Build Your Own ASP.NET Website Using C# & VB.NET [Paperback]

Zak Ruvalcaba (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0957921861 | ISBN-13: 978-0957921863 | Publication Date: March 2004 | Edition: 1

A tutorial style book for absolute beginners that walks readers through an introduction to databases and programming concepts and then shows them how to build practical applications using Microsoft's technology.

Build Your Own ASP.NET Website Using C# & VB.NET guides readers through obtaining, installing and configuring all the necessary software to develop dynamic Websites. Then, it takes readers step-by-step through the process of creating full-blown, practical applications including an intranet, shopping cart with Paypal credit card processing and more. Throughout, the book focuses on best-practice code, ensuring application security and creating professional error handling routines.

Unlike most beginner books, SitePoint allow readers to choose between two programming languages, VB.NET or c#, when creating any of the applications in the book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Zak Ruvalcaba holds a Master of Science in Instructional Technology from the National University in San Diego. He has developed Web applications for such companies as Gateway, HP, Toshiba, and IBM. Previous books by Zak Ruvalcaba include The 10 Minute Guide to Dreamweaver 4 (Que Publishing) and Dreamweaver MX Unleashed (Sams Publishing).

Product Details

• Paperback: 763 pages
• Publisher: SitePoint Pty Ltd; 1 edition (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0957921861
• ISBN-13: 978-0957921863
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent ASP.NET Development Book, August 15, 2004

By 

Andrew Sutton (Ripley, Derbyshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Build Your Own ASP.NET Website Using C# & VB.NET (Paperback)

This is the first Sitepoint book I have read and the second on ASP.NET.

The book requires that you have either Windows 2000, XP or 2003 installed and requires .NET Framework Redistributable (1.1 is the version the book is written for but most examples should work in v1.0), .NET Framework SDK, IIS (Or Cassini) Web Server, a modern web browser (e.g. IE v5.5+) and an editor. (Anything from notepad to Visual Studio will be sufficient). Access (JET), MSDE and SQL Server are the databases used in the examples. Instructions are included in the book on how to install and configure IIS and how to install MSDE and Access and how to attach the example database.

No previous knowledge of ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, IIS nor databases is required. However you will need to be familiar with HTML before reading the book.

The format of each chapter is a brief, single paragraph introduction, then straight into the subject matter with a brief summary at the end. Throughout the chapters there is a liberal sprinkling of figures and tables and extensive code examples, nearly all of which are in both C# and VB.NET. During the course of the book a complete intranet application is developed which includes a helpdesk, employee store, newsletter archive, employee directory, address book and admin tools.

Pros
Extensive code samples
A complete intranet application is developed within the book.
Superb range of subject matter.
Liberal use of figures and tables.
Excellent layout.
A good tool for learning both C# & VB.NET.

Cons
Topics covered in each chapter are not listed at the beginning of each chapter.
If you are just a VB.NET or C# programmer the duplication of code examples in both VB.NET & C# may prove to be annoying and a waste of space.

Conclusion
My own opinion is that this is not the book for a casual hobbyist but aimed more towards at least a semi-professional developer. You will get more than a basic grounding in ASP.NET but will have to put in a fair bit of effort to extract everything the book has to offer. But what a lot it has to offer. The range of material covered is excellent. Of the many highlights the chapters on Datagrids & DataLists and Datasets were particularly impressive. The author's enthusiasm for ASP.NET shines throughout the book and his narrative style kept many of the duller topics interesting. The pace of the book is never pedestrian and sometimes quite frantic but always leaving you wanting even more.

At the end of the book you should feel confident to develop your own ASP.NET web sites in either C# or VB.NET. This book is another welcome addition to my bookshelf.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beginners and intermediate .NET developers, April 14, 2005

By 

shopzy (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Build Your Own ASP.NET Website Using C# & VB.NET (Paperback)

If you are looking at learning ASP.NET by hard coding then use this book. If you are looking at developing ASP.NET applications by using all the functionalities of VS.NET then go for ASP.NET KickStart by Stephen Walther.

For beginners I would suggest going for this book since it lets you get into the code which is very essential in understanding how things work in the .NET framework in general and ASP.NET programming in particular.

For intermediate developers (from other fields like Java, Classic ASP etc.) who already know the basics of Web programming and would like to know VS.NET in detail should go for Stephen Walther's book.

This book scores a point more in my opinion since it walks you through building an Intranet application while teaching you to program in ASP.NET.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great starting point for ASP developers moving UP!, April 15, 2004

By 

Marty R. Milette (St. Petersburg, Russia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Build Your Own ASP.NET Website Using C# & VB.NET (Paperback)

As an experienced developer with dozens of web sites developed in traditional ASP, I was delighted finally find a decent 'getting started' book for ASP.NET, VB.NET and C# that I could use myself, and share with my Microsoft-oriented students.

Anyone making the leap from ASP to .NET knows how difficult it is to find a resource that covers enough introductory information to get started, while still presenting more advanced and useful topics -- but this is the one!

Although this book won't make you an ASP.NET guru overnight (NO book can!) -- it will certainly get you far enough up the learning curve to start producing some useful and functional code which may be reused and enhanced later as you skills and competence grow.

This new release -- as for all other SitePoint books I've read -- has proven a pleasure to read, and a joy to use in the real world. Great work!