Build exciting, scalable web applications quickly and confidently using Google App Engine and this book, even if you have little or no experience in programming or web development. App Engine is perhaps the most appealing web technology to appear in the last year, providing an easy-to-use application framework with basic web tools. While Google's own tutorial assumes significant experience, Using Google App Engine will help anyone get started with this platform. By the end of this book, you'll know how to build complete, interactive applications and deploy them to the cloud using the same servers that power Google applications. With this book, you will:

• Get an overview of the technologies necessary to use Google App Engine

• Learn how to use Python, HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), HTTP, and DataStore, App Engine's database

• Grasp the technical aspects necessary to create sophisticated, dynamic web applications

• Understand what's required to deploy your applications

Using Google App Engine is also an excellent resource for experienced programmers who want to acquire working knowledge of web technologies. Building web applications used to be for experts only, but with Google App Engine-and this book-anyone can create a dynamic web presence.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 11 Ratings

Don't buy this book - 2009-08-19
Reviewer Rating:
This book is hard to follow - the code examples are built progressively throughout the chapters. If the code is available in one place I haven't been able to find it. The first few chapters are about what html is and and what css is - nothing to do with AppEngine. If you skip these chapters you will still have to go back through them to piece together the code so you can get to the starting point on the AppEngine chapters. This is one of the worst technical books I have seen in a while. Save your money.

Not like all of O'Reilly's stuff, but excellent for what it is. - 2009-11-20
Reviewer Rating:
I'm a noob programmer, and I used this book as part of a class. I'm not sure how it works on its own, but as an instructional tool, it's the, hands down, best programming textbook I have ever used.

a great book to get you started - 2010-02-05
Reviewer Rating:
Using App Engine involves many technologies. If you are weak in any of them, or don't understand them, you probably won't actually get a program up and running on App Engine. This book has a very narrow aim: to walk you through all the basics you must know. Included is getting the App Engine SDK installed on your machine. I wish Google's App Engine site had this information in such a clear, step by step form.

I am an experienced programmer, so it's hard for me to judge Chapter 3, which covers Python. The book states that it can be read/used by non-programmers. Ch. 3 tries to introduce programming and Python in 30 pages. It looks like a nice attempt, but maybe a bit ambitious.

The book focuses on building up the pieces for a very simple chat application. Using this book you will have everything up and running quickly, will understand everything that is being done, and will be ready to seek out more complicated apps (which are readily available on the web).

If you aren't a geek, and want to get started with App Engine, this clear, concise book will be your best friend.

Not very useful - 2010-01-03
Reviewer Rating:
This book provides a barely useful introduction to the google app engine, but nothing that you couldn't get for free by following Google's own documentation. As others have mentioned some of the filler material in the book is baffling. For instance, the books explains what an Anchor tag is and what HTML stands for. If you don't already know those things you are probably not interested in writing applications for the Google App Engine. I feel that the author should have spent more time thinking about his audience. Because the material that counts is consigned to the last half of the book, it gets a fairly light treatment. Once you have finished the book you may have a reasonable overview of the app engine, but you are in no way prepared to write anything other than the most trivial of applications.

Useful Textbook - 2009-09-29
Reviewer Rating:
I use this as my textbook in my class on learning to design web pages, and I have found it to be easy to understand and useful, especially with a teacher to supplement when I have questions, and the extra materials on the webpage that goes with the book. The HTML, CSS, and Python were the necessary tools I needed to learn first in order to use App Engine. Some of the other reviewers seemed to have expectations from "O'Reilly, and were therefore disappointed. I don't know anything about what "O'Reilly" books are supposed to be like, so I didn't have any expectations, and maybe that helped.

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