Fast Track ASP.NET [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Brady Gaster (Author), Marco Bellinaso (Author), Kevin Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Programmer to Programmer | Publication Date: June 2002

This book is a concise introduction to the concepts and techniques that you will need to grasp in order to start building ASP.NET applications.

ASP.NET introduces many new features for web application development. It promises a wealth of benefits including higher performance, pain free multi-device development, and easier code reuse. This book will show you what is possible and give you an understanding of ASP.NET that you will find invaluable as you go on to develop cutting edge applications.

This book takes a top-down approach to describing and explaining ASP.NET. We start off by looking at what an ASP.NET application actually consists of. We then focus on the most fundamental component of web applications - the pages. After explaining how ASP.NET pages are constructed, we look at the controls that the pages contain. We introduce the range of controls that ASP.NET provides and show how to populate them with data from a variety of data sources.

The security framework provided by ASP.NET is examined along with discussion of how it helps us to implement authentication and authorization. The features that ASP.NET includes for building SOAP based web services are also covered.

If you want to know what ASP.NET can do and how it should be used in order to help you gain the benefits, this is the book for you.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With its approachable and concise format, Fast Track ASP.NET will meet the needs of any experienced developer seeking to move to Web programming on the .NET platform using Microsoft's new C# programming language.

By focusing on ASP.NET itself as an important area of the .NET platform, the authors manage to streamline their presentation. That approach makes this text a strong choice for those with previous ASP and/or C++/Java experience and who want to understand the new advantages for Web development afforded by the new ASP.NET. Coverage here of the new event-driven model used in ASP.NET, undoubtedly a hurdle for developers, is some of the best we have seen. Simple examples show off how the ordering of page events will get you started fast.

One standout section covers the new ASP.NET Web Form controls, which are essential to productivity. Besides discussing basic controls, the authors do a fine job of covering validation, plus the available list controls (like DataGrid components). Common programming techniques for binding data to Web pages come next. A nicely in-depth guide to ADO.NET (with some clear examples of code and essential programming techniques) will help you get started with databases.

After looking at security issues in ASP.NET, this book closes with a nicely comprehensive guide to Web services, including creating them and then "consuming" them from different types of clients (for example, a Windows Scripting Host, a Web page, and a standalone Windows Forms client). Coverage of some advanced techniques, like asynchronous processing for Web services, helps show the range of options for new ASP.NET developers.

Overall, Fast Track ASP.NET covers some essential Web development APIs and techniques that you can use to do Web development on Microsoft's latest platform. It shows that you can use C# effectively without mastering its more arcane features. (As such, this title is perfect for VB developers wanting to make the switch to C# used with Web development on .NET.) It's a valuable choice, one that can bring you up to speed with the latest in Web development from Microsoft in an intelligently packaged and fast-moving tutorial. --Richard Dragan

From the Publisher

This book is for intermediate or experienced programmers who want a guide to the important features, concepts and technologies of ASP.NET.

The code in this book is presented in C# - it is recommended that you have some basic C# knowledge to read the code. A Visual Basic .NET edition of this book will be available.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Peer Information Inc.; 1st edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861007191
• ISBN-13: 978-1861007193
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I got my first start programming in BASIC on a Commodore Vic-20 that my grandfather repaired. Ever since then, I have been learning everything I can about programming and my current obsession: C# and the .NET Framework 3.0

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Track ASP.NET, June 5, 2003

By 

Darrell Nungester (Floyds Knobs, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast Track ASP.NET (Paperback)

I purchased this book and Fast Track C# together and I was not disappointed with either book.

Pros:

The Fast Track C# book is targeted to Java and C++ developers making the transition to C# and the Fast Track ASP.Net C# Edition is targeted to ASP 3.0 programmers making the transition to ASP.Net. Even though I have limited ASP 3.0 experience, the book was easy to follow and I did not feel lost. When you have multiple authors, the difference in writing styles can sometimes be very obvious but that is not the case with Bellinaso, Gaster, and Hoffman. Their writing styles blend together. It was hard to distinguish where 1 author finished up and another started. Each chapter in this book builts upon the knowledge of the previous chapters. If you have some ASP and/or .Net skills you might want to skip the 1st (What is ASP.Net?) chapter. The authors show the results of the source code. If you do the examples, you can compare your results to the authors. A lot of books show you the source code but never show you the results. How can you know if you are doing it right, if you do not have the results to compare it with? Wrox recommends that this book or the "Beginning ASP.Net using C#" be followed with more advanced or specialized books. This book will give the basic skills to successfully write ASP.Net using C#. I would follow Wrox's advice and supplement this book with more advanced books. This is an excellent starting book and will get you up to speed with ASP.Net using C# in a hurry! I highly recommend this book.

Cons:

If you use a highligher, it may "bleed" through several pages before or after the page that you highlighted. This really makes a messy book. Did anyone else experience this?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, January 27, 2003

By 

Marabini Alberto (Verona, VR Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast Track ASP.NET (Paperback)

I've partecipated to a number of Microsoft briefing on .net the past year. The evangelists i meet where doing all to make .net impossible to understand and this made me look at .net with a certain suspect. Then i got this book and.. tadah! I've seen the light. If you understand nothing on how asp.net works this is the book for you. You'll see that there is nothing magic, nothing hidden behind ,that your knowledge of asp and ado still worth (despite the propaganda) and that .net could become a improuvement of your old style of work, not his destruction. The book covers shortly but effectively all the aspects of asp.net development. Is a great point to start from.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love The Fast Track Series, October 11, 2002

By 

Mark Sanders (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fast Track ASP.NET (Paperback)

I bought Fast Track ASP.NET and it was exactly what I needed, a fast way to bring me up to speed on useful ASP.NET. No fluff, just straight to the point. Not to mention a good price. When I wanted to update myself on ADO.NET I just went straight to the bookstore, grabbed Fast Track ADO.NET, paid for it, and walked out, no hesitation. I will continue to consider the Fast Track series for future topics.

If you have been programming for a while and are getting tired of having to deal with a 800-1,000+ page book for every one of the million topics you need to keep up with, then the Fast Track Series is for you. This book is only 300 pages long! After reading a Fast Track book you have plenty of information to start working with the technology. I did it in just a couple of days.

I do not recommend this book for a beginner programmer or for someone who has never done ASP programming before (unless you are very good and experienced at learning new technologies). If you have experience in ASP programming then buy this book to bring you up to speed with the technology.