.NET Web Services for Dummies [Paperback]

Anthony T. Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0764516477 | ISBN-13: 978-0764516474 | Edition: 1

Getting a bunch of computers to talk to each other used to be tougher than getting a straight answer from a politician in an election year. .NET web services fixes that. A unique combination of technologies, the .NET platform for the first time makes distributed computing language independent, platform independent, and device independent. Which is a pretty big deal when you consider that applications built and run on the .NET platform are available any time, any place, and on any device—in other words, .NET equals total connectivity. It also means that developers for the Internet and intranets can now use Web services to include all kinds of amazing functionalities in a new program without having to reinvent the wheel and without needing to know anything about the business or complexity of the Web service he or she is using.

Ready to join the .NET Web services revolution? Then this book is for you. Written by bestselling computer book author Anthony Mann, it puts you on the fast track to developing amazing .NET Web serv ices. Here’s you chance to:

• Discover XML and SOAP
• Master the .NET Framework and .NET server
• Create, test and debug Web services using Visual Studio .NET
• Implement your Web services throughout an organization or on the Internet
• Secure your Web services
• Find and consume Web services that were written by other developers

Written in an accessible, easy-to-read format, supplemented with dozens of screen shots and highlighted tips and shortcuts, .NET Web Services For Dummies covers all the bases for beginners and intermediate .NET users alike. Important topics covered include:

• How Web services can benefit your organization
• Using the .NET framework, .NET server, Visual Studio .NET, and all the tools and technologies on the .NET platform
• Designing, building, testing and deploying Web services
• Migrating from other technologies

Your total guide to bridging the digital communications gap .NET Web Services For Dummies gets you up and running in no time with the knowledge and skills you need to develop sophisticated Web service applications on the Microsoft platform.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Discover the .NET framework, use XML, and protect your data

Design, build, test, and implement great .NET Web service applications – fast

Getting a bunch of computers to talk to each other used to be tougher than getting your teenager to talk to you. .NET Web services fixes that, and this handy guide gives you no-frills information so you can get going immediately. Discover Visual Studio .NET, .NET Server, and other great ways to bridge the communications gap.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

About the Author

Anthony T. Mann, author of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 For Dummies and Microsoft SQL Server 7 For Dummies, is President/CEO of Transport80, which specializes in Web services technologies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (March 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764516477
• ISBN-13: 978-0764516474
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair, March 6, 2005

By 

ae7f (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: .NET Web Services for Dummies (Paperback)

I got this book hoping it would help me figure out how to connect to and use a web service. I was new to asp.net and of course web services. My only previous knowledge of web services came from searches on the internet.

When I got this book I skipped everything and thumbed to Chapter 9 on consuming web services where I was able to see a useful and simplified list of steps to follow in Visual Studio that helped me to successfully use the web service.

Although the book describes ways to create and consume web services without using Visual Studio, I used it as a reference for use with Visual Studio. I was specifically having trouble figuring out how to include the web service in my Visual Studio project so I could reference the web service's methods. This book, through the simple list of steps (and helpful definitions of the steps themselves), helped me add the web reference to my project and use the web service's methods in my program. That was what I really needed.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Dummies?, December 5, 2003

By 

David Reddoch (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: .NET Web Services for Dummies (Paperback)

After plowing through the first 60 pages of this book, I realized there is room for a level or two below "Dummy". The author, Anthony Mann, claims that this book was written equally for the beginner and intermediate level. I guess it depends on how you define "beginner". I manage the Intranet for a large financial institution, and while I have some working knowledge of HTML, I am a business manager, not a programmer. I looked to a dummy-level book to help me understand the opportunities that web services will offer my world.

If you're in the same boat as me, be sure you know something about programming before you buy this book. If you don't, you'll likely be confused by lines like "The system namespace provides a set of fundamental classes (including methods, properties, and events) that yields base-level services for .NET." Huh? What's a base-level service? And what are classes? I didn't know the techy lingo, so I found it impossible to get a foothold anywhere in the book. And I only read the intro pages...I can only imagine how lost I'd be in the later chapters.

Bottom line: this book isn't for you if you have no coding background.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the right level for non .netters, June 25, 2004

By 

Thank Full (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: .NET Web Services for Dummies (Paperback)

This book was a joy to read and presented a great holistic approach to .net web services. By that I mean it covered the subject from A to Z including such relevant topics as firewalls, SSL, RAID, UDDI, etc. It is important to have an understanding of the whole infrastructure encompassed by .net web services.

I have a background in programming including some web development 4 years ago (prior to .net). Yet I found the book very informative and am thankful I got over my 'a dummy book is not for me' attitude. For example, the author did a history of COM, DCOM, COM+ in nutshell that really helped explain the problems web services solved.

The book goes into web services development in enough detail to get you started coding. For serious development you would want a more detailed reference but this is a great starting point.

The author has demonstrated an excellent grasp of the web development landscape and put it all together in a cohesive fashion. If you want to find out what the .net furor is all about I highly recommend this author.