ASP.NET allows Web Developers to create dynamic, interactive Websites very efficiently thanks to multiple built-in controls and features built into the ASP.NET language.

ASP.NET 3.5 is a great leap forward since its first incarnation. In addition to a massively improved performance, it also provides much more to aid developers' productivity, including better AJAX integration and new ListView and DataPager controls. The third edition of this book reflects all these changes, as well as Visual Studio 2008.

Readers liked the original books for their comprehensive coverage, liberal code samples, and the practicality of developing an entire intranet application using freely available tools and software.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 42 Ratings

Nicely presented material and easy to understand... - 2008-12-18
Reviewer Rating:
I had a really good look at this alongside about 10 other books (in a book store for a few hours) and it was one of two that I finally selected. What I really like is the fact that the website screenshots looks like a decent professional website. So many of these ASP.Net books show screenshots of websites that look totally amateurish and unusable in the real World. I like to see programming books that show slick results and this book fixes that problem with some very cool screenshots.

It has decent technical coverage of the material and it's very nicely laid out and easy to digest.

It's a great beginner/intermediate level book if you're just starting out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

BUILD ASP.NET 3.5 WEBSITES, AND THEY WILL COME!! - 2009-02-06
Reviewer Rating:
Do you want to learn how to build rich and interactive web sites that run on the Microsoft platform? If you do, then this book is for you! Authors Cristian Darie and Wyatt Barnett, have done an outstanding job of writing the third edition of a book that shows you how to create a feature-rich, data-driven, and interactive web site.

Darie and Barnett, begin by introducing you to ASP.NET basics and the .NET platform. You'll see how to obtain and install Visual Web Developer 2008; and, get instructions for downloading and installing the free edition of Visual Web Developer 2008, called the Express Edition. Next, the authors show you how to create a new web site and how to add new elements like pages to it. Then, they show you how to make good use of how to construct ASP.NET Web pages and build Web applications. They continue by introducing you to the large number of server controls that are available, explain what they are used for, and show you how to use them. Next, the authors introduce you to programming with a strong focus on programming web pages and VB and C# programming basics. Then, they help you to centralize the looks of controls and other visual elements in your site. The authors continue by showing you how to programmatically send users from one page to another. Next, they show you how to create and use User Controls and enhance them with some programmatic intelligence. They continue by showing you how to accept, validate, and process user input using ASP.NET server controls. Additionally, they show you how to use validation controls. Next, the authors show you how to use the built-in ASP.NET Ajax features to enhance the presence of your web pages, thus resulting in a smoother interaction with the web site. Then, they show you the basics of SQL, the query language that allows you to access and alter data in a database; as well as, database design and development. They continue showing you how to use the ASP.NET data-bound and data source controls to create a rich interface that enables your users to interact with the data in the database that these controls target. Finally, the authors show you what LINQ is all about, how to use the visual LINQ designer built into Visual Web Developer; how to speak SQL; display content using data lists; explain what Ado.Net is all about; manage content by using grid view and details view; access advanced data; implement security and user authentication; and work with files and email.

This most excellent book will help you create a great foundation to build any type of web site, ranging from simple hobby-related web sites to sites you may be creating for commercial purposes. More importantly, it will show you how to obtain and install Visual Web Developer.

Save Your Money - 2008-12-03
Reviewer Rating:
I have the 2005 edition of this book. The 2005 edition of this book was written by an author who teaches ASP.NET in San Diego. The 2005 addition author takes time to explain concepts and the real estate of Visual Web Developer. Unfortunately, in chapter 6 the book refers to Web Data Administrator which is obsolete, so I decided to buy the latest revision. Well, the third addition was written by new authors, which seems to give only the facts with little or no explanation of concepts. The third addition is a clumsy read. I grew tired of fighting to understand what the xxxx the authors where taking about so I returned the book.***The preceding statements are not a statement of fact but merely the personal, subjective opinion of the writer.

Excellent book to learn ASP.NET - 2009-03-31
Reviewer Rating:
The book is easy to read, the code is easy to implement and works exactly as explained. I found everything to be very well explained, so I never had to spend extra time on trying to figure out a missing step, which is usually what prevents me from getting the code to execute in other textbooks. The material is very well presented and organized and all the features explained are very useful. I would recommend this book to everyone who has never used ASP before and would like to quickly learn it. I have programming background, so that may be helpful for the quick and easy understanding :)

Good book - 2009-09-07
Reviewer Rating:
I initially rated this book as 3 stars, but in fairness to the authors, the contents are quite informative and the approach on teaching is different from Wrox beginning book. This book is more on coding, while the other book I mentioned is more on drag and drop. Overall this is a good book, but if you want a better one, check Wrox beginning book on[...]. I recommend this book to beginners to website programming, then suggest you read these two books and head on to read the books with PRO titles.