Building ASP.NET Server Controls [Paperback]

Dale Michalk (Author), Rob Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Series: Expert's Voice | Publication Date: October 30, 2003

This book will be both a tutorial and a reference for the serious ASP.NET developer who understands the benefits of object-oriented development and wants to apply those principles to ASP.NET and server control development. It is important to note that this book is the most up-to-date book available and covers the important new area of mobile server control development to support mobile phone web application development as well as using the latest version of Visual Studio .NET (2003) and the .NET Framework v1.1.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dale Michalk –Dale Michalk is employed with Microsoft Corporation in Dallas, TX. He has been with Microsoft since 2001. He helps promote .NET as a development platform and assists companies interested in migrating to new technologies like ASP.NET. A former Army officer and West Point graduate, he spends his free time chasing after his two-year old daughter who keeps him extremely busy.

Rob Cameron—Rob Cameron is employed with Microsoft Corporation in Atlanta, GA. He has been with Microsoft since 2000 working in Premier Support where he provides issue escalation management and developer advisory services to Fortune 500 enterprise development teams. Prior to employment at Microsoft he worked as an independent consultant developing software on the Microsoft platform for over five years. He has a master’s in Information Technology Management and a bachelor’s in Computer Science. A former Naval officer and Naval Academy graduate, he enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 852 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (October 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590591402
• ISBN-13: 978-1590591406
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,934,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop here...Buy This Book!, December 23, 2003

By 

E. Engelstein "glsac" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building ASP.NET Server Controls (Paperback)

OK, first off I am not sure what the other reviewer was ralking about...he gave the book 5 stars, but take note that this is not an ASP book (see the title), and this is not from Microsoft Press..it is from Apress. Now that I have said that, I want to go on with my review.

First of all there are only a few books out there like this now, and none of them come close to this one. This one will really teach you how to write your own server controls, and will show you how to do it for ASP.NET using C#...oh yeah, they use Visual Studio.NET (thankfully) and they also do it code behind (there is no other way for server controls, but in general they use VS.NET like it should be). The code which can be downloaded from Apress also works, and is updated for VS.NET 2003.

In regards to the book, the author(s) make this book a fairly easy read. The first few chapters go through a bit of ASP.NET and then explains about HtmlControls and WebControls. The author explains the differences between the two, and when and why to use each one in a specific scenario. The book goes on to talk about OOP in general and how it fits in (they don't expalin OOP, but they show it and make passing references, not a lot...throughout the book, I have seen less than a total page worth, but they put it in the right spots). The chapter on Viewstate is excellent, and the chapter on binding and creating your own repeater server control inheriting from the DataRepeater was an eye-opener.

The last 5 chapters in the book deal with more complicated server controls. The author dedicates time to speak about mobile controls...I read it quickly since I don't really do that, but it seemed good. Then there is a chapter which puts a lot of things together (everything you have read in the book so far) and shows how to make an image gallery (well sort of..it's more than just a gallery of course). The last chapter deals with how to use the Google API and create your own search engine...which was very cool.

The author dedicates time explaining attributes and how they are used for server controls. He also spends time showing how to create a server control that can be easily put into VS Designer, which is good for someone selling a custom control. There is so much more to say, but Amamzon limits my words to 1000, and I have not slept in 36 hours...deadlines, and this book helped a ton!

Just to end off, this book is C# (not VB.NET), and it is for advanced programmers working with ASP.NET...this book did not give a primer on C# or ASP.NET (thanks Dale/Rob). The authors know what they are talking about, and the book is easy to read.

Enjoy!

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless for a modern developer, September 25, 2010

By 

Decoderman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Building ASP.NET Server Controls (Paperback)

This book teaches concepts for ASP.NET 1.1, Visual Studio 2003 and the .NET Framework 1.1. Unless you need to learn about building antiquated ASP.NET 1.1 Server Controls using obsolete tools, don't waste your money on this book!

It's very telling that all the images the seller chose to represent this book curiously omit any data regarding the ASP.NET Framework the book works with. The main image used to lure in unsuspecting buyers isn't the actual cover of the book, but the first page inside. If you were to see the actual cover of the book you would go no further. Also, none of the sample content images allude to the target framework.

It's a sad story when you get the book you've just ordered, remove the wrappings, and realize that you've been had! Unfortunately, I paid more for the shipping than I paid for the book, so it would be futile to return it.

Don't fall into this trap!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to creating custom ASP.NET server controls, February 25, 2004

By 

MCSD for Microsoft .Net (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building ASP.NET Server Controls (Paperback)

I really like this book. Chapters 1-3 are rudimentary in that they explain the different types of server controls (html controls vs. web controls, and user controls vs. custom controls). Towards the end of chapter 3, however, you get into the real work that pays dividends. You create a custom web control that inherits from System.Web.UI.WebControls.TextBox. Great stuff! Then the authors provide a quick overview of design-time attributes since these are found in the automatically generated code when creating a new web control library.

The remaining chapters, 4-14, are progressively more advanced and discuss custom control state management, adding events to your controls, data binding, mobile controls, validation, and design-time support (among other topics). You gradually learn how to create very sophisticated custom controls that reduce your need for any 3rd party components. This book is simply a must for anyone serious about leveraging the power of inheritance to implement very useful - and ultimately time-saving - custom controls.

The authors also explain concepts in a clear, straightforward manner and assume little regarding the reader's knowledge of controls. Rob told me in person that he put a lot of effort into this book, and his hard work is evident by the quality of what's written in Building ASP.NET Server Controls. Buy it today and watch your code benefit from it.