Pro ASP.NET MVC Framework [Paperback]

Steven Sanderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1430210079 | ISBN-13: 978-1430210078 | Edition: 1

Steven Sanderson has seen the ASP.NET MVC framework mature from the start, so his experience, combined with comprehensive coverage of all its features, including those in the official MVC development toolkit, offers the clearest understanding of how this exciting framework could improve your coding efficiency—and you’ll gain invaluable awareness of security, deployment, and interoperability challenges.

The ASP.NET MVC Framework is the evolution of Microsoft’s ASP.NET web platform. It introduced a radical high–productivity programming model that promotes cleaner code architecture, test–driven development, and powerful extensibility, combined with all the benefits of ASP.NET 3.5.

An integral benefit of this book is that the core Model–View–Controller architectural concepts are not simply explained or discussed in isolation, but demonstrated in action. You’ll work through an extended tutorial to create a working e–commerce web application that combines ASP.NET MVC with the latest C# 3.0 language features and unit–testing best practices. By gaining this invaluable, practical experience, you can discover MVCs strengths and weaknesses for yourself—and put your best learned theory into practice.

What you’ll learn

• Gain a solid architectural background to ASP.NET MVC, including Model–View–Controller and REST concepts.
• Explore the ASP.NET MVC framework with detailed coverage of all aspects of the framework and the official MVC development toolkit.
• See how it works with test–driven development in action.
• Capitalize on your existing knowledge quickly and easily through translation and comparison of features in classic ASP.NET to those in ASP.NET MVC.
• Learn about security and deployment issues, including IIS 7.0.

Who this book is for

This book is for web developers with a basic knowledge of ASP.NET and C# who want, or need, to start using the ASP.NET MVC framework.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After a childhood spent at the computer, Steven Sanderson started web development in 1996, first using Perl and later adopting PHP. His last five years of professional experience have focused on ASP.NET, learning what works and what works better, and experiencing a developer's life everywhere from an investment bank to a five-person Internet startup. Steven has led Red Gate's web development team, and spends his free time blogging and keeping up to speed with the latest technology developments. He's followed the ASP.NET MVC framework since its inception and frequently participates in online discussions with its core developers at Microsoft.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430210079
• ISBN-13: 978-1430210078
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development & Design > Programming > ASP

More About the Author

After a childhood spent at the computer, Steven Sanderson started web development in 1996, first using Perl and later adopting PHP. His last five years of professional experience have focused on ASP.NET, learning what works and what works better, and experiencing a developer's life everywhere from an investment bank to a five-person Internet startup.

Steven has led Red Gate's web development team, and spends his free time blogging and keeping up to speed with the latest technology developments. He's followed the ASP.NET MVC framework since its inception and frequently participates in online discussions with its core developers at Microsoft.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Perfect May 14, 2009

By Paul

Format:Paperback

I read this book about a week after reading the wrox-published "four talking heads" book by Guthrie, et. al.

It was like night and day. This book is, simply put, perfect. I could not put it down. Sanderson does such a magnificent job at taking the reader from "Hello, MVC" all the way through fairly advanced application concepts that I have a whole new threshold for what a "good" programming book is.

Throughout the book, he does a wonderful job of keeping true to good, solid principles of design, using proven patterns of Test-Driven Design, Domain Modeling, and Dependency Injection; but (to borrow another reviewer's term) never from an "ivory tower" perspective. His approach is always well-grounded in real developer concerns and application needs.

I sincerely hope this isn't Mr. Sanderson's last programming book.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelllent Book. A Must Buy May 14, 2009

By David Hayden

Format:Paperback

Hands down the best ASP.NET MVC book available as of today.

The book starts off by walking you through the creation of an e-commerce website that introduces you to the necessary features of the ASP.NET MVC Framework in a very logical, systematic, and friendly way. This is perfect for hitting the ground running without be overloaded with a lot of low-level details that don't make sense at the moment. You create product catalog pages, a shopping cart, administration pages, etc. Along the way you are gently introduced to some C# 3.0 language features used in the book, unit testing and mocking, using LINQ To SQL in a code-first approach and in a semi-POCO manner, and Domain-Driven Design concepts. It is a very easy, thought-provoking way to learn the ASP.NET MVC Framework.

