Web development environment from Microsoft, will want to learn how to take full advantage of the new features that make this the most productive and powerful Web development environment ever. ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated teaches developers exactly what they need to know to create exciting Web sites and applications quickly and easily using ASP.NET 2.0. Renowned authors, developers, and conference speakers Alex Homer and Dave Sussman have written a concise, detailed exploration of the “must learn” features of ASP.NET 2.0. The book’s many original examples, fully updated for the release version of ASP.NET 2.0, are all downloadable from the authors’ Web site, and many can be run live online. The authors provide detailed coverage of

• Connecting to databases, using data source and data display controls with SQL statements and stored procedures; creating business layers and data layers with custom classes and Typed DataSets; and providing declarative access to business and data layers

• Techniques for improving the scalability and responsiveness of data-driven sites, including caching techniques for data and ASP.NET pages

• Binding to XML, transforming XML, updating XML data, and managing XML data stored in SQL Server 2005

• Building interactive Web forms with a wide variety of ASP.NET controls

• Understanding and using the core functionality of the Page class and key .NET Framework classes

• Providing a consistent sitewide look and feel using Master Pages

• Six ways to provide site navigation, including the new navigation controls

• Securing sites and implementing membership and roles

• Using profiles, personalization, and themes in your applications

• Building user-customizable Web portals with Web Parts

• Supporting multiple browsers, disabled users, mobile devices, and international users

• Creating and consuming Web services

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 3 Ratings

a rich feature set for UI design - 2006-07-06
Reviewer Rating:
This recent book by Homer and Sussman gives a pretty comprehensive exposition of ASP.NET version 2.0. You might compare it to another recent text, "ASP.NET 2.0 Unleashed" by Walther. That book chose to give its examples in Visual Basic. Whereas Homer and Sussman provide theirs in C#. In terms of C# knowledge, you need a general acquaintance with its syntax, to easily follow this book.

Possibly, the "Illustrated" in the title refers to the copious number of screen captures. Given that you want to make dynamic web pages with ASP, this is very appropriate. Especially when a lot of the text is devoted to explaining the many user interface widgets and associated interactions. Version 2 gives you a rich feature set. Take the Wizard control, for example. It has many possible configurations, where you can decide whether its various subparts are visible or not. And possibly providing custom images for some visible parts. Along with giving style information, where this can be done in a centralised manner across many of your dynamic pages. The latter is done via Master Pages and Themes, and extends the idea of Cascading Style Sheets.

There is also an interesting chapter on making pages for mobile devices and small screen devices. If you know Java, which is the main competing language, then it splits into a dialect called J2ME for mobile and small devices. Whereas ASP.NET seems to hold out the prospect of staying within the main language. But I can't tell from the text if this usage is actually practical. Sun had to make J2ME instead of J2SE [normal Java] out of necessity. Because of the severe resource constraints of gadgets like cellphones. Surely ASP/C# runs into the same constraints?

an authoritative, informative, and concise introduction to ASP.NET - 2006-07-01
Reviewer Rating:

Excerpt from C# Online.NET Review (wiki.CSharp-Online.NET):
"As the authors lead the reader through binding, caching, displaying, editing, exposing, filtering, paging, securing, and sorting data--one sees just how successful Microsoft has been in streamlining access to ASP.NET technology."

ASP2 Illustrated - 2007-05-29
Reviewer Rating:
A very well written book that covers the subject material very well. Well suited for a novice or an advanced developer with plenty of examples. I would certainly recommend this book highly.

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