Microsoft® Visual Web Developer(TM) 2008 Express Edition Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) [Paperback]

Eric Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Step by Step (Microsoft) | Publication Date: November 19, 2008

Teach yourself Visual Web Developer 2008—one step at a time. Ideal for beginning developers who want to design modern, dynamic Web sites, this practical tutorial delivers hands-on guidance for creating data-driven pages that integrate Web services and ASP.NET controls.

Discover how to:

• Design a sample Web portal and configure site security
• Use Master Pages to create a consistent look and feel
• Attach a style sheet to an ASP.NET page and apply styles
• Use server controls for greater flexibility and maintainability
• Incorporate HTML and JavaScript editing capabilities
• Create a database and design a user interface to manage it
• Construct a Web service and use it in an ASP.NET page
• Embed Microsoft Popfly™ mashups—and integrate APIs and data—without coding

CD features:

• Practice exercises and code samples
• Fully searchable eBook

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; Pap/Cdr edition (November 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735626065
• ISBN-13: 978-0735626065
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #662,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Serious lack of editing - beware!, February 9, 2009

By 

Timothy Lantz "archeon" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual Web Developer(TM) 2008 Express Edition Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

If you're new to Visual Web Developer, you probably really need a book like this. It's a shame that this book is so terribly edited, because it could have been a great introduction to the software.

I have a programming background and am familiar with many current web technologies but my usual development platform is coldfusion. We are transitioning to .net so I bought this book to help make the jump from Dreamweaver to Visual Web Developer.

The errors in this book just defy belief. Many of the instructions in the follow along projects simply do not work as written and when you compare the code in the book to the sample files on the CD you will see that often they are very different.

These errors range from simple to more complex and appear throughout the book. Here are just two examples from Chapter 9. (And both from the same stage of the project.)

(In Chapter 9, Page 182)
From step #3 - "Drag the DataView control from the Toolbox.." only there is no 'DataView' control it is actually 'DetailsView' that you need to drag and drop.

(In Chapter 9, Page 183)
From step #6 - After having you change a single Behavior property it tells you... "That's all there is to configure. Click Run." Except there's actually three more properties that are not in an obvious place which need to be changed in order for the application to function as it's described and shown in the diagrams.

I think if this book gets an updated second edition, it could be good. As it currently exists, it's use-able, but only if you have a good head for solving problems and come from a programming background. The true novice is likely to get frustrated very quickly.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not overly impressed, January 9, 2009

By 

Matticus Caesar "Matt" (Woonsocket, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual Web Developer(TM) 2008 Express Edition Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

It's been years since I worked on Web Pages, so I figured this book would be a good reentry point for someone at the beginning level. While I agree that this book is defintely geared more towards the novice, I don't think it's a good entry point for someone who has never worked with websites before. I found that the author makes a lot of assumptions of knowledge as he went along.

For example, the "who this book is for" blurb says it's for beginning web programmers, but then the author proceeds to use objects like tables and with minimal to no discussion on how the HTML for a table is laid out, how the row & column tags are nested in the HTML code, etc.

As I mentioned, I have worked with HTML in the past, so the first 4 chapters went smoothly, but after that there are way too many errors and omissions in the text and code examples. Even the samples provided on the accompanying CD vary (sometimes wildly) from the code listings and screenshots in the book. In a few places the author assumes you should instictively know what he is trying to get you to do, but for a new person that would not be true.

I ultimately managed to get the examples and exercises to work, but not without a lot of hair-pulling and banging my forehead on the keyboard.

If you're truly new to coding web pages/sites, this book is useable, but not by itself - you'll need some kind of HTML primer to go with it or you'll be lost very quickly.

Hopefully a second edition will be far more robust. I could see this book being a turn-off to an aspiring web developer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating, April 20, 2009

By 

K. McKenna - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft® Visual Web Developer(TM) 2008 Express Edition Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) (Paperback)

This book is poorly written and near impossible to follow. I'm sorry I bought this book.