The second part of the book gives you the deep level of understanding to master the ASP.NET MVC Framework by introducing the "pipeline" of ASP.NET MVC Requests and then breaking it up into pieces for further digesting. It is fantastic how the author truly explains what is happening, when it happens, and how you can leverage and customize each piece to bend the ASP.NET MVC Framework to your will. If you are a big fan of extensibility like I am, the examples of extending the MVC Framework are worth the price of the book alone.

If that isn't enough, there are several practical examples in the book on CAPTCHA, generating RSS Feeds, and creating tamper-proof confirmation links with HMAC Codes. The section on security is a must-read and shows you various ways to avoid Cross-Site Scripting and HTML Injection, Session Hijacking, Cross-Site Request Forgery.

I can't say enough positive things about the book. It is truly well-written and the book I keep within arm's reach at my desk.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Next Logical Step After NerdDinner May 6, 2009

By Kevin C. Stevens

Format:Paperback

I've been following this book for the last several months and it is a great way to get in-depth knowledge of:

The MVC framework
How to use Dependency Injection
Excellent software development practices and building flexible software.

Mr. Sanderson has been rigorous in explaining the ins and outs of the framework.

My honest suggestion is to download the Nerd Dinner pdf file, blaze through that to get your feet wet (it should only take you a few hours) and then read this book cover to cover. You will not regret it. Nerd Dinner is great and should be the starting place for an intro to ASP.net MVC, but this is what you need to put production code in the wild.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Book June 17, 2009

By Scott Guthrie

Format:Paperback

This is an absolutely fantastic book about ASP.NET MVC.

Steve's book is perfect for developers who want to dive into ASP.NET MVC and use it for real-world professional projects.

Early in the book he introduces and explains unit testing and loosely coupled design concepts (POCO classes, dependency injection, inversion of control, etc), and demonstrates how to use them when building a small ASP.NET MVC application. If you are new to these concepts I think you'll find Steve's walkthrough of them easy to follow and understand, and nicely grounded in the context of real-world ASP.NET MVC application usage.

The second half of the book goes into great depth on ASP.NET MVC features and does a phenomenal job explaining how to take maximum advantage of them. He delivers a nice mixture of feature-usage information combined with practical advice on how to best take advantage of the features, pitfalls to avoid with them, and why things work the way they do.

All in all an amazingly good book. I highly recommend it.

Thanks,

Scott

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a better developer for having read this... June 7, 2009

By KarlZ

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't know that I have too much to add to the reviews. But I did want to add yet another 5 star review. I've learned more from this book about solid programing practices than I believe I have from any other book I've read (and I've read a lot).

I know I'm a better developer today for having read this...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the better books on programming I have read in a while... June 1, 2009

By P. P. A. Dirkse

Format:Paperback

Let's make one thing clear from the start: I have been programming 'embedded software' for more than 10 years, so the idea of having to degrade myself to programming a 'measly' web application (especially after a prior brush with some ASP.NET which to me is THE template on how NOT to create software) wasn't too appealing.

Image my surprise when I found out that ASP.NET MVC was actually about programming software, and even better, in a manner that allows and even encourages test driven design!

Reading through the book it was clear that the author is a true agilist with a very good grasp on what it means to write robust, future proof software. Besides that, he also knows his MVC. Using the 'obligatory' web shop example in the first chapters, he smoothly guides you through ASP.NET MVC in a very clear manner, taking the time to explain it all in just enough but not too much detail. Every page of these first few chapters contains valuable information and by the time you have reached chapter 7 you will have touched everything ASP.NET MVC has to offer you. The second part of the book really goes under the hood, explaining in intimate detail the intricacies of each part of MVC (Model, View, Controller) but also important concepts as security and vulnerability, configuring and deploying are thoroughly discussed. Top it all off with some ajax and useful features to reuse from the 'old' ASP.NET and what you end up with is a book that is well written, well paced and well worth your money!

I'm not saying I never want to go back to writing 'embedded software', but this book has shown me that web application development using ASP.NET MVC is just as enjoyable!