Customer Reviews

Asp 3.0 Programmer's Reference

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you have a little programming experience, this is an excellent source to get started with ASP. Objects, methods and properties are clearly and concisely explained, and their use is well illustrated with (very) short snippets of code. You can quickly find out just about anything you need to know about ASP-- which is exactly what a reference should provide.

Each of the chapters is well-organized and easy to navigate. The appendices are also very useful.

I judge my programming books by how often I resort to them, and I use this one all the time because the answers I need are always there.

I would have given the book five stars if the index had been a little more friendly to non-ASP programmers. Though the index has entries for all ASP objects, it's not very useful unless you already know the name of the object you are looking for.

For example, try looking up "array" in the index, as you might naturally do, coming from any other programming language. It's not there. A simple note in the index like "see dimensions" would be helpful.

Bottom Line: This book has all the info you need to write just about any ASP program you'd ever need to write, and it's well worth the money.

Generally, I buy Wrox books to get an overview of the terrain, then buy an O'Reilly nutshell book for reference purposes. ASP 3.0 Programmer's Reference is the exception that proves the rule. It's excellently put together, easy to navigate, and unusually broad in scope. You get a lot for your money.

One more thing: since ASP programmers tend to be less steeped in technology than, say, C++ programmers, it's especially important to have a reference that's easy to use and clear on every point. That's the best part about ASP 3.0 Programmer's Reference -- you never feel like you're lost (unless you're totally unfamiliar with the language, like the gentleman below.)

As an ASP programmer, I use this reference almost every day on the job. It covers the API's of ASP, ADO and other related MS technologies very thoroughly indeed. Examples are plenty, and useful. Looking up for something takes me a few seconds, and the text is quite to the point.

For beginnning programmers, or those new to ASP, you might need another book before this one...got this reference, so I could find information quickly during my time-sensitive job...So make sure you know the script language well enough before you use it for ASP...In fact, the book shows examples in both VBScript and JScript, unlike most other books which just mention VBScript...I found ALL the specific details of ASP, and saved precious time on the job.

This is no book for people who want to learn ASP. They should first read some other book, but after that, they need this book. This is the most complete ASP reference I have seen, loads of components are documented in a way people can understand and there is lots of functional sample code. All code is done in both VBscript and Jscript. Pittfalls, do's and don't are very clearly noted in the text and pages about win-nt configuration have screenshots. Yes, this book has made my life a lot easier. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the fact there's no 2 small chapters on VBscript and Jscript, so I still need to pick up the beginnersbook. Like all wrox-books no paper is wasted, and every page (1200+) is filled with small fonts and margins as small as the printer would allow, which makes the pagecount even more impressive.

I use this book all the time. In fact, so much that I hardly ever put it back on my bookshelf. It is a great reference for anyone who basically knows ASP but needs to occasionally look up how some part of how ASP works. I was self-taught ASP, and just learned how to do different things as I needed them. This book's biggest strength is that it shows you ASP in the big picture of the object model, which I never really grasped until I got this book.

This book is NOT a book on VBScript and is NOT an introduction to programming ASP. If you have even a little ASP experience, this book will serve as a valuable reference to looking up how to do specific tasks, but it won't help you until you at least know basically what you are looking for.

This book, and the MSDN VBScript library online, are virtually the only references to ASP that I use.

As with most Wrox books, this book contains far more than most ASP programmers will ever need--although it is not for the beginner. There is in depth coverage of nearly every aspect of ASP programming. I use this book daily.

As an intermediate ASP programmer many times you need to find reference for how to do something in a hurry. Well this book is the answer. Concise clear well organized. Good reference coverage of XML to the end. I've had it for a couple months and it has proven invaluable to me and my team for reference. This book is not designed to teach you to code elegantly and efficiently, but even if you are a seasoned ASP programmer.. don't pass this one up. Definitely a good buy for your reference shelf.

As a Reference it is great. If you learned the basics of ASP and DNA in a basic course or using one of those "Teach Yourself" books, you should be able to take advantage of this book. If you are new to it, learn it first, then come back. There are no real life example heres or big case studies. The examples are relevant to what this is: A Reference. If you enjoy the "In a Nutshell" series, you will like this one. Always on my desk I feel I can acomplish anything my boss troughs at me.

Wrox is selling itself short on this one. Not only is it a great reference for ASP (lots of good examples and explanations), there are also several equally good chapters on ADO, CDO, XML, XLST, ADSI, MSMQ and Transactions. I've used it as a reference for these other topics as much or more than I've used it as an ASP reference.

Let's face it, no ASP programmer can remember it all, so having a handy-dandy reference book that cuts to the chase is a must. This book does just that, and then some. I turn to it all the time(mostly because I can't stand the MS online doc). A great companion to this book is Proffesional Active Server Pages 3.0, goes into more depth and more examples. Also, Beginning ASP Databases and SQL in 10 minutes was very helpful. Using mostly these four books, I've been able to develop several full blown, database driven ASP web sites